Itunes library damaged - help!

My Itunes library became damaged today. All of the sudden I have only 158 songs in my library instead of over 4000 and all of my playlists are gone. There is a "damaged" Itunes library icon in my music folder now which was created at 10:45 this morning and modified at 1:16p.
Also my IPhoto has been acting strangely for the last couple of weeks. I've had to recreate my photo library a couple of times over that time and some of my photos have disappeared altogether. I downloaded the IPhoto Manager program last night and had some luck with it but I'm wondering if these issues are somehow related.
Thanks for you help.

Restore that backup you take regularly... Ah, OK.
*Empty/damaged 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* as *iTunes Library (Empty)* and then rename the restored file as *iTunes Library*. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See Music Folder Files Not Added and Super Remove Dead Tracks for clean-up tools , if required.
tt2

Similar Messages

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

Ipod will not show up, in iTunes library please help.

Ipod will not show up, in iTunes library please help.
I just updated to the newest version of ITunes well, not just but a few days ago. Anyway I have windows 8, and in ITunes my Ipod 5th gen will not show up. I have tried somethings such as unpluging repluging, going to services and restarting, basiclly everything on yoyutube, none still work. It's ***** to cause I just wanted to put music on my Ipod, if anyone has an idea of what to do please give some suggestions.
Thank you, for trying to help.

Hello Stephen19wfwake,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
For more information on this, take a look at:
iPod: Appears in Windows but not in iTunes
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1363
1. Try the iPod troubleshooting assistant:
If you haven't already done so, try the steps in the iPod Troubleshooting Assistant (choose your iPod model from the list).
If the issue remains after following your iPod's troubleshooting assistant, follow the steps below.
2. Restart the iPod Service
3. Restart the Apple Mobile Device Service
4. Empty your Temp directory and restart
5. Verify that the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver is installed
6. Change your iPod's drive letter
7. Remove and reinstall iTunes
8. Disable conflicting System Services and Startup Items
9. Update, Reconfigure, Disable, or Remove Security Software
10. Deleting damaged or incorrect registry keys
Best of luck,
Mario

AHH iTunes Library (damaged).itl?

I found a couple of posts about this problem but it was nothing very recent, nor anything very helpful. :/
(read: i'm not very good at computers, and i really don't know what you mean by 'just restore it'. so, step-by-step you're-an-idiot guides are good for me.)
I tried opening up iTunes, and it told me my library file was corrupt. It then started to import my library XML file. When my library loaded, of my <8000 songs and <30 movies, it left only 400 songs. I'm not computer savvy at all and I reallllly don't understand the problem iTunes is having?
My iTunes folder has the following three files in it --
iTunes Music Library.xml
iTunes Library.itl
iTunes Library (damaged).itl
I guess what's aggravating is that I lost all my playcounts/ratings/playlists.
I tried recreating my iTunes library using this guide -- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451 -- but I'm guessing the .xml file is bad, because it only imported twelve songs. What should I do? My knee-jerk reaction is to reinstall iTunes, but that would mean I'd have to import and reorganize alllll my music files regardless. Why is iTunes treating me like crap? Was it something I did? D;
null

See what these setting are on your PC, I found it in a post by forum regular b noir. It has helped folks not get that damaged library message.
+Right-click "My Computer", and select "Properties". Click the "Advanced" tab.+
+Under "Performance", click the "Settings" button. Go to the advanced tab in the window that that brings up.+
+Make sure under "Memory usage" that you've got "Programs" selected rather than "System Cache".+
As for what you can do NOW, since the XML file isn't getting things rebuilt properly and there are no previous libraries? If you have an iPod, you can try getting ratings and stuff off of it using a 3rd-party program. I haven't used one so can't recommend any.
If you don't have an iPod, I'm afraid all you can do is start from scratch. Drag all your music from Windows Explorer into the main itunes library window.
In the future, make regular copies of that ITL file. I put mine on a USB drive, and an external hard drive. I wouldn't want to lose 4 years of ratings and playcounts either.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660

ITunes library damaged itl, preventing iTunes download to new MacBook Air

I have a new MacBook Air. It's great. PC to MAC upgrade by my company IT organsiation very smooth,
I am trying to put iTUNES onto it. I already have iPAD2, iPhone3, and iPOD Touch running it fine.
It appears a previous problem on my PC has found its was to me MAC. A number of 'iTunes Library (Damaged) itl.' files sit within my iTUNES. Consequently, when I try to put iTUNES on my Mac, it refers to the damaged itl files, and suggests a software upgrade.
I have since updated all software on the MAc, btu still have the problem.
Has anyone had this problem and can help?
Thanks

Have the exact same problem.
When I started itunes it suddenly started importing library and then complained that the library was damaged and saved a copy to (iTunes Library (Damaged).itl). ALL my playlists and automated playlists are GONE!!!!
I want straight answers from Apple now, how do I fix this problem that you have direct responsibility for due to poor programming????
And why did this problem appear out of nowhere for no apparent reason??????
I have spent YEARS on my library sorting into playlists and so on.

