Itunes cannot locate files all of a sudden. Why?

I had recently went to a friends house who had home sharing turned on. I do not have this feature turned on.
When I left her house, I could no longer play my music.
It says " Itunes cannot locate file "
The songs that it is doing this for are songs I had to transfer over by a memory card from a previous computer.
Why all of a sudden are they missing files?

If you weren't doing Home Sharing then the HS thing likely has absolutely nothing to do with this. You must have done something else that caused the links in iTunes database to break. iTunes keeps a list of what files it needs to play and where they are located. If you do something such as renaming a folder or moving a folder or file, it can cause that location reference to no longer be valid.

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Itunes cannot locate files stored on external hard drive

I use a maxtor external hard drive for my music storage(f:itunes) with 7000 songs on it. My Itunes library all of a sudden stopped locating the files. Through forum posts, I used advanced/change file location to f:itunes, and the only way I could hear the songs was to open the f drive and individually click on each file.
I thought using library/consolidate library would solve this problem, now I have 2 or 3 copies of each song. Some of them play (with Fdrive connected) while others still show the cannot locate source message. When I tried a few songs I deleted the ones that would not play when clicked on, while keeping the ones that did. After deleting, the original ones now won't play.
How do I get my original set up to work, with Itunes library on my laptop to only display 1 track not 2 or 3, and play from the source files contained on my external HD? The other puzzling thing is when I connect my external drive, the prompt that asks what you want to do with the Maxtor displays a "F:\ access denied" message. Is this the main cause of my issues?

Well, before you wipe out your library and start all over, there is something to try.
You have to have the option set for itunes 'keep itunes folder organized' checked.
Change the location back to the default by pressing the reset folder location.
You will get a message asking if you want itunes to copy everything to match your settings. For god's sake, do NOT say yes or it will copy everything onto your C: drive.
Let it do its stuff. Then when it is finished, change the setting back to F:
+i-tunes music folder location to F:\mp3s+
Again, do NOT answer that question as yes.
Depending on how large your library is, this can take a while. My library has 27K tracks and it takes over a half hour. But you might get the links back. What this does is force itunes to look at all the paths.

When i connect my ipod to the computer a box pops up and say that itunes cannot locate this device, and if the problem persists to uninstal itunes and then reinstall. Well i have my own user on tunes so if i uninstall ituneswill it uninstall on all users?

when i connect my ipod to the computer a box pops up and says that itunes cannot locate/read this file, and if the problem persists to uninstall itunes and then reinstall, but i have my own user on the computer, so if i uninstall it on my user will it uninstall it on every user?

Hello BPeery,
I would go through ALL the steps here:
iPod not recognized in 'My Computer' and in iTunes for Windows
Let us know how it goes.
Hope this helps.
~Julian

HT5030 itunes cannot locate or access the itunes64.msi file to update

itunes cannot locate or access the itunes64.msi file to update

Okay. Let's try newer versions of the instructions, then.
Download the Windows Installer CleanUp utility from the following page (use one of the links under the thingy on the Major Geeks page):
http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4459
To install the utility, doubleclick the msicuu2.exe file you downloaded.
Now run the utility ("Start > All Programs > Windows Install Clean Up"). In the list of programs that appears in CleanUp, select any iTunes entries and click "Remove", as per the following screenshot:
Quit out of CleanUp, restart the PC and try another iTunes install. Does it go through properly this time?

I moved iTunes folder location, now all my personal song ratings and playlists are gone. How can I get them back? All the iTunes files are intact, just in a new location. Running iTunes 11.1.5.5

I moved iTunes folder location, now all my personal song ratings and playlists are gone. How can I get them back? All the iTunes files are intact, just in a new location. Running iTunes 11.1.5.5 on Windows 7

Put everything back the way it was.
Them move the folder correctly.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1364

Itunes cannot locate my files on the external hard drive - I changed preferences but still not locating songs?

itunes cannot locate my files on the external hard drive - I changed preferences but still not locating songs?

