Itunes deleting music on ipod because the original file culd not be found

The music on my ipod is being deleted when i start syncing my music from iTunes to my ipod. The thing is all the music on my ipod is still on Itunes. This started happening recently, it was all fine before.Since the original file cant be found on Itunes how do you stop it from deleting off your ipod?
Also could it be a problem since my music is stored on a separate hard drive, maybe thats why the original file cant be found, even though its still connected to the computer.
If it cant be fixed then is there an easy way to find the original files so the i wont have to find the "lost" files then delete them and sync them over again.
Could it be deleting the files off my ipod because half the songs on Itunes "could not find the original file" even though the songs are on my ipod already?

I use manual sync for that very reason.
And also for that very reason, I maintain my iTunes folder on my laptop as a backup for my iPod; I only delete "songs" when I want to remove them from my iPod, and I use auto sync because I can. If I ever have to restore (and I did once, when I had to have my iPod replaced), I know I can do a complete job of it.
(Should my iPod files exceed the capacity of my laptop hard disk, I'll probably switch to using a folder on an external drive for this purpose.)
IPod 5G Windows XP Pro iTunes 7.0.2; iPod 1.2.1

Similar Messages

  • I recently reset my computer and copy my music from an external hard drive to my itunes library.  When I click on a song to play i get an error message that says " the song could not be used because the original file could not be found".  need help

    I recently reset my computer and copy my music from an external hard drive to my itunes library.  When I click on a song to play i get an error message that says " the song could not be used because the original file could not be found".  But when I have my external hard drive plug in the song will play with no problem.  What do I need to do to play my music without having the external harddrive plug in ????????  Please help

    Because the location for each song in your library is on your hard drive.  If the hard drive isn't there, how can iTunes play it?
    You'll have to move/copy the music from your hard drive to your computer's hard drive.
    Basically, EASIEST way to do all this, if you don't care about your play counts, etc...
    -Delete EVERYTHING from iTunes, so that your library is now empty.
    -Go to "Advanced" inside of the "Preferences" window, found in the "Edit" drop-down.  You can also access Preferences by pressing Ctrl+, (Press Ctrl and the comma key)
    -Change your iTunes Media Folder Location to something simple, but on your computer. I use C:/iTunes.  Make sure "Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized" and "Copy files to...." are both checked.  You can close Preferences now.
    -Now, drag and drop your music from your hard drive into your iTunes library.  iTunes will automatically add the music to your library, as you would expect, and also creates a copy of each file to place into that iTunes Media Folder you just created.
    Shouldn't have any more problems...

  • ITunes will no longer play my music, all the albumss are there but it if I click on a song to play it I get a message saying " The song (name of song) could not be played because the original file coul not be found. Would you like to locate it."

    iTunes will no longer play my music, all the albumss are there but it if I click on a song to play it I get a message saying " The song (name of song) could not be played because the original file coul not be found. Would you like to locate it."

    You get this message because  iTunes can’t find the file. This can happen for a number of reasons:
    The song file or a folder in its path was renamed
    The song file or the folder it is in has been moved
    The song file has been deleted
    The device containing the song files e.g. external drive is not accessible or the drive letter has changed.
    Do any of these aply to you?

  • Recently bought  a new computer and all my music appears in iTunes as well as on my computer in a saved folder. When I try to play the music in iTunes I get an error that reads"the song could not be used because the original file could not be found."

    Recently bought  a new computer and all my music appears in iTunes as well as on my computer in a saved folder. When I try to play the music in iTunes I get an error that reads"the song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" Hope you can help me solve this issue.
    Thanks,
    Shellyboo

    This happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout, or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
    Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then cancel when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions.
    Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes .
    tt2

  • My partner deleted my itunes (10) library. I use a WD external back-up and retrieved my itunes library, but when i try to play a song i get the message 'could not be used because the original file could not be found Would you like to locate it?'

    My partner deleted, by accident my itunes library. I have an iMac 10.6.7, Itunes 10. I use an WD passport as an external back up and retrieved my itunes library but now get the message "could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" so itunes is not recognised the exclamation marked songs, how do i get the retrieved files recognised. At times I get fed-up with Apple blocking files being used, although I like the product its restrictions are so silly!

    You not only have to retrieve the library file from the backup drive but the actual music files (usually stored within the "iTunes Media" folder) as well.

