ITunes Library music has exclamation marks and cannot locate music

Hoping someone can offer some help?
My wife plugged our iPad into the macbook to sync it with iTunes. She isnt exactly sure what she did however now everything song in iTunes has an exclamation mark next to it.
I then went to sync the iPad without pluggin it into the mac and now my iTunes library seems to have just 5 songs in it and these do not have the exclamation mark next to them.
I do have an iPod with a recent update of all the music. Would this help to restore the library? and if so how would I do this.
Thanks in advance.

If you're sure the media are gone then you can try to recover from your iPod.  Purchases you can likely download again from the iTunes Store.
Some of the information below has subsequently appeared in a document by turingtest2: Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991
Your i-device was not designed for unique storage of your media. It is not a backup device and media transfer was planned with you maintaining a master copy of your media on a computer which is itself properly backed up against loss. Syncing is one way, computer to device, updating the device content to the content on the computer, not updating or restoring content on a computer. The exception is iTunes Store purchases which can be transferred to a computer.
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848 - only purchases from iTunes Store
For transferring other items from an i-device to a computer you will have to use third party commercial software. Examples (check the web for others; this is not an exhaustive listing, nor do I have any idea if they are any good):
- Expod (free) - http://www.headlightsoft.com/expod/ - Mac, universal for 104.+ (newer machines try de-Tune)
- deTune (free) - http://www.headlightsoft.com/detune/ - Mac, 10.5+
- Senuti - http://www.fadingred.com/senuti/
- Phoneview - http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/
- MusicRescue - http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/products/musicrescue/
- Sharepod (free) - http://download.cnet.com/SharePod/3000-2141_4-10794489.html?tag=mncol;2 - Windows
- Snowfox/iMedia - http://www.mac-videoconverter.com/imedia-transfer-mac.html - Mac & PC
- iexplorer (free) - http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/ - Mac&PC
- Yamipod (free) - http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/downloads/ - PC, Linux, Mac [Still updated for use on newer devices? No edits to site since 2010.]
- 2010 Post by Zevoneer: iPod media recovery options - https://discussions.apple.com/message/11624224 - this is an older post and many of the links are also for old posts, so bear this in mind when reading them.
Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141 - dates from 2008 and some outdated information now.
Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/ - Information about use in disk mode pertains only to older model iPods.
Get Your Music Off of Your iPod - http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Get_Your_Music_Off_of_Your_iPod - I am not sure but this may only work with some models and not newer Touch, iPhone, or iPad.
Additional information here https://discussions.apple.com/message/18324797

Similar Messages

  • Most of my playlist has ! marks and cannot locate the music 300  songs please help!!!

    I upgraded my phone and recently lost most of my music. it shows on the play list but with exclamation marks. Try to find the "original location" but am unable to please help

    You can do a reverse sync to get playlists from your iPhone to your computer. This user tip should help you with this...
    Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive

  • Moved itunes library to ext drive  now i cannot find music

    i have moved my library to an external hard drive and then deleted content from my computer, now itunes cannot locate library when drive is connected, how do i make itunes work again? i even copied from ext drive back to computer and still no luck, im totally lost

    There is exactly one way to move your library to an external HD.
    If you try it any other way, you will be greeted with exclamation points and other hassles.
    The one way is: Go to preferences and point your iTunes Music folder to the new location. Then run Consolidate Library.
    Also, once you have your library on the external, never start up iTunes without the external being turned on and accessible. Otherwise, iTunes reverts the location to the local drive.

  • My itunes library/playlist has gone after i compressed the music folder unaware of flow on effect.

    Please hekp me reinstate my itunes library and playlists after my attempt to compress the windows music folder to save hard disk space. I have gone back to the music folder and unchecked the compression box and it looks like the music is reapperaing in itunes but none of the playlists, purchased music or apps have appeared. This is very frustrating aspent hours cleanin up unplayed music , old playlists the kids had done and recently purchased a substantial amount of music. I had synced the recent playlisst to my iphone yesterday and am loath to do another sync incase itunes wipes playlists from my iphone. Cn someone please help.

    You can do a reverse sync to get playlists from your iPhone to your computer. This user tip should help you with this...
    Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive

  • File with exclamation mark and cannot connect

    My ipod stopped working. I had a low battery so I charged it. Now when I try to turn it on, it just churns and churns and then the file with exclamation mark comes on the screen. Also, when I try to connect it to my computer, the computer doesn't recognize it.

