ITunes deleted my entire library with no warning! :(

It just went one day with no explanation. I had music I have uploaded from my CD collection, as well as stuff previously purchased via amazon mp3 and Zune. One day, EVERYTHING disappeared. All my carefully planned play lists were gone, and only the stuff I had purchased from iTunes remained only as a file i had to download from the iCloud? I do not have an icloud account, as I dont yet own an apple device... weird. I have no idea what happened but its looking like I'm going to have to spend several evenings putting all the music back on from the CD's, looking for the other tracks on my hard drive, and recreating and filling my playlists (only for it to happen again?!). The tracks I had purchased via iTunes had been uploaded to iCloud but had been wiped from my hard drive and iTunes! I managed to re-download the purchased stuff (one by one which was a slow, laborious task) but it beats me how it did this without me telling it to and why?! iTunes, why are you treating people like this?! Anyone have any idea how to stop this from happening again?! If not, I may have to find a different music provider.

Although your iTunes Library display is blank, your song files are probably still on your hard drive.
Have a look at this article in the Apple Knowledge Base for some ideas on how to find them, changing file extensions in the search as is necessary (i.e. .mp3 or .m4a.)
If you find the files,then something is more than likely amiss with your iTunes Library files which are needed for iTunes to know the contents of Music Library and where the files that make it up are located.
If you don't have a back-up copy of the iTunes library files, you will have to make use of this article in the Apple Knowledge Base. Although the article refers to iTunes 6, it is also applicable to iTunes 7.
A few points to pay close attention to:
Step 1: Quit iTunes and, to err on the side of caution, wait one minute before proceeding.
Step 4: you are dragging the iTunes Library.itl file - you can leave iTunes Music Library.xml alone.
Step 8: you will be renaming the file iTunes Library yyyy-mm-dd.itl to iTunes Library.itl.
Note that this method will restore your iTunes Library to the state it was in when you upgraded to v.7. But any changes made since then (eg. songs/playlists added or changes in playcounts or comments), will not be included in the restoration.
Presumably though, that will be an improvement over your current situation. And, if necessary, we can deal with any newer songs later.
And one final point: If you've use this method to restore your library, make sure you create a new back-up copy of the .itl file so you're all set to repeat the procedure if the library ever disappears again.

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ITunes loses my entire library with artwork, playlists and podcasts every time I close the program. Any advice very welcome

iTunes loses my entire library with artwork, playlists and podcasts every time I close the program. Upon restarting it takes at least 15 minutes to rebuild the library and podcasts and a lot longer to replace the artwork, I also lose playlists. I would really welcome some feedback and assistance here and am losing faith in the Apple product. Since iTunes has been updated to version 11 it seems to have caused a lot of issues for many people. I am hopeful of a reply and a resolution. I have approx. 1200 albums at just under 90 Gb. Thanks in advance for any help.

Ditch AVG (at this stage it really does seem to be the problem for some people) and install Microsoft Security Essentials...
tt2

I updated my ipod and it deleted my entire library how do I restore it with the backup I have saved?

I updated my ipod and it deleted my entire library. How do I restore it with the backup I have so all songs will be available in the cloud; which I paid extra Money to increase memory for?

The backup that iTunes makes does not include apps, music, synced videos and photos. Se:
iTunes: About iOS backups
You will have to sync the items back form yur computer/iTunes library to the iPod via iTunes. If they are not on the computer you can redownloa d some iTunes purchases by:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

ITunes 11 deleted my entire library

iTunes 11 just deleted my entire library. It was working fine yesterday, but when I turned on my mac today, everything was wiped. The files are still on my Mac, but all the data has been wiped from iTunes, playlists, play counts, rankings. I've imported everything again, but nothing is organised. TV shows are not grouped together by show, season etc. I had spent a load of time organising audiobooks and now these are all appearing in the music section.
Anyone know how / why this happened and how to fix it?
Thanks

They changed the way but its still very easy. All you have to do is copy your music by using keyboard commands.
Steps (for MAC)
1. Click (ONLY ONCE) on your chosen music files outside of Itunes.
2. press Command + C
3. go to your itunes
4. press Command + V
For PC ,its the same
- the same stuff but instead of pressing the Command key, its Ctrl .