  • ITunes tells me "Could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?"  I can locate it and all my other music, but can only open one song at a time.  How do I set it to open all my music whenever I want it?

    iTunes tells me my song selection: "Could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?"  I can locate it and all my other music, but can only open one song at a time.  How do I set it to open all my music whenever I want?
    Message was edited by: Woildbill

    I just spent several hours dealing with this when switching to a new PC. It was extremely frustrating as I knew my files were on my external HD but no matter how many times I copied my old iTunes folder over the files were still missing...because dummy me had forgotten to "unhide folders" on my new PC and my old files were actually stored in a hidden folder created long long ago.
    This is how I did it on Windows 7 with iTunes 10
    1. Look in iTunes Advanced Preferences to see where iTunes is saving files. (Edit, Preferences, Advanced)
         Example: C:/Users/Woildbill/My Music/iTunes/Music
    2. Ensure you are able to see hidden files - Control Panel, Folder Option, View, Show Hidden Files
    3. Use Your Computer's Search Function to Locate the Missing File (Start, Search, type name of song - I started my search in "My Music" folder but be sure to expand to entire Computer if not found right away)
    4. In Search Results, right-click found folder and select properties. This will tell you where the file is actually stored.
    5. Use Windows Explorer (right-click start) to navigate to the location of the file. It is likley your other missing files are in the same location.
    6. In Windows Explorer, copy the newly located files to the iTumes location from Step 1 and everything should work again.
    Hope this helps!

  • Recently got a new computer and installed itunes from external drive - all music shows up in the library, however when i click on a song i receive this message "the song could not be used because the original file could not be found".  What do i do?

    I recently got a new computer and installed itunes from which had been saved onto an external drive - all music shows up in the library, however when I click on a song I receive this message "the song "abc" could not be used because the original file could not be found".  What can I do?

    I was given the option to locate the file where the song is held. If so select "locate" and direct it to the folder / file where the song is and open it. itunes then will give you the option to use this process to update all of your library. OK that as this will do it automatically instead of doing them one by one. I hope this helps.
    Martin

  • I cannot play music from my itunes library.  I keep getting an itunes message that says, "The song could not be used because the original file could not be found."  Is there a fix for this?  Thank you.

    I cannot play music from my itunes library.  I keep getting an itunes message that says, “The song could not be used because the original file could not be found.”  Is there a fix for this?  Has this happened to anyone else?  Is there a fix for this?  Thank you.

    Hello Turintest2,
    I am having a similar problem.  I have over 4000 songs giving me this error.  I certainily don't want to go in one by one and find them.  I know you wrote a script for Windows but I am a Mac user.  Is there a fix for me?  Here is the info on where the song is currently (used by doing the get info)
    Here's a shot of my preferences:
    Just FYI, I know that apparently iTunes is looking for this music in the trash.  However, if I go here:
    Then I find the music there as well.  (Which is where it is in my preferences.)
    Please help!  I don't want to have to go through over 4000 songs and update them one by one.

  • When trying to sync or listen to songs in itunes library it says the song on itunes could not be used because the original file could not be found. I am using windows 7.

    I have imported cds into my itunes and they appear on my playlist, but when I try to sync to my ipod or listen to them on my computer a message comes up stateing " the songs on itunes could not be used because the original file could not be found".  I have not deleted them and am importing them the way I always have.  This problem has only been for the last 4 or 5 months. Since updating to the last 2 itunes versions.

    The message means that iTunes can not find the original imported music files. iTunes should display a red exclamation mark next to the songs it can not find. You will need to look on your hard drive for the songs/files and than correct the file path in iTunes or just delete the files in your iTunes library and import them again.

  • Library Lost - Please HeIp I tried updating my old ipod & now all 10,000 songs in my library have an ! next to them and I get the error message "song " " could not be used because the original file could not be found" on every song I try to play

    Please help - this morning I tried updating one of my old ipods for my wife (this ipod hasn't been updated in 2-3 years).  I plugged it into my pc, it was recognized and the software updated.  I created a new playlist and tied to sync the ipod.  This ipod had never been used on this pc/itunes since the pc is only 2 years old.  When I tried to sync the ipod it stated that it would have to erase all the old songs on the ipod prior to syncing.  I clicked ok and it proceeded to wipe out the old ipod and sync the new playlist (~1000 songs).  When the sync was complete there were only 6 songs from the new playlist (all purchased this morning from itunes) on the ipod and to my horror all ~10,000 song on my pc in itunes now have a ! next to them.  Only my recent purchases from itunes do not.  When I click on a song with the ! I get the error message "the song " " could not be used because the original file could not be found."  How do I correct this issue - I am scared to hook my ipads or other ipods to my pc for fear of losing everything?!?!?  I spent 100s of hours burning the 10,000 songs from my cd collection and do not want to have to do it again. 
    Any help is greatly appreciated.