Making my iTunes Library (damaged) my iTunes library again

So my operating system crashed, and when I restarted the computer, everything was back to normal, but when I went to open my iTunes, it was taking forever to load my iTunes library. I finally just hit Stop and was going to try it again, but then it started really quickly going through a bunch of albums and at the end said that my iTunes Library was renamed iTunes Library (damaged) and then it opened up iTunes with none of my playlists (I had 40+) and only 9,363 songs (before I had almost 22,000). All my music files are still there, but it's just I can't get it to load my old iTunes Library file, which I don't think is actually damaged. Can I tell iTunes to use the "damaged" file somehow? Is there another way to get back my playlists and to have it show all my music in iTunes again besides dragging and dropping my iTunes Library folder into iTunes (which would not give me back my playlists)?
Thank you so much for any help!

Sigh I just found out about holding down the option key while opening iTunes to choose a library, and it turns out my iTunes Library (damaged) file is actually damaged. Is there another way for me to recover my playlists and put my songs back into iTunes? Thanks!

ITunes Library Damaged, lost playlists

Hi, we were running iTunes on my wife's computer. The iTunes Library was damaged. When iTunes came up again, the playlists were lost. I was able to recover the playlists, and wanted to share how.
I looked at the Apple help page
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451
which gave me some ideas. I also looked at this thread for Mac users, especially this post:
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ipod-hardware-accessories/60549-damaged-itunes- library.html#post650277
We were running older copy of iTunes. Sorry, I didn't note which version.
I used the "Help / Check for Updates" feature in iTunes to upgrade to the current version (9.0.1.8). (Warning - reboot required - but this is Windows XP...
I brought up the new iTunes version to make sure it would come up OK. It did, but the playlists were still missing.
I shut down iTunes, then went to the folder "My Music / iTunes". I created a copy of the "iTunes Library (Damaged).itl" file, just for future reference. I then created a Temporary folder and moved all of the "iTunes Library" files into the Temp directory, with the exception of the damaged .ITL file. So I moved the other ITL files, ITDB files, and XML files into the temp directory.
I then renamed the "iTunes Library (Damaged).itl" file to the normal name of "iTunes Library.itl" .
I then crossed my fingers and restarted iTunes. It worked. It said something about recovering the library and showed a progress bar. When it completed, all the music and playlists appeared to be restored and OK.
Inquiring minds may ask why I didn't just use a recent copy of the iTunes Library from the folder "Previous iTunes Libraries". I have no idea why, but iTunes was not creating regular backups of the library in that folder. The most recent versions were from 2008 - which wouldn't have been much help.
I hope this helps some other folks recover their "Damaged Libraries" and playlists. Good luck!

I also considered using these tools to recover the playlists from my wife's iPod. Thankfully, that wasn't necessary.
iDump - see http://download.cnet.com/iDump/3000-2169_4-10407429.html
Pod to PC - see http://www.podtopc.com/

ITunes Library (Damaged) - no music left

I was importing some music from a CD when the power went out in my house. When the power came back on and I restarted my Mac and iTunes I received an error message saying that the iTunes Library is Damaged and that it will create a new library.
So now when I open iTunes there is NOTHING left. I see the old library in my iTunes folder "iTunes Library (Damaged)" but have no clue as to how to get it fixed and get my music back. Help please!

Try these steps adapted from a previous post:
- Restart iTunes holding the Shift key in Windows, Option key in Mac.
- Select Choose library. Select the library in the folder "iTunes Library (Damaged)".
This might help too:
How to recreate your iTunes Library
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93313

How do I fix an Itunes Library (Damaged) on a Mac with all current software and udates?

I have lost my main Itunes Library. I have one now that came straight from the music in my phone. All playlist are gone. 75 gigs of music are gone. the only music availible to me is the music that was in my phone. down to 15 gigs I have found a file that says "Itunes Library (Damaged)" but I can't do anything with it. Of course Mac wants $ to fix it. Is there anything I can do to remedy this disaster? Running Imac with OS X 10.8.2, Iphone 4 w/ios6 and original Ipad with all updates. The Iphone seems normal but is missing all playlist. It reorganized the music. The Ipad has no music and over half the Apps have disappeared.
HHHHHHHEEEEEEEELLLPPPPPP! Please!

Assuming you have AVG then yes, a second patch has apparently been released to day which may resolve the issue. See this post for general advice.
If you don't see the .itl file extension then don't add it to the filename of the renamed file.
iTunes Library 2012-09-22.itl > iTunes Library.itl
iTunes Library 2012-09-22 > iTunes Library
My advice has generally been aimed at Windows users, but if you have AVG on a Mac and that too suffers from this issue then it is worth nothing that at one point the iTunes Library on a Mac was stored without any extension. If you match the name of the empty library file you are replacing it should work.
tt2

ITunes Library (Damaged)

Hey guys, using windows i got a blue screen error. booted my PC back up and opened iTunes. a small window come up about the library. i ignored it as i thought it'd say 'Find the directory' or something, but it just went i had no songs in my library. My Library is now damaged. NOT The .Xml File Just The .itl File.
<3 Thanks

Also, when i try to add ANY Library it says
'The File 'iTunes Library (Damaged).itl' cannot be imported because it does not appear to be a valid exported file.'

