ITunes Library/ Startup Disc Full ...Help Needed!!!

My computer is sending me two messages this week. That my starup disc is full and now "The iTunes music library cannot be saved. The disc you are attempting to use is full. Please delete some files to fix the problem."
I have an 100 GB external hard drive that I thought I was using to keep all of my iTunes songs. (22.54 GB worth).
I went into my Hard Drive and erased one song.
Then went to iTunes and got the exclamation point next to it. The original file could not be found.
I really don't want to erase thousands of songs to get my Mac running more quickly, especially after buying an external HD.
Can anyone tell me how to fix my situation?
Many thanks in advance

Seattle >
Sorry for entering this story late and potentially muddying the waters, but I'm here in sunny Guildford so was asleep when you asked the question and I don't want you to make the same 'mistake' that I did.
Everything the previous posters have told is correct and you can follow their instructions so long as you are certain that you will never use your iTunes library in a non-standard way.
Let me explain: as my screen-name suggests, I am an aficionado (and reseller of) Sonos' Digital Music System and a fine system it is as well. However, if you use Sonos with an iTunes library where the user's home directory is not on the same partition as the iTunes music library (as is the case with the standard solution suggested herein), one key function does not work, namely Imported Playlists presumably because the Sonos software is unable to make the association due to some subtle complexity in the way the XML files are populated.
If you do see yourself ever using a solution like Sonos, the better option is to create a user account (e.g. Media) whose home area is also on the external disk, and then everything works as you would hope.
If you decide to go down this route, please e-mail me and I'll send you the instructions for migrating a home area.

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How to tell which items are in iTunes library on disc but not in program library?

I made a mistake the other night and I deleted some items from my iTunes library ... but NOT from disc.
These items are still in my 65 gig iTunes library on disc. Somewhere.
I'd like to re-add these songs. Is there any way to tell which songs in the iTunes library on disc are not in the iTunes program library?
I don't want to have to add all 65 gigs again and then remove all the duplicates
thanks!

You should try dragging some files already in the library into iTunes to see what happens. I just did, and the new iTunes 10.6 seems to be ignoring them. I then made a copy of a file already in the library, and I added both it and the original by dragging and dropping. Only the new file was added. There was no warning about duplicates in either test. So you may be able to drag your whole library back into iTunes.
For when you do want to determine what files on disk aren't in the iTunes library or vice versa, here's one way to do it (if there's an easier way, I'm all ears):
Export your library as a playlist to a text file.
Use a program that can recursively list all your files on disk as full paths and save its output to a text file.
Load the into a decent text editor. I use Notepad++. Then use a regexp search/replace to tidy up the files so that both consist of one fully qualified filename per line.
Sort the files.
Diff the files and examine the differences.
I can do both 4 and 5 in Notepad++.

I accidentally synced my mum's brand new iPad to my mac book air. A few days later I realised that my iTune library on my mac is completely gone. So is my iPhone 4s after I synced it with my mac. How do I get my old iTunes library back? Please help!

I accidentally synced my mum's brand new iPad to my mac book air. A few days later I realised that my iTune library on my mac is completely gone. So is my iPhone 4s after I synced it with my mac. How do I get my old iTunes library back? I tried using icloud on my iphone but it stated that I have never back up my phone before. So I guess my iCloud data is gone too? But I have back up my mac in my harddrive using time machine. So how do I get my old itune library back? Please help! Thanks!

1) ensure iTunes is authorized for your iTunes store account(s)
2) connect your device and right-click or control-click it in the iTunes Source list, then choose transfer purchases from the shortcut menu that appears.
3) sync the device
iTunes will wipe the iPhone but, since you transferred your purchases in the previous step, your content will be in your library and you can re-populate the iPhone with it.
above works for purchases from the iTunes store. for everything else, check out this post by Zevoneer.

I upgraded to iTunes 10.5 and now I can't back up iTunes library to disc. In previous versions it was in file library backup to disc. In iTunes 10.5 that is gone!

I upgraded to iTunes 10.5 and now I can't back up iTunes library to disc. In previous versions it was in file>library>backup to disc. In iTunes 10.5 that is gone!