IPhoto Trash Can deleted my entire library

I bought a brand new 27" iMac at the end of Oct 2010, which came pre-loaded with iPhoto '11 (Version 9.1 (475). I copied photos from my old iMac onto CD-ROMS and then imported them directly into my brand new iPhoto '11 by the select, drag and drop method. I deleted maybe 5 photos which the trash can correctly counted. However, when I deleted my trash can, it included ALL the photos in my entire iPhoto library (4000+) and deleted my entire library. These photos were not visible in the trash can before I hit the delete button.
After that happened, I thought maybe I did something wrong, so I manually transferred the photos to my iPhoto '11 all over again. This time, photos which I haven't even deleted appear in the trash can and when you try to empty the trash can, the message says something like "Are you sure you want to delete 4000 photos?" (i.e. my entire library). Plus it seems that I can't manually move things out of the trash can because they just magically reappear in the trash again. Why is this happening?
BTW I just downloaded and installed the latest iPhoto update, but the problem still persists.
As a side note, before deleting my iPhoto library, I had used Migration Assistant to transfer some files from my old iMac G5 (circa 2005/2006) to my new iMac using a firewire cable. However, as I did not transfer any applications, I don't think this would have affected my iPhoto '11, right? It was only after I noticed that my iPhoto library didn't get transferred to my new iMac that I decided to import photos to my new iPhoto '11 manually.
Apple products seem to be getting worse. I've filed a report with Apple, so hopefully they can fix the software. But what can I do in the meantime?

same thing here. out of the clear blue my trash said it had 800 photos in it (my library has 9000 photos in it). I looked at the ones in the trash and they appeared to be still in the real album, as though I had duplicated some of my photos then trashed them. If i tried to empty iPhoto trash it asked me if I wanted to delete my entire 9000 photos (even though only 800 were in iPhoto trash).
I rebuilt the entire iPhoto album (option command button on launching iPhoto) and picked all rebuild etc. options, took a couple hours) but the problem persisted. Fortunately I was totally backed up from a day or so ago, I checked the backup to make sure it did not have the trash problem, and then had iPhoto empty the trash of the one with with trash problem, and like others it dumped the entire iPhoto library! Yikes
Now there are 2 things on my computer that i could not afford to lose, 20 years of photos, and 20 years of quicken data, so I am VERY careful with those, and fortunately it paid off.My back-up is good and I rebacked up that file, but what a disaster that would have been had I lost all m photos.
so, This is not a minor glitch but a huge software issue that has to be fixed fast, not everyone, despite being told so, has good regular back-ups.
roger

HT1349 I updated my Itunes and my entire library disappeared including all my playlists. How do I fix this?

I updated my Itunes and my entire library disappeared including all my playlists. How do I fix this?

Are they really gone? Look in your Home > Music > iTunes folder and folders inside. Do you see media there? Also try to use Spotlight to search for things you know you have.
If you keep media on an external drive, are they there? If it is all there, try starting iTunes with the option key held down and guide to the external.
If really gone, use a backup of your drive to restore the iTunes folder.
If no backup and they are really gone, you can download some items from Apple again. You'll have to re-construct the library though as all the playlists, ratings, date added, and some other things will be gone.
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519 - enabled with iTunes 10.3 and newer; not available in all countries; only apps, books (not audiobooks), music, and t.v. shows (not movies). Discontinued items not available. For items not included in the iCloud list, or locations or computer systems where iCloud is not (yet?) available, you only get one download per fee paid. Apple notes it is your responsibility to back up your purchases.

Oh no ! I have synchronised my i phone 4 with my computer and it has deleted mu entire music with no back up !! please help

Oh no ! I have synchronised my i phone 4 with my computer and it has deleted mu entire music with no back up !! please help ?

Hi,
If this is the Computer you regularly Sync with... Your music should still be in iTunes...
See this Link on Syncing:
http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/syncing/

For some reason my Itunes deleted my current library and reverted back to a library from 5 years ago! How do I take the music from my Iphone and put it back into my Itunes library?

For some reason my Itunes deleted my current library and reverted back to a library from 5 years ago! How do I take the music from my Iphone and put it back into my Itunes library?

backup from old computer and restore to new either to icloud or an external drive also check out turingtest2's excellent article on backup using synctoy

I lost everything in my iphoto library how can i restore the entire library with time machine?

i lost everything in my iphoto library how can i restore the entire library with time machine? help!!!!

Open the folder that contained the library and then enter Time Machine. Select the most recent date that contains the library and then restore.

Itunes loses library . I updated to 10.3.1.55 and i open Itunes and my entire library is gone

Itunes loses library . I updated to 10.3.1.55 and i open Itunes and my entire library is gone, put all the music back in itunes then next time i open it the library is gone again.I am using window 7 and after a few weeks of this it is driving me crazy.PLEASE HELP

I am afraid troubleshooting this is difficult if it is intermittent. That is why I suggested making copies of iTunes library.itl and iTunes Library.xml then you can restore these copies if the lirbary disappears. Then you only lose data since you copied them.
You can check for plugins by running iTunes>>Help>>Run Diagnostics. You don't need any of the check boxes ticked. Any plug ins will be shown.
Also you can run iTunes in "safe mode" by holding ctrl shift while starting iTunes. This runs iTunes without plug ins.
Think about other software that uses iTunes data - instant messaging that shows what's playing, and anything that might use the iTunes library.
If the problem occurs every time, you can use MSConfig to look for conflicts, but that is not feasible for an intermittent problem.
I would not expect to see a "saving library" message when closing iTunes, that does suggest that something may be slowing it down.
Are you using the default set up- for iTunes, that is everything on your c: drive or are you using an external drive or network drive?