Repair itunes library (damaged) file. Multiple iTunes libraries on an external harddrive. All libraries have been working fine. Do some "housecleaning" on a one of the large libraries 296GB. iTunes quit and now has damaged file. 296 GB still on HD.

How to repair itunes library (damaged) file. Multiple iTunes libraries on an external harddrive. All libraries have been working fine. Do some "housecleaning" on a one of the large libraries 296GB. iTunes quits and now has damaged file. 296 GB still on HD.

The duplication is unnecessary. Exporting creates a duplicate of the file. So now you'll have a duplicate of a duplicate. Exporting is not "working on" a file.
No it's not merging, it's exporting from one to the Finder and into another. No matter what lose something. If you export the Original you leave behind all the work you've done in iPhoto. If you export anything else, you lose the non-destructive editing and the ability to revert to the original. With merging you preserve that work. Yes, you can trash the old Library when you have completed the manoevre but no it's not the same thing as merging.
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue. But in brief:
Current gets you the iPhoto Preview, used for sharing via media browsers. It's a jpg, medium quality missing metadata. Original gets the file you imported, unchanged and then you can export different version of the current version at different qualities. If you choose to export anything except the Original you do not get a Raw. There's no such thing as an "edited Raw", and you lose the connection between the original and the exported version. That means you've taken a non-destructive workflow and turned it into a destructive one.
The Tiff will certainly be higher qulaity and less likely to suffer generational loss in future editing but the file sizes are vast, often more than 10 times the size of the jpeg.
Put it this way, it would be cheaper to buy Library Manager than the disk you'll need to contain all the Tiffs. Unless you plan on a lot of editing, I'd go for a high quality jpeg as a reasonable compromise.
To be clear:
So, I guess my new question is, how can I edit the Raw image and keep it in a RAW format that IPhoto recognizes so that I can reprocess without any loss at a future time, or is it that once you edit a RAW image, then it is no longer a RAW image?
Once you edit a Raw it can no longer be a Raw. End of.

My itunes won't launch even after reinstalling. Looked in itunes folder and somehow lost itunes library? HELP!

My itunes won't launch even after reinstalling. Looked in itunes folder and somehow lost itunes library? HELP!

The first thing I'd suggest is to get a good antispyware checker and give it a go at your system. Some recent spyware has been reported by other users to shut down iTunes or prevent it from launching. From user reports, Ewido seems to be the best at catching it. You can download a free version of Ewido here.
If that doesn't cure the problem, try deleting the iTunes preference files:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref
and
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Data\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref
You might have to turn on "show hidden files" to find them. (Right click "my computer", select open, select Tools menu -> Folder Options. Select View tab, "show hidden files" radio button is in the center scrolling panel.) Delete them or if you want to be able to put them back if it doesn't help, drag them to some other location. This will force iTunes to run the setup assistant the next time you launch iTunes. Note that you'll have to go back and set any preferences you've changed from the default.
If that still doesn't work, try this:
Bugie: Perform a Thorough & Complete Uninstall and Reinstall of iTunes/QuickTime.
Hope this helps.

ITunes Library Error - Help Please

Hi All,
I'm new to this forum and have only had my iPhone 4 for a handful of weeks now.
I'm running the latest iTunes software on Windows XP and all has been fine till this morning....I went to open up iTunes and got a message to say that the iTunes Library had an error...of which it saved the damaged file and reloaded the library....however I am missing all my Podcasts/Apps etc.....
I can see the file iTunes has tried to load which is now listed as iTunes Library (Damaged) and the file type is still an iTunes Database File.
I can still find all the Podcasts/Apps/iTunes purchases within the iTunes folders but can anyone assist me with getting my iTunes Library back to where it was?
Many Thanks
Jason

Hi Katrina S.
Many thanks for replying. I have been messing around with it and I found the following solution:
I deleted the new iTunes Library that was created today and renamed the damaged file back to the original name. Once this was done I relaunched iTunes and my library was back to normal.
Cheers - Jason

My computer The File "itunes library.til" does not appear to be a valid iTunes library file. iTunes has attempted to recover your itunes library and renamed it to "iTunes Library (Damaged itl)"

My computer crashed when I was using Itunes. I got everything up and running and got this message "The File “itunes library.til” does not appear to be a valid iTunes library file. iTunes has attempted to recover your itunes library and renamed it to “iTunes Library (Damaged itl)” Everything loads up put in takes 10 min. then my music playlists are deleted everytime I turn Itunes on. What can I do to solve this problem? Thanks.

Hi shyanne23,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. If your iTunes library file has become damaged in some way, you may want to try recreating your iTunes library and playlists by following this article:
iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1451
Cheers,
- Ari

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

Itunes library damaged - help!

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