    This "original file cannot be found" thing happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout,or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
    Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then cancel when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions.
    Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes .
    tt2

  • Error message when trying to play music on computer states The song ... could not be used because the original file could not be found.  However, my library shows how many items and the GBs used.  How do I locate the files?

    When I try to play my iTunes music on my computer, an error message comes up and state "The song (title of song) could not be used because the original file could not be found.  Would you like to locate it?
    When I click on Locate It, I cannot find where the music file may be located.  Does anyone have any suggestions?
    This all occurred when I attempted to do a backup to an external hard drive.  Unbeknownest to me, the files did not copy over and do not appear on the external hard drive. 
    When I open my iTunes library, at the bottom of my music list it shows how many songs and the GBs, so it appears that the files are still there; however, cannot be located.
    Thank you.

    Hi angela dfromtx,
    When tracks in iTunes display a it means the file cannot be located; it may have been moved or deleted. You'll have to locate the file manually if it is still available. For more information refer to the following article:
    iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
    Alternatively, if your media was downloaded from the iTunes Store, you may be able to download it again free of charge:
    Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2519
    Thanks,
    Matt M.

  • After installing iTunes 10.5 update i get the following message when trying to play any song in my Library "The song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?"  how do i fix this??

    I have an iPod Classic and work on Windows 7.
    i recently installed iTunes 10.5 update and since then i cannot play any of the songs in the Library - i get the following message
    "The song could not be used because the original file could not be found.  Would you like to locate it?"
    what happened to all my songs (almost 2000) How can i get them back into my music library?
    Please help - i do not want to spend another week downloading all my cd's onto my computer !!!!!

    Try my script FindTracks. Select a few of the missing files to start with then run the script. Choose No at the first prompt so that you can check how it works track by track, then confirm or edit the location of the media folder where your files are. Once you are happy with how it behaves let it process larger numbers of tracks automatically.
    tt2

  • I cannot play music from my library on either my external drive or my laptop - keep getting same message "___ song (all of them) could not be used because the original file could not be found. I have tried changing the path in prefernces many times.

    I cannot play music from my libray on either my external drive or my laptop. I keep getting the same message - "___ song (all of them) could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" I have changed the path several times under preferences and it still won't recognize any songs from either my laptop hard drive or my external drive. I can't play any music at all.

    I think I've fixed this on my machine.  If you look in the ITunes folder there is a subfolder called Previous iTunes Libraries.  In my case for some reason this contained the one which had always worked and a new one was in the main  folder.  I closed iTunes, deleted the new one, and moved the old one back to the main folder, then opened iTunes.  It then rebuilt the library and it plays correctly.  Hope it works for you.

  • HT204406 The song "If We Are the Body" could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?  This notice keeps coming up even though I have iTunes Match.  What do I do?

    The song “If We Are the Body” could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?  This notice keeps coming up even though I have iTunes Match.  What do I do?

    This usually means the original music file has been been deleted from the HDD. If you feel it has not then click "locate" and navigate to where the song file is on the HDD and choose it. You can use Spotlight to locate it if necessary.

  • Itunes can't play the file because the original file can not be found

    There is many things wrong with that message and I don't know why.
    I had around 30 songs off an album on my computer
    I put the album on Itunes
    I edited them and then they played fine
    I put them on my ipod and then deleted them off coz i wanted to put something else on
    but i found out I had more space to put the other 30 songs I had from before back on so I went to the album
    when I wanted to play a song it said "Itunes Can't play the file because the original file can not be found"
    1) The original file was on my computer, in the exact place where I left it last time when Itunes played it
    2) I did not change the file path name
    3) I did not change the folder path name
    4) The songs aren't corrupted
    5) They play fine on other programs
    I deleted them all off and took them on again and they played fine but whey did they keep stuffing up before?

    The "missing file" thing happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout, or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
    Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then say no when asked to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions. I can provide a step by step guide if you give me the two paths.
    In some cases iTunes may be able to repair itself if you go through the same steps and locate the lost track. It may then offer to attempt to automatically fix other broken links. Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes.
    tt2

Maybe you are looking for