    Unbelieveable, since last Saturday, I needed to fix up 3 iPods with similar problems from family members and friends, 2 connected with PC and 1 with Mac. I guess it will be a good idea if I can share with you all and hope that it can give you some hints when you try to fix yours before sending it for repairing.
    Before you do anything I suggest that you should read the following carefully..
    http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/index.html
    Most problems came from the iPod not being recongzied by the computer (mainly PC and I find it less often with Mac). Second issue is iPod not being charged for quite some time.
    I must say that I am not an expert but I did learn something during the past experience on fixing for more than 10 iPods but none of them are shuffle.
    The first thing you need to do is plug your iPod directly to the AC charger not the USB of your computer, and leave it for 2-3 hours and most of the time you will able to wake up your iPod.
    Secondly, do a reset of your iPod when it hangs, it is simple just press "Select"+"Menu" keys, which will not erase your data of your iPod.
    In case the above both do not manage to fix your iPod problem then you may force to do the following, but it will erase all your data therefore it is always to be wise to have a backup before your iPod got problem.
    1. Reinstall the latest iPod updater after the reset
    If 1 still not able to recongize your iPod by the computer then you have to put your iPod to DiskMode i.e. plug your iPod to the AC charges, do a RESET and press "Select"+"Play" keys, you will see the message "Disk Mode" in few sec. Then you need to connect your iPod with your computer, and hope that it will be recongized. If you are lucky to reach this stage then you simply need to restore your iPod updater, and your iPod should be back to normal.Please note that You may need to plug and unplug few times in order to let your iPod to be recongized.
    If your iPod still not able to be recongized then you have to format your iPod while it is in a Disk Mode, you need to use the Disk Utility software (for Mac - I am not sure about PC) to erase the Partition of your iPod then do a formatting and disk verify straight after. Then you should able to reach the final stage i.e. restore the latest iPod updater and sysc your iPod with your iTune.
    Additional hints which may help your during the fixing ..
    1. Try to do few attempts, which could take you as long as 1 hour
    2. Try to exchange cables to connect with your computer i.e. USB and Firewire
    3. If you fail to solve your iPod with your PC then try to fix it with Mac and vice versa. Surprisingly, I do have experience that the iPod got recognized by my Mac after I connected it with a PC
    Above are my experience and I am glad that more than 90% chance I am able to solve the iPods' problem with only one iPod Mini needed to be repaired.
    Good luck and hope it works in your case

  • My itunes library has exclamation marks on the whole of my music collection I have to upload my CD's again! does anyone know why and what can I do?

    Help, my itunes library has exclamation marks and will not play.  Do I have to reload my cd's?

    What do you mean by what audio/video formats are involved? These are all files from several digital cameras.
    As previously stated, AVI is a file container. It is somewhat old and its originator, Microsoft, dropped official support of it over a decade ago. However, it remains popular with PC users since almost any valid audio and/or video compression format can be stuffed to the file which synchronizes the content by interleaving the individual audio and video frames. The compression format is the specific manner in which the audio and video data are encoded as it is placed in the AVI container. You can find the compression format by inspecting the file in the Finder "Info" window, or in the "Inspector" window of the QT player (or other media player) if the file can be opened.
    For instance, one popular compression combination would be to place DivX encoded video and MP3 audio in an AVI file container. However, neither DivX nor MP3 is natively supported by the QT player. (Although iTunes will natively support the MP3 audio.) Therefore, people who wish to play such files in the QT 7 Player would normally install either the DivX component or Perian but not both. Either installation will independently play such files in the QT Player, but if both are installed, the file will usually stop working since these two codecs can create a playback conflict.
    However, the AVI container could just as easily contain DV along with DV audio. In this case, the file should play correctly in QT since this compression format is natively supported by the basic component configuration that comes in every current OS installation. Therefore, if such files suddenly stopped playing, this could be an indication that a component has been moved or deleted or that your system or QT embedded structure has become corrupted.

  • Lots of music purchased from iTunes suddenly has exclamation marks

    I turned on my Mac this morning and found that lots of my music - stuff that was purchased from iTunes - suddenly has exclamation marks next to it and I get a message saying that the file cannot be found.
    Since I have Match, surely the system should find the music in the cloud and simply use that to replace the missing files?
    I don't know why they have gone missing - no files have been changed and they were working just fine when I shut the machine down last night.

    Hi
    No it's on one of the internal HDDs in my Mac Pro and seems only to affect random tunes.
    The only way I can find to work around it so far is to delete the tracks from the Mac and re-downoad them from the Cloud.
    Seems very odd and is very irritating.Would be quite useful if I could simply do what  do with my iPhone - access the music from the cloud rather than locally.
    Mind you I still have two tracks from a Led Zeppelin CD of mine that were in the library when I turned Match on and are still listed as 'waiting' and greyed out 7 months later...!

  • I have exclamation marks and itunes cannot find original file?

    I have exclamation marks and itunes cannot find original file. How do I locate original file?

    Check you have your iTunes settings (Edit, Preferences, Advanced) to keep iTunes library organised.
    Your songs should be in your music library in iTunes, iTunes Media, Music. 
    If they are not, start menu, type the name of a song in the box and the list should show you where that is located. 

