ITunes doesn't create an "iTunes Library" file

I'm desperate - since a couple of days every time I restart my computer iTunes library is empty, I have to move all the content to the library again. And subscribe to all the 39 podcasts again!!!
Next day... everything starts from the beginning!
I've read the support pages for iTunes and found out that my iTunes doesn't save an "iTunes Library" file in the Music/iTunes folder. Instead, it creates hundreds of temporary files (iT 1.tmp, iT 2.tmp, iT 3.tmp, and so on).
It happened before upgrading to iTunes 10 - I upgraded thinking that it could help, but nothing changed.
Anyone had a similar problem? Please help me!

Yes, I moved the iTunes folder to the shared folder
Made an alias and moved it to my Users/myhome/music and removed the alias symbol.
If you moved the entire iTunes folder and created aliases, that would be the reason that iPhoto and iMovie can't find the proper file. You should only have moved the 'iTunes Music' folder
Many applications don't perform well when files are to be opened and stored using an alias.
I'm pretty sure iTunes creates an updated .xml file every time you make changes, but it's at the wrong location for iPhoto and iMovie to find it.
I tried what you did, by moving my (test) iTunes folder to the Shared folder, create an alias, renamed it to 'iTunes' and put it at ./Users/Username/Music.
Neither iPhoto and iMovie were able to find my (test) music files.
Those apps. will only look at ./Users/Username/Music/iTunes for the .xml file and obviously cannot find it using the alias.
I tried the same procedure using a symbolic link (a 'better' alias) and that worked out alright. You can create a symbolic link by using the Terminal (take a look at this brief tutorial), but it's more convenient to use SymbolicLinker. After installing it, you can then easily create a symlink of a file or folder by control-clicking on it and choosing 'Make Symbolic Link' from the contextual menu.
If you want to know more about symlinks in general, take a look at this Wiki or Google for "Symbolic Link Macintosh" (without the quotes) to find more articles.
While symlinks do work in this case (at least on my system), I will give you the link to the article which describes the 'Apple preferred way' to share your music (in case symlinks don't work on your system).
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer tells you two methods. You can use either of them.
M
17' iMac 800 MHz, 768 MB RAM, 200 GB HD, DL burner Mac OS X (10.4.8) iTunes 7.0.2

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TS3494 my iTunes has stopped working on my mac book pro 13" when i try oping it it saysThe iTunes Library file cannot be found or created. The default location for this file is in the "iTunes" folder in the "Music" folder.

my iTunes has stopped working on my mac book pro 13" when i try oping it it saysThe iTunes Library file cannot be found or created. The default location for this file is in the “iTunes” folder in the “Music” folder. i dont know what to do i need my itunes back

Hi pgarard1,
If you are having issues with launching iTunes after an update, you may want to take a look at the troubleshooting in the following article:
iTunes for Windows: Doesn't open after upgrading in Windows Vista or Windows 7
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2363
Regards,
- Brenden

What is causing this? The file "iTunes Library.itl" does not appear to be a valid iTunes library file. iTunes has created a new iTunes library and renamed this file to "iTunes Library (Damaged) 4". This happens everytime I start iTunes lateley. Help!!!

Everytime I open iTunes lately...I get all my music thrown out of the library and this annoying message come up...The file “iTunes Library.itl” does not appear to be a valid iTunes library file. iTunes has created a new iTunes library and renamed this file to “iTunes Library (Damaged) 4”. Is this how an apple works? It doesn't? Why all of a sudden is it doing this? Please help. Thank you.
David

Did you happen to bring this iTunes library over from a windows machine? You might read this kb article to see if it helps http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451

I just upgraded my mac book to 10.6.8 and downloaded the new version of itunes. When I try to open it and error message appears saying, "The iTunes Library file cannot be found or created. The default location for this file is in the "iTunes" folder.

I just upgraded my mac book to 10.6.8 and downloaded the new version of itunes. When I try to open it and error message appears saying, "The iTunes Library file cannot be found or created. The default location for this file is in the "iTunes" folder in the "Music" folder."
I have tried a few things but iTunes closes right after i click okay. Anyone know anything?

