ITunes has deleted my library file twice in one week

A week ago, I opened iTunes to find that my entire library file had been deleted. The files were still on my hard drive but all were missing from itunes. In addition, all of my iPhone apps were gone and all of my podcast subscriptions were deleted. I spent hours restoring everything and now they are gone again. I opened iTunes just now and everything is gone again. I am given a welcome screen as if starting iTunes for the first time. What is going on here?!? Again, all of my files are safe on my hard drive. It is just the library file that seems to be getting deleted.

Once does seem to happen occasionally. Twice suggests active interference. Sony VAIO computers used to ship with their own media managment software that would delete the iTunes library file. It is also possible that AV software might interupt the process by which iTunes updates the database file. Look at your advanced settings to see if you can't exclude the iTunes folder from real-time scanning.
As for restoring things, this method should sort you out...
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. 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.
tt2

Similar Messages

When I update itunes it deletes the library file, and when I restore that file from the previous libraries or my backup, itunes will run but tell me "the iTunes library file cannot be saved. A folder was specified instead of a file" How do I fix this?

When I update itunes it deletes the library file, and when I restore that file from the previous libraries or my backup, itunes will run but tell me "the iTunes library file cannot be saved. A folder was specified instead of a file" How do I fix this?

Hi there Br0x,
You may want to try rebuilding the iTunes library as an initial troubleshooting step. Take a look at the article below for more information.
iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1451
-Griff W.

My iTunes is creating duplicates of playlists and hanging up. running latest version of lion, and iTunes using match and iCloud. please help. I have uninstalled and reinstalled iTunes. deleted all library files and is doing same thing.

I am runing lion and latest version of itunes. I have match on, home sharing on and using icloud. my itunes started hanging up and required me to force quit. then upon restart of itunes and restart of computer itunes would take upwards of 15 minutes to open and was using >90% of CPU and would be lagging in response if responding at all one of the playlists I had created on my ipad had over a hundred copies of the same playlist. after repeated restarts I uninstaled itunes and reinstalled. this didnt rectify the problem. I assumed library file had somehow become corrupt so I deleted library files, reimported all my music and synced with genius and match. and let the computer go over night. when I woke in morning all my music was back but I had all the extra playlists again and itunes is hogging all the cpu and was minimally responsive and hanging up after each click.
I thought this might be a virus or something but installed ESET cypersecurity did a complet scan with no threats found. I am at a total loss and do not know where to go from here. I hope one of you can assist. Thanks!

I had this exact issue. Spent over an hour on the phone with apple support, they couldn't resolve. Here is what I ended up doing, that worked.
1. Turned iTunes match off on all my iOS devices
2. Deleted the offending playlists from the iOS device they originated on
3. Started iTunes, let it run (literally) for an hour before it became responsive. First thing I did, before clicking anywere else was disable iTunes match. If I clicked anywhere, it would clock for another hour.
4. Let iTunes run overnight, by morning it had cleaned out the repeating play lists. This got my Mac/iTunes back to an operable state.
5. Restore iPhones from backup in iTunes.
What was causing my issue was a single playlist that was created on an iPhone, then suddenly showed up with several thousand duplicates on my other iPhone. The culprit playlist did not, for some reason, duplicate itself on my two iPads. Apple support seemed to think it was because the problem iPhone tried to sync the playlist to iCloud over and over again unsuccessfully, then it finally went through and populated the thousands of blank/failed playlists which then tried to propigate to iTunes and my other iOS devices. Seems like a reasonable theory.
I have not yet re-enabled iTunes match. So, no idea what will happen if I decide to go back down that rabbit hole.

Itunes has deleted my library :-(

I just downloaded the latest update to itunes and now half my library has been deleted (the ! shows and says the file cannot be located). I have searched everywhere and can't find the files, even the songs I have purchased from itunes will not play.
I recently got rid of all my old CDs, there is no way I can re import them.
I tried going to the itunes store to re download my purchases but it wouldn't let me do it.
Can anyone help?
Thanks

I've had similar problems with the latest download - it now crashes everytime I try to sync my library - which like your has been depleated.
Fortunately for me I stop my librry on a separate HHD and so I do still have them all safely on the other drive.
As for the iTunes purchase re-download, thats something that needs adding to the stor as I;ve lost a couple of purchases that way as well!
Sorry, I havent actually helped you there have I! lol

My music files etc were all located on my old laptop which was stolen. I have just plugged my iphone in to my new computer and it has deleted all my files. Has anybody got any ideas on how to retrieve the files?

My music files etc were all located on my old laptop which was stolen. I have just plugged my iphone in to my new computer and it has deleted all my files. Has anybody got any ideas on how to retrieve the files?