  • I'm finding that songs that I have imported to Itunes are suddenly showing with "Exclamation" marks and Itunes tells me that the original file cannot be found.  When I tell it to locate the file, it can't do it.

       I'm finding that songs that I have imported into Itunes and played before are suddenly showing an"Exclamation" mark and Itunes tells me that the original file cannot be found.  When I tell it to locate the file, it can't do it.  I went to the Itunes help for locating files, but that still won't do it.  It seems that somehow they are getting deleted, but not by me that I know of.
    Can anyone help me?

    Maybe you rename it. Somehow the path to the songs have changed if not deleted.
    In Finder go to "Macintosh/Users/username/music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music" that's where all your songs located so if those songs are not there you get an exclamation mark. You can delete those entries in iTunes and re-import again.

  • I have moved my iTunes library to a new Windows 7 PC and cannot transfer music from the new iTunes PC to my iPhone. The iPhone only accepts transfers from the original iTunes PC.

    I have moved my iTunes library to a new Windows 7 PC and cannot transfer music from the new iTunes PC to my iPhone 4S. The iPhone will only accept music transfers from the original iTunes PC. I have come to understand that an iPhone can have only one "daddy" iTunes PC, but have not been able to find out how to change the "daddy". I have done a backup of the iPhone, and a "Restore to Original Settings". Then I restored the content using the new iTunes PC. My Apps and contacts, etc. are back on the iPhone, but it still won't accept music from the new iTunes PC.

    What happens when you try to sync the iphone to the new computer?

  • HT4527 My laptop that currently has my itunes library on it is broken and so I can not access it. Is there a way of getting my whole music library put onto a different laptop?

    My laptop that currently has my itunes library on it is broken and so I can not access it. Is there a way of getting my whole music library put onto a different laptop?

    You can have two separate libraries, just do not put them into the same location on the computer. You could also create a new user on the laptop, you, and then you would start out with a blank iTunes library, then just add yours to that. It would also prevent you and your girlfriend from mixing content up unless you share an Apple ID.

  • ITunes library file NOT corrupt but cannot locate music files

    This is a new one... the library file seems to be NOT corrupt. iTunes loads fine and is populated by all the music information and artwork, etc. but when I click to play a tune, it says "cannot locate music". Nothing was moved, nothing has been changed. All my files are in the same location and iTunes shows the correct file path. The only files it can play are four songs that were imported before a massive rebuild of the library occurred the next day!
    Any ideas!!
    Thanks!

    +The only files it can play are four songs that were imported before a massive rebuild of the library occurred the next day!+
    This is probably a big clue, but I don't understand what you mean by it!

  • My itunes says that my ipod is synced with another library when it is not and cannot update or sync without wiping it and all its data

    My itunes says that my ipod is synced with another library when it is not and cannot update or sync without wiping it and all its data
    Can anyone help me

    Syncing to a new iTunes library or computer will erase your ipod. Only if you back up your iPod manually before syncing, you can restore your device from that backup again. A manual backup does not include the sync process.
    Do this:
    Disable autosync in iTunes, connect your iPod to your new computer and right click on it in the device list and choose backup. iTunes will backup your iPod without syncing.
    Transfer your purchases the same way, choosing "transfer purchases" this time.
    All media content will be erased during the first sync, but you can restore your settings and app data from your manual backup afterwards.
    Don't forget to set up at least one contact and event on your new computer to be able to merge calendars and contacts when you sync the ipod for the first time.
    Music is one way only, from the computer to your device, unless you bought the songs in itunes and transferred your purchases.
    There is 3rd party software out there, but not supported by Apple, see this thread:http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2013615&tstart=0

  • Hello, I have a itunes library stored in my computer and i have just sincronized it with another computer, when i want to put the music in my ipod it tells me i have to download it, am i paying for this twice?

    I have a itunes library stored in my computer and i have just sincronized it with another computer. when I try to put the music in my ipo it tells me it has to download it, am I paying for the music twice?

    no see this
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2519
    Peace, Clyde

  • I have an iMac, an iPhone, and a MacBook Pro.  My full iTunes library is on the iMac and iPhone, but only a handful of songs are on my MacBook.  They are all associated with the same Apple ID.  How do I get all of my music on the laptop?

    I have an iMac, an iPhone, and a MacBook Pro.  My full iTunes library is on the iMac and iPhone, but only a handful of songs are on my MacBook.  They are all associated with the same Apple ID.  When I try to sync, I get a warning message stating that I will lose songs on my phone which aren't on the laptop.  How transfer my music from my phone to the laptop?

    Hey kbert73
    I would do a transfer of purchases from the phone and not sync. If you sync then it will want to start over and sync music that is on the MacBook Pro. If you want to transfer the music, check out the article below that will give you multiple options on how to move. I have also provided on how to sync with multiple computers.
    iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
    Using iPhone, iPad, or iPod with multiple computers
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1202
    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
    Regards,
    -Norm G.

Maybe you are looking for