Look in your Home > Music folder. There should be an iTunes folder there and it should have a number of files and folders including one called library.itl You want to guide iTunes to that file. If you don't see that file or folder then in your next post you will have to be very specific as to what you do see or how you have your iTunes set up because that's where it should be according to default settings.

"The iTunes Library file cannot be found or created..."

I'm getting this error upon opening iTunes:
When I try to open iTunes with the option key, it asks me to find a library. I can navigate to my library and see the file, but it is grayed out and can't be selected. Prior to this i had been getting an error about iTunes not being able to save the library, but I thought it was coming from my backup app.
Any ideas? I can no longer open iTunes or access my music or videos.
Thanks!

OK.. I finally found an answer buried among a million other posts.
To fix this, click to open the iTunes app and immediately hold down the "Option" key. This will allow you to either create a new iTunes library file, or point the app to where the library is. In my case, I repointed it to the Music>iTunes folder where my library file was and this worked.
This is the link that helped me figure it out:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1589

How can I locate my iTunes library files. When I click on my itunes icon the message appears, "The file iTunes Library.itl." cannot be found because it was created by a newer version of iTunes."

How can I locate my iTunes library files? When I click on my iTunes icon rather than my iTunes files I receive, " The file iTunes Library.itl." cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes." I have already tried to update my iTunes program.

Had same problem and solved it without having to reinstore any music or movies:
1. Delete old Library file
2. Go to the 'Previous iTunes Libraries' folder and copy one of the earlier files - note, they have a date extension, e.g. 'iTunes Library 2011-11-01'.
3. Paste this file in your iTuners folder and rename file by removing the date extension - 'iTunes Library'
You should have all your music and paylists in tact, unless it was a really old previous file.

Just recently getting error message when downloading podcasts. Says "The iTunes Library file cannot be save. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation." Doesn't happen every time. Using Windows 7. What can I do?

Just recently getting error message when downloading podcasts. Says "The iTunes Library file cannot be save. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation." Doesn't happen every time. Using Windows 7. What can I do? The files seem to be there but I don't know if they are being backed up to cloud.

Hi, DickmoAZ.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
This sounds like a permission issue most likely with the iTunes Media folder. Here is an article that will help you troubleshoot this issue.
iTunes: Missing folder or incorrect permissions may prevent authorization
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1277
Cheers,
Jason H.

Why has this occurred The file "iTunes Library.itl" does not appear to be a valid iTunes library file. iTunes has created a new iTunes library and renamed this file to "iTunes Library (Damaged)".

My itunes library suddenly that the file “iTunes Library.itl” does not appear to be a valid iTunes library file. iTunes has created a new iTunes library and renamed this file to “iTunes Library (Damaged)”. I use an external hard drive for my Itunes.

The library file appears to have been corrupted. You say you use your external drive but is the whole library on it or only your media? No matter, you will have to rebuild the library file:
iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1451

Re-create iTunes library files?

Hi
The problem is as follows. I have all my itunes (60 GB) on an external hard drive and I have deleted (don't ask!) my iTunes library and xml files. I want to be able to re-create the library without having to copy the songs from the external drive to my internal hard drive - I dont have enough space on the laptop. What do I do?

Verify in Preferences>Advanced>General if the 'iTunes Music folder location' still points to your music folder on the external drive.
Then choose 'Add to Library...' from the File menu and navigate to the folder on the external drive.
The files already are at the designated location, so iTunes will not create copies.
You will have to re-create all playlist, because they were in the 'iTunes Library' file and are now MIA.
Hope this helps.
M

ITunes library file corrupt after updating?