WINDOWS?
Connect the iPod to your PC. If iTunes starts syncing (ie erasing) your music automatically, hit the X in the upper right hand corner of iTunes display, to the left of the search box, to stop it.
In Control Panel, Portable Media Devices, double-click your iPod.
In the Tools menu -> Options, in the View Tab, check "Show hidden files and folders."
Navigate to the Music folder. On my 'pod, the full path is
Portable Media Devices\NAME of IPOD (F:)\iPod_Control\Music
Select all the music folders, and drag and drop them into a folder on your hard drive, or directly into iTunes.
And you're done! The iPod music folder structure is strange and inexplicable, but once you move your files into iTunes you can set it to automatically organize your folder by artist and album to clean that up. (To do this, in iTunes Edit menu, choose Preferences and in the Advanced tab, check "Keep iTunes Music Folder organized."
might be out of date worth a try

How do I go about deleting mulitple song files all at one time as opposed to deleting them all individually off of the latest version of iTunes

How do I go about deleting mulitple song files all at one time as opposed to deleting them all individually off of the latest version of iTunes?
Also I have tried authorizing my computer to play the songs I purchased off of iTunes when I had an iPhone 4 and it will not allow me to play them whatsoever. I now have an iPhone 5 and wish to load these past song purchases onto my new phone. How do I solve this issue?

what you're missing to export multiple files is the batch export command available in the file menu or by control clicking on the items in the browser. You can export multiple sequences/clips at full resolution with this.
This has been available in fcp for a long long time.
Wow, you are right. Now that you mention it, I can't believe I never noticed that. Thanks.
Only if you have the 'Self-Contained' box checked. Otherwise you'll end up with a reference movie.
Correct. That box is typically checked by default. There are other default settings you could change that would not result in a full-quality version, but what I meant was hitting that option from the pull-down menu, then changing nothing and hitting ok.

For iTunes experts! - My iTunes has been converting WMA files for 11 days!

My question is: If I exit iTunes (i.e. Reboot my computer) and then go back to iTunes, will iTunes continue finishing the conversion process?
My iTunes has been converting WMA files for 11 days now..
It's converting my entire multi-thousand album collection from windows media player into iTunes.
Will it start where it left off?
Or, the dreaded, will it start all over again, causing thousands of duplicates in my new iTunes library?
The ONLY status bar shows the current song, I have no idea which order it's going in or how much longer it has to go.
I understood it would take a long time to convert the thousands of WMA files into iTunes format, but I have no way to know how much longer it will take, or if it's interupted what will happen!
Thanks -
- jb
Message was edited by: jbmanz

Understood. If I quit iTunes before it's done converting the files I had previously selected, it will not continue to convert the WMA's to iTunes format. I will have to re-select the songs I want converted.
Now: What if I select the entire folder (containing all songs, some already converted into iTunes, others not yet converted) - will iTunes RE-Convert songs that it has already converted (therefore creating duplicates in my library)? Or is the software able to recognize that an identical entry is already in its library index?

Itunes 8 deleting the .itl file

My itunes keeps deleting the .itl file, erasing all of itunes knowledge of where my music is, playlists, etc. I tried to downgrade my itunes, my i need the current version for my ipod. If I reimport my library, it will create the file but deletes it when I reboot my computer, if not sooner. Does anyone know why this is happening or how to fix it?
Note: the actual music files are still in the default Itunes folder. None are ever deleted or altered.
Message was edited by: jessem.james

This is the iTunes for MAc forum and your signature shows VGN-CS215J, which happens to be a Sony VAIO (Windows PC).
Sony VAIO services kindly deletes iTunes files.
Go task manager/services/services/ find VAIO content folder watch/right click/stop/right click/properties/ change it from automatic to manual.
Also check Control Panel -> Vaio Content Analyzer Settings.
On the Music tab, uncheck "Analyze Music Files" and at the bottom uncheck your music folder.

I Deleted my Library File

I deleted my library file and all other files from the iTunes folder on my computer.
I save all of my music & photo files on an external hard drive, I thought that everything was being saved there and that I could clean up unnecessary files by deleting the iTunes folder off my computer. I still have all of my music & photo folders on my external hard drive, but I deleted my videos, movies, podcasts, playlists, audio books that were stored on my computer.
The good news is that I still have all of the music, artwork, videos, movies, podcasts, playlists, audio books, photos on my I pod.
What can I do to correct a horrific error of mine?

Bummer. If you haven't a backup or copy in another folder, you're going to have to rebuild it.
You can do it by adding the main music folder from your exHD. No need to add folders painfully one-by-one.
but all your ratings, playcounts, playlists, etc will be gone.

ITunes won't recognize "library files" of playlists and ratings

After a Restore and putting iTunes onto an external hard drive, I can't get iTunes to recognize the library files that have my playlists and ratings.
How do you get the library files (itl and xml) to be recognized after moving all your music and iTunes to an external hard drive?
I just did a Restore on my iPod. Just before that, I had backed up my iTunes folder to an external hard drive and bought a new laptop. After I did the Restore, I was able to iTunes to recognize that my library is now on the external hard drive (to free up space on my laptop). The Apple Genius told me I could get the existing library files to work by just moving them into my iTunes folder on the external hard drive.
But iTunes doesn't recognize that I have any playlists, etc.