This work for the most part:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/20361846#20361846

HT1657 I cannot play my rented movie because itunes cannot locate where the original file, has anyone face this problem before? Where can I find the location of the downloaded movie?

I cannot play my rented movie because itunes cannot locate where the original file, has anyone face this problem before? Where can I find the location of the downloaded movie?

What did you use to download it with? iPad? iPhone? Computer?
If it's an iPad/iPhone, play it using the videos app.
If on the computer, look on the left side of iTunes in the library under movies.

Just got message that iTunes cannot locate 2382 songs. I see them, but I don't seem to be able to "recover" them. How do I locate them in a block versus one at a time?

I installed Nokia PC Suite software including a music player. I opened iTunes so that I could transfer music to my mobile phone. My iTunes response was that it could not locate my music files. So, I uninstalled all of my Nokia software, and restarted iTunes. My music list comes up, but when I try to play a tune, I get the message that iTunes cannot locate my music files, and asks me if I want to locate them. When I answer, it lets me locate the music one song at a time. How do I get iTunes to "locate" the entire file in one block action?.

Hi Hardrick!
Here is an article that can help you with finding your lost media in iTunes:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1408
Thanks for being a part of the Apple Support Communities!
Cheers,
Braden

After upgrading to the latest itunes, itunes cannot locate my songs

After upgrading to the newest itunes, itunes cannot locate all my music, which is located on an external hard drive. The only solution I can think is to go through each song individually and "find" it on my external hard drive. With 78000 songs, this is obviously not feasible. Is there some simple solution? I don't want to have to just delete the entire itunes library and reload the music on my hard drive, because I have all the songs just the way I want them, with ratings, info, album art, and corrected song titles and album orders, and I will lose all that, right? Please help if you can.

I figured this out - this might be of great help to some people who have the same problem. I do not know how, but somehow my external hard drive got renamed to a different drive letter, from E to F. That's why itunes wasn't recognizing my songs, because there was a new file path name. Here's a microsoft XP tutorial on how to change drive letters if this happens to you:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844

Error message "cannot locate file"

I purchased a new computer and used Detto Intelli Mover to transfer all my music files. When I opened the library, they all appeared to be there, but when I try to plan anything I get an error message "cannot locate file" This happens with all of my 1,200 songs. The error message also says "would you like to look", but I am unable to locate then. Can anyone help with this?

Have you added all the songs to the library? Just by dragging and dropping?

ITunes cannot open files in the "MP3 Audio File" format

Lately I've been getting this error that iTunes can't open MP3 files. It happens when I try to double click on an MP3, however, if I click and drag the MP3 into my iTunes library it opens fine. Not a huge problem....just a nuisance.
Running iTunes 10.0.1

I suddenly have this same problem with MacOS 10.6.7 and iTunes 10.2.2. Clicking on a tune in a folder gets the prompt "The document xxxx.mp3 could not be opened. iTunes cannot open files in the MP3 audio format."
Dragging the tune into iTunes will open it, so there's no problem with it being a "trouble file" that needs validating with some external app. I believe this is a new glitch that came with iTunes 10.2.2. It's workable but quite irritating when trying to manage an iTunes library that includes 28,000-plus songs.

When i download mixtapes itunes cannot locate the songs

i download free mixtapes off datpiff and when they download they open a folder in my documents, when i open the song they open on itunes. Lately they will download but when i close the folder i opened them from itunes cannot locate the songs and i cant put them on my iphone.

Kbick, Glad it helped.
By the way, if you don't want to clutter your desktop, you can put them into your iTunes Media folder. The important thing is to make sure you are using the extracted files, not the ones in the Zip folder.
Enjoy the music!

Upgraded my iTunes from 4.3.3 to iOS 7.0 and now iTunes cannot locate my iPad 2 or any of the movies/books I purchased

Computer illiterate here. I wanted to upgrade my iPad2 from an iOS 4.3.5 to a 5.0 so i could upgrade some of my games. Initially when iPad2 wanted to upgrade to 5.0 I said no because people said it was causing a lot of problems. Now I cannot play certain games because I don't have iOS 5.0. I went to iTunes because I cannot locate any upgrades on my iPad 2 and the upgrade was to iOS 7.0 which I did. Now when I go to my iPad 2, it says HELLO and wants me to follow all these steps. When I try to restore my back up, iTunes cannot locate my iPad 2 or other items I purchased. What can I do, I should have just left it at iOS 4.3.5 - at least I could use my iPad 2?