Just the other day I updated to the latest iTunes software. This is the first time I've tried to use it and it keeps freezing (the swirly rainbow icon) until I eventually have to give up and force quit. My iTunes library is on an external hard drive which has admittedly been taking longer and longer to boot up each time I connect it, I don't know if this is related.
After doing some research on here I created a new test iTunes library on my hard drive and it worked perfectly, so it must be a corrupt library file? I followed the advice on an old thread and replaced the corrupt library file with an older one from December.
It worked....but here's the complication. Since that last backup in December I started using iTunes Match. When I opened the older library file, I saw that iTunes Match wasn't turned on, so I turned it on and it was saying that none of my library had been uploaded to iCloud except for iTunes purchases. I quickly exited, because frankly I couldn't bear the thought of all my library having to be uploaded to iCloud again (it took days and days...and days!). The music is still on the iCloud, but if I open that older version of my iTunes library it doesn't seem to think that it is.
Any idea what I should do?
Thanks for your help

hmmmm. perhaps try running a chkdsk over the drive on which your iTunes library file is stored:
How to perform disk error checking in Windows XP
does that find/repair any damage? if so, do you still get the same message from your itunes?

TS4213 Why can't iPhoto, Pages, Numbers, Keynote and iMovie access my iTunes Library files and Pages, Numbers, Keynote and iMovie access my iPhoto Library files now that I upgraded to '11?

Why can't iPhoto, Pages, Numbers, Keynote and iMovie access my iTunes Library files and Pages, Numbers, Keynote and iMovie access my iPhoto Library files now that I upgraded to '11?
Examples of what is going on:
1. In Pages, Numbers & Keynote, when I go to the media browser the Audio section reads "Open iTunes to populate this list" even after iTunes has been opened, .xml file has been replaced/repaired, etc AND Photo section reads "Open iPhoto to see photos from your iPhoto Library in this list" even after iPhoto Library has been replaced and new default library created.
2. In iMovie, similar thing ... when I go to add photos or music to a movie the iTunes files aren't present and the iPhoto photos are missing with similar messages as in #1.
3. In iPhoto, similar thing ... when I go to add music to a slideshow it says to "Open iTunes to populate this list".
It is shocking to me that Apple would let something as simple as a pathway link to associated library files get this messed up on an upgrade, but what's even more surprising is that with the number of people who seem to be having this particular issue (and I can tell from all the research that I've done for weeks online that there are a lot of them) that there doesn't seem to be a single clear answer to fixing it anywhere on these community support forums. Most of what I've seen is rehashed advice from outdated issues. What I need is a simple answer to how do we get these programs to look for the correct location of the photo and music files because I sure can't seem to find any logical place to do that through the programs' preferences files or the system preferences window?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. Here's the details on the software/hardware:
MacBook Pro
Mac OS X
Version 10.7.5
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
iTunes 11.0.4 (4)
iPhoto '11 9.4.3 (720.91)
iMovie '11 9.0.9 (1795)
Keynote '09 5.3 (1170)
Pages '09 4.3 (1048)
Numbers '09 2.3 (554)

I have the same problem on a new MacBook Pro. I have not been able to access the iTunes library from iPhoto since I got this computer. I looked in the Preferences file and deleted the com.apple.iApps.plist but there was no com.apple.iApps.lockfile so I just deleted the iAPPs.plist and rebooted the computer. Still no iTunes available in iPhoto.
All my music is in iTunes and plays. After reading the above I brought up Pages and I was able to access music and insert a track into a document.
Do you have any suggestions.

ITunes library file ("iTunes Music Library.xml") being trashed and not read

My iTunes music library is being recognized as a .xml file and comes up looking like a Dreamweaver file. It no longer can be loaded in iTunes (grayed out) when loading the app. Can't find the Library.
So iTunes no longer recognizes it, nor does it see the backup on a different drive! I have no idea how it got recategorized. I also check in my Time Machine backup and all the similarly named files show up as the same way (with a Dreamweaver icon). This did occur after a restart of this machine. I see the same problem with a backup of the library on the same machine.
I have not yet opened a new library and tried to import all my music over again. Is that the only viable fix? I remember this problem (or a similar one, I think) happening a year or so back. I didn't know what it was at the time but it caused me a considerable amount of grief with subscribed music not getting reloaded, etc. Is this what I'm in for again???
How can I fix this? Here's what I did so far:
1. Rebuilt Permissions. Here's the log.
+Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”+
+Permissions differ on "usr/share/derby", should be drwxr-xr-x , they are lrwxr-xr-x .+
+Repaired "usr/share/derby".+
2. Checked time machine to see if the folders' icons are the same. They are.
3. Tried to open up iTunes library manually (option+open iTunes). Grayed out.
4. Older backed up libraries show the same icon. Only version 3 or version 4 labelled libraries do not. Version of iTunes is 9.0.2
Henry