Some of us have our enture itunes library backed up on CD/DVD - what a waste of time and effort as now presumably you can't use these discs to restore itunes on a new computer! WHY NOT APPLE?
Very unimpressed with itunes 10.5/ios5 - wifi tracking apps have been removed from the store (and won't function in ios5), it's impossible to sync photos (I have spent a whole day trying to sync my iphone 3GS with itines 10.5) to no avail and now, no CD backup facility.
I have never had problems with apple before - I was thinking of upgrading my whole system from PC to Mac but now I am doubtful - if this is typical of apple software, I will stay with windows!

My ipod has 2500 songs on it but when I plug into PC my itunes library only has 1600 - help ??

My ipod has 2500 songs on it but when I plug it into my PC - the itunes library only shows 1600 - HELP !!

You had a glitch and the music files got corrupted. I know of no way to uncorrupt them.
You can try using a computer app like iFunbox
http://dl.i-funbox.com/
to see if yo can get them from the iPod in a usable file.
Otherwise you will have to re import them to your computer and sync
You can redownload most iTunes purchases by:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

HT1349 I am unable to play the tunes in my iTunes Library. Can anyone help, please?

I am unable to play the tunes in my iTunes Library. Can anyone help, please? I've checked the obvious things, like the PC volume control.

Try connecting the device to your iTunes library in recovery mode and restoring it. Use the instructions in this Apple support document to place the iPod into recovery mode.
iOS: Unable to update or restore
B-rock

Backing Up iTunes Library to Disc

i recently tried backing up my Entire iTunes Library to disc, but i left the computer and it went to Sleep during the backup process, and the disc was ejected. now each time i try to backup, i get an error message saying the "burning was unsuccessful". i tried restarting the computer and iTunes, but nothing is allowing me to complete the backup. what can i do?

Depends on the disk you use. With a dvd it takes about 4.7 gig to fill one. So that would be about seven disc. I always have a back up on disk and one on my external hard drive.
Mort

Backing up Itunes Library to Disc Problem. Help!!

Whenever I try to back up my library to a disc, Itunes says "please insert a blank disc." I've inserted 10 blank disc (just purchased) and Itunes says the disc is not blank. However, when I put the same disc in another computer it list it as a blank disc. Please help!! Thanks in advance. Rod
Dell XPS 1210 Windows XP

Have a look at this article in the Apple Knowledge Base, in particular the bottom section Inability to use CDs and let us know if it helps you resolve your problem.

Error message - "The iTunes Library file is full could not be saved" - Help

Hi folks.
I looked for current / recent chatter on this iss before creating this topic. Didn't see anything that addressed this issued recently. If I missed it, sorry, if not, here you go!
I got an error message last night while using iTunes. It just popped up during use, not while using. The error message read "The iTunes Library File could not be saved." Now my hard drive is DEFINITELY not full. I have hundreds of gigs of unused space. This appears to be an issue strictly related to my library.xml file. Stupidly, I clicked the don't show me this again and closed the message. My concern now is that I'll rip new content that won't end up in my iTunes library even though it's on my hard drive, thus that content will not be findable by iTunes.
I don't want to just rebuild the library from scratch as I have fixed tons of errors in how iTunes classifies my music over the years and all that work would be lost.
Any ideas on how to get past this glitch?
I noticed this problem also cropped up circa the original iPhone launch. I had that phone and did not experience this prob, and I just upgraded to the 3G four days ago. It makes no sense to me that the phone is causing this, but perhaps the upgrade to the iTunes version 7.7 (necessary to use the iPhone with my Windows computer) is the cause of the prob.
I did erase a bunch of videos and unsubscribed to several video casts. That was one recommended solution way back when.
My concern though is that since I chose the don't show me this error message again option, I won't know whether the problem persists or not.
Oh the humanity...

I have seen this a few times, usually when other 3rd-party applications are using itunes. Such as, lastfm & the Tivo remote music player.
And, I've also seen it when I was copying a bunch of digital photos to the exHD in the background while playing music and the song changed. iTunes saves the playcount in the ITL file when the song ends.
You might check this Microsoft article about "Enable write caching on the disk". I haven't seen that iTunes error since I turned mine back on for the exHD. The Tivo "delayed write failed" errors are back, but that's a different problem...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;330174
Anyway, long story short, it gets saved OK later and I make frequent backups of that ITL file.