Hey there SNagai,
It sounds like you are not seeing your iPad in iTunes after updating it. I would recommend the following article to help you get that working again:
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1538
Here is an overview of the troubleshooting to be done:
1. Update iTunes
2. Check the USB cable
3. Verify that Apple Mobile Device Support is installed
4. Restart the Apple Mobile Device Service
5. Verify that the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver is installed
6. Check for third-party software conflicts
If the issue persists, try uninstalling iTunes and its associated apps with either of these two articles depending on your operating system version:
Removing and Reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows XP
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1925
Or
Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1923
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
All the very best,
Sterling

Itunes cannot open at all

itunes cannot open at all after upgrading Itunes to 7.7. I have the newest version of IPod; I have tried to uninstall the program as well as deactivating the firewall. None of the measures have worked, is there any way to download a program to fix it?
any input would be very helpful

Perhaps give one of the following documents a try:
iTunes for Windows Vista or Windows 7: Troubleshooting unexpected quits, freezes, or launch issues
iTunes for Windows XP: Troubleshooting unexpected quits, freezes, or launch issues

Error from iTunes Setup Asst -- iTunes cannot locate the CD Config folder

It says: iTunes cannot locate the CD Configuration folder, so you cannot import or burn CDs and DVD's. This folder must be in the same directory as iTunes.
Because of space issues, I moved iTunes to run off of a portable hard drive (it's a silver iomega 100 GB drive, if it matters). I had to uninstall and reinstall iTunes and import the old library into iTunes to get it to work, but now it's giving me the error.
I just imported music from a disc, so that works actually, but when I try to burn a disc, it says "disc burner or software not found." I'm flummoxed.
Diagnostics are below:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
Dell Inc. Latitude D820
iTunes 7.0.2.16
CD Driver 2.0.6.1
CD Driver DLL 2.0.6.1
LowerFilters: PxHelp20 (2.0.0.0), DRVMCDB (1.0.0.1), DLACDBHM (1.0.0.1),
UpperFilters: GEARAspiWDM (2.0.6.1),
Video Driver: NVIDIA Quadro NVS 110M \GeForce Go 7300
IDE\DiskST980825AS_____________________________8.02___, Bus Type ATA, Bus Address [0,0]
USBSTOR\DiskHTS421210H9AT00_______0000, Bus Type USB
IDE\CdRomSONYDVD+-RW_DW-Q58A____________________UDS2___, Bus Type ATA, Bus Address [0,0]
If you have multiple drives on the same IDE or SCSI bus, these drives may interfere with each other.
Some computers need an update to the ATA or IDE bus driver, or Intel chipset. If iTunes has problems recognizing CDs or hanging or crashing while importing or burning CDs, check the support site for the manufacturer of your computer or motherboard.
Current user is an administrator.
Failed while scanning for CD / DVD drives, error 2500.
Virtual drives can sometimes interfere with reading and writing CDs in iTunes. If this is a virtual drive and you are having problems with other drives, try uninstalling the virtual CD application.
D: Unsupported CD or DVD drive.
Virtual drives can sometimes interfere with reading and writing CDs in iTunes. If this is a virtual drive and you are having problems with other drives, try uninstalling the virtual CD application.
Any help anyone could provide would be much appreciated.
Dell Latitude D820 Windows XP

Howdy beanettejurke,
The article linked below provides troubleshooting tips that’ll resolve optical drive issues, like the CD alert you’re seeing when launching iTunes on your PC.
iTunes for Windows: Troubleshooting CD issues caused by device filters - Apple Support
Cheers,
-Jason

Itunes cannot locate files all of a sudden. Why?

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