Itunes (on Windows 7) just deleted my entire library of music, apps and playlists

I'm Running the latest version of Itunes on Windows 7. Itunes deleted every single song, playlist and app entirely for the 2nd time this month. Is there any way to easily restore the library? Without re-importing each and every song, downloading every single app, re-creating every playlist manually, re-subscribing to every podcast, etc....?

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. Note that in iTunes 11 an "empty" library may show your past purchases with links to stream or download them.
In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
Alternatively, depending on exactly when and why the library went missing, there may be a more recent .tmp file in the main iTunes folder that can be renamed as iTunes Library.itl to restore the library to a recent state.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library, or a backup of it, then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
I've noticed more of these missing library posts of late and a common factor to most since I started asking is AVG Anti-Virus. It seems in some cases it might be at least part of the reason why the library file disappears. Try excluding the iTunes folder from any AV scanning process.
tt2

Newest itunes update deleted my entire library and playlists.

Im extremely unsatisfied, so could you think of a solution apple? All i did was download YOU'RE update, and it reopens with 0 playlists or songs in any libraries. minus some of the purchased songs i dont even want. These updates are getting more and more terrible, so do you think you could actually fix you're mistakes? thank you!
-Joseph

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. Note that in iTunes 11 an "empty" library may show your past purchases with links to stream or download them.
In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library, or a backup of it, then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
Would you mind telling me which anti-virus package you use? It may be that it is disturbing iTunes when it tries to write out the fresh database, as it does after almost any activity with your library. I'm noticing more of this type of problem than usual and trying to see if there is any pattern. It may help to prevent a repeat of the problem if you look at the advanced options for your AV package and see if you can find a way to exclude the iTunes folder from any real-time scanning process.
tt2

Why does iTunes transfer my entire library of music every time I transfer one album or song to my iPhone?

I've lately been having this issue with my iPhone. When I go to transfer a newly purchased album or song from my iTunes library on my Macbook Pro to my iPhone 5 my ENTIRE LIBRARY is transferred to my iPhone. I have it checked so I can manually manage my music and videos in the settings in iTunes when I plug in my iPhone but it still transfers everything. It's really frustrating and I would like for it to not do that. My iPhone doesn't have enough memory to save all 3,000 songs on my phone unless if I had no apps or texts or emails or anything. Is there anyway to get this to stop happening? I've read that if you uncheck all the songs you don't want it won't transfer them but is that the only solution? Its really frustrating having to redelete all the music I don't want off my phone every time it does this.

Go to the music tab, select sync music, select the music to sync and sync.
Have a look at the manual:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/iPod_touch_iOS4_UserGuide.pdf

I think I deleted my entire library...help!

I had an entire library from burning CDs and downloading songs from itunes. Then one day I wanted to download but had to upgrade to 6.0. For some unknown reason, my computer wouldn't let me upgrade so I just re-installed it all together. Now I can't access itunes at all. I'm guessing there's no way to get my songs back on my computer, and worse, now if I ever plug in my ipod to my computer all of the songs will be deleted? Is there something I can do?

Click on the File on the iTunes task bar and click on ADD FOLDER TO LIBRARY. iTunes does not hold and save your music, your hard drive does that. iTunes only holds the file paths to reference the songs by.
Oh, and are you havintg trouble DLing iTunes completely? Are you getting any error messages? Please give me more info about what is going on when trying to DL iTunes. Also, what antivirus and firewall programs do you use on your PC? I guess I am kinda confused about what your question is....

I updated my itunes and my entire library disapperaed

After updating itunes my entire library disapperaed. Have searched and found some music files within windows media player but can't find a rather large chunk. Any ideas on what to do ? I sold many of the cds i uploaded earlier in the year.

Are they really gone? Look in your Home > Music > iTunes folder and folders inside. Do you see media there? Also try to use Spotlight to search for things you know you have.
If you keep media on an external drive, are they there? If it is all there, try starting iTunes with the option key held down and guide to the external.
If really gone, use a backup of your drive to restore the iTunes folder.
If no backup and they are really gone, you can download some items from Apple again. You'll have to re-construct the library though as all the playlists, ratings, date added, and some other things will be gone.
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519 - enabled with iTunes 10.3 and newer; not available in all countries; only apps, books (not audiobooks), music, and t.v. shows (not movies). Discontinued items not available. For items not included in the iCloud list, or locations or computer systems where iCloud is not (yet?) available, you only get one download per fee paid. Apple notes it is your responsibility to back up your purchases.

ITunes deleted my entire library with no warning! :(

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