Chris CA wrote:
iTunes does not use the .xml file. It is created only for other applications to use the iTunes library.
Try this...
Hold Option and launch iTunes.
Select *Choose library* and select the iTunes library file in \Music\iTunes\ folder.
That's what I've said, Chris. The files that open when selecting the Choose Library are:
Yes they all exist. Also the following files exist:
*iTunes 3 Music Library*
*iTunes 4 Music Library*
*iTunes Music Library (2)*
Is there a pref I can delete somewhere to get rid of these? Copying the files from TIme Machine doesn't fix this.

Why are ITunes Library files stored on Buffalo Pro 1TB NAS being corrupted?

I'm having a flaky problem with the ITunes library files (Mac version) stored on a Buffalo NAS. Frequently, ITunes says the ITunes library file is damaged and creates a new one.
Moreover, there are temp files that ITunes apparntly creates that apparently become the new Library and XML files when ITunes shuts down. Apparently, this is done behind the scenes while ITunes is shutting down, but lately, these files are no longer being renamed or deleted. Often multiple temp files will accumulate.
Lastly, and most oddly, if I try to rename one of these temp files to ITunes Library based on best guess from size and date which is the ITunes Library file, it sometimes works, but it sometimes doesn't. When it doesn't, I will find a "phantom" ITunes Library file and ITunes Library.xml that cannot be selected, opened or deleted. They are greyed out in Finder. Since the file exists, a rename or copy will fail, saying a file already exists with that name, but I can't select it to delete it. Often when this happens, the actual file name seems to "flicker" between temp file and Itunes Library file. If I try to click on ITunes Library, it disappears, but a new temp file instantly appears. If I try to click on the temp file, that disappears and the ITunes Library file appears.
Rebooting the NAS fixes the phantom file problem. I delete all ITunes library and temp files, and reindex from ITunes, but it only starts all over again.
If I do the same process in Windows, ITunes will only find about 10% of my files and then stop. (I have about 16,500 tracks total.) Windows doesn't seem to have any probelms with "phantom" files.
Checks on the NAS disk array show no problems.
Any thoughts?

lmdoc50 wrote:
Had to reconstruct iTunes library.
Yes, but how?

Itunes library does not appear to be a valid itunes library file

i'm importing AIFF files into itunes, converting those to AAC and deleting the original AIFF files. i tried to import an album of AIFF's and received a message that i didn't have enough hard drive space to import so itunes would import as many of the files as it could. i knew i'd get to this point and would have to transfer some files onto my hard drive. however, when i clicked okay, the computer froze. i restarted manually and received the following message after attempting to open itunes "the file 'itunes library 2009-12-06' does not appear to be a valid itunes library file. itunes has created a new itunes library and renamed this file to 'itunes library (damaged)'." i'm not sure why this happened and i can't find 'itunes library (damaged)' anywhere. i have all my music still i just can't get itunes back to the way it was. please help! thanks so much.

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"iTunes Library file cannot be saved". What is this all about?

At regular intervals, when using iTunes, I will click on something, for example the search box and a box will appear saying "the iTunes Library file cannot be saved. You do not have enough privileges for this operation". Can anyone tell me what this is all about? It doesn't seem to have any adverse effect, but it is very annoying.

Well, I"m on a Mac and have the same issue and have not updated to the latest iTunes. I'm still on 8.2.0. The "cannot save iTunes library file" message just started out of the blue more or less when I was trying to figure out why downloads to my iPhone took so long to finish all of a sudden. I moved the preferences file to the desktop so it would create a new one and it was after that that I started getting the message. Now it occurs every time I remove a podcast or make any changes to the library list. Between that annoyance and having to reboot my computer every time I want to update my iPhone because that's the only way to get it to make the sync without it crawling like a snail, I find I"m getting really fed up with the whole thing. There are so many of us with the same problem that you'd think Apple would address it and fix it.

ITunes doesn't create an "iTunes Library" file

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