I think the library database files have to be in your "My Music" folder under the folder "itunes". I have not found a way of changing this. The music library can be elsewhere, but you need to have itunes do the move to keep the library database files in sync.

ITunes has deleted all my music except for the genre I was listening to yesterday. It has also deleted my purchased movies and all my podcasts and playlists. Grrr

iTunes has deleted all my music except for the genre I was listening to yesterday. It has also deleted my purchased movies and all my podcasts and playlists. Grrr. Is there a way to find it all again???

Hey there MotherMarthaMayhem,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
This article provides information and troubleshooting tips that may help you find the media that recently went missing from iTunes on your MacBook Pro.
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads - Apple Support
Cheers,
-Jason

My itunes is deleting my library extras and genius.

Ever since I downloaded the new version of itunes, I keep loosing all my music. I download it again and as soon as I close itunes it throws my library extras an library genius in the trash and I have to start all over. I have an ipad and iphones and am affraid to sync them. No idea what went wrong, I don't know how to fix it. I've never had problems with an apple product so this is frustrating.
Thanks, Emily

Check out this Apple article -> iTunes creates an empty library file in Windows
Do you have the Sony VAIO Entertainment Platform installed and running on your computer? If you do, it might be conflicting with iTunes.

ITunes has stopped adding mp3 files.

iTunes has stopped adding mp3 files manually via the add file option, this has happened in the last week, it is music I have bought not illegally downloaded. I have the latest software installed, please help, thanks.

Had the exact same problem and turning off match indeed did fix it.
Glad Apple has Match working even better than before...

ITunes Match has deleted my music files. How and Why?

I have used iTunes Match since January 2012 however I have noticed that fewer and fewer of my songs are available on my linked devices (iPhone, iPad). When I go to the iTunes Media Library folder to see the original files, many are missing. Typically there are only 1 or 2 song files in an album folder and the rest are just not there.
On an IOS device the songs still appear in the playlists but if selected it will just jump down the list until it finds a song that it decides it can play.
My iTunes library folder was transferred on to a 2GB network attached Lacie drive as it was too big to put on my MBP Retina in July 2012. Currently I use a 2009 iMac for the main iTunes however it is still pointing to the iTunes folder on the Lacie. MBP and iMac are authorised with iTunes store and Home Sharing is on. MBP is set to use Home Sharing, so is not syncing with Match. Apple TV 2 can also access Match and Home Sharing.
To fix this I am now working my way through a backup from June 2012 and manually checking and synching my 1200 top level iTunes folders. Honestly most album folders have only 1 or 2 tracks so I am copying back all the missing tracks one folder at a time. (iTunes has 14000 songs). I cannot merely replace the corrupt new library with the old library backup as the last 12 mths of acquisitions would disappear.
Further there are tracks that have been renamed and filed incorrectly. I have tracks labelled as Bowie or Daft Punk, in Bowie or Daft Punk playlists that are actually from an album of recordings of bird and animal sounds from sub tropical tropical rainforests. Now that kills the party when Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger crossfades into the sound of the mating call of the green tree frog let me tell you.
I have rematched my library several times over the last 12 months. When moving to the Lacie and MBP, then again when moving to the iMac for iTunes but leaving the files on the Lacie.
It's a big mess that will take me about 12-15 hours of filing to (mostly) fix. I'm up to "J".
Why and how did my original files disappear off my Lacie drive? This software/service should not have those rights.
I am a Mac fan and a college IT Teacher so run a well organised home network and am just at a loss.
Please advise.
MBP Retina 256GB 16GB 10.8.4, iMac 21" 2009 500GB 4GB 10.8.4, iPhone 4s 32GB 6.1.3, iPad2 32GB 6.1.3

iTunes Match does not have the ability to remove local files.
The service operates by comparing the selected iTunes Library with the iTunes Store content and 'matching' or 'uploading' - it is very straightforward a 'match' provides equivalent access to iTunes Store content as a recognised 'purchase'; upload simply copies a 256k AAC variant into the cloud. There are no elements of this activity that can erase the local library content.
Would suggest you explore possible alternative causes of file loss. Given the pattern described of selective deletion, leaving many Songs intact - would suggest making at least 2 secure offline Song file backups and starting the library again from a fresh install of iTunes once a thorough sweep of the system has been completed for virus. It is also worth assessing the physical security of the system - who has access & with what privileges.
To access Songs from the cloud, you would have to manually delete the Song from the library or open an empty library - so even when accessing content, iTunes Match provides no local deletion capability.

My iTunes has deleted my music library- how do you fix?

I tried importing a disk into my iTunes library, and it asked me to name the file. So I did, but now my iTunes has that name displayed on the top and all my music and playlists are gone. I tried uninstalling and re-installing, but it didn't fix the issue. How do I revert back so I can have access to all my songs, videos, books, etc? HELP!!

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. 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.
Given your iTunes windows is currently showing up with the wong name you will need to hold down shift as you start iTunes, then click the option to Choose a library and navigate to the correct file. Should all be good now, 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!
tt2

ITunes has deleted my library file twice in one week

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