On startup itunes library empty!! - help

A friend called me just now he's a new Mac user on an inherited ibook G3, 10.3.9. He started up his ibook today and the itunes library is empty. Understandibly he is freaking out and learnig the lesson of reasons to have a good backup strategy.
However - I remember reading a post some time ago ( which I can't find now) that pointed out that the contents of itunes has not been delelted in reply to a similar post - is that the case?
Help would be appreciated.

mmy friend resolved it somehow...

IMAC deleted all photos, itunes library, and other files! need help on how to recover lost files. everything else is working fine.

After installing the current update for the Mac I noticed that all my pictures, Itunes library and some apps and other files disapeared from the computer. Anyone know any voodoo to bring them back?

rccharles on file recovery...
"Stellar Phoenix Macintosh - Mac data recovery software, recovers data from damaged, deleted, or corrupted volumes and even from initialized disks."
They have a trial version, so I guess you can see if your data can be recovered...
http://www.stellarinfo.com/mac-data-recovery.htm
FileSalvage is an extremely powerful Macintosh application for exploring and recovering deleted files from a drive or volume. FileSalvage is designed to restore files that have:
    * been accidentally deleted.
    * become unreadable due to media faults.
    * been stored on a drive before it was re-initialized/formatted.
http://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id= 1
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11073082#11073082
Your best bet for repairing you HD is DiskWarrior from Alsoft...
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
If that shouldn't work, your best bet for recovering your data is Data Rescue II...
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php

How to make room when startup disc full?

I have been getting pop-up warnings that my startup disc is almost full or full. It says to delete files but I don't know how to go about this nor do I know what is safe to delete. Would someone be able to help guide me through this?

More info overload.....
Quick fix How To Quickly Free Up Hard Drive Space on Mac OS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO-mlLApEuk
Empty the trash in the Dock as well as iPhoto’s trash!
Open up your application folder & go through all your apps. Trash all the apps you no longer want and/or use.
An easier way to do this is to open the Application folder in list view & press the Command+j keys.
In the the dialog that appears, click the "This Window Only" button & the "Calculate All Sizes" check box.
Wait a bit until your file & folder sizes have all been calculated, then click the "Size" column to sort your apps from the fattest to the most anorexic.
Get rid of all your photo files you don't want and/or need. Same goes for those pics off the websites you downloaded (gifs, jpegs, etc.). Or transfer/move them all to a photo/movie storage site like ImageShack and Photobucket, 2 of the most popular FREE storage sites.
Get rid of all your video & music files you no longer view and/or listen too. Especially, if you already have the actual CD/DVDs or you can later redownload from a website. Or transfer them all to a FREE video/movies and/or music storage site.
Use Spotlight to make sure you got rid of everything. You can even trash directly from Spotlight! Better yet, download this FREE software called Find File. This app puts Spotlight to shame (works w/Mountain Lion).
Drag what you don't want and/or need to the trash. Better yet, download this neat little shareware app *demo* called AppZapper. It basically does all the work for you by not only trashing the apps but the apps preference files, caches & all its associated files.
Another software that does the above is AppDelete. Best of all this software is free!
Burn what you want and/or need onto CDs or DVDs. Not everyone has the luxury of purchasing an external HD and/or the system requirements for iCloud to store their "stuff.”
Dropbox is a free storage utility to check out.
You can check with your ISP to see if they offer *free* storage space. Most if not all do now-a-days. There are thousands if not millions of *free* storage facilities on the web also. Use your favorite search engine to search them out as they come in different storage sizes to fit your needs & wants.
Check for duplicate fonts.
Applications>Font Book
Select “All Fonts”
If you see any “black dots” next to any fonts this mean you have duplicates and/or multiple versions of these fonts.
To clean this up, select a “black dotted” font or the Apple + *click* to select multiple dotted fonts;
Edit>Resolve>Duplicates.
What the above does is turns off the duplicates & multiple version fonts. Not delete them.
More than likely the “extras” were installed by other programs and/or other users.
Clear out font caches
Use FontNuke. It does all the work for you. And, best of all it’s *FREE*.
Printer Drivers
Get rid of all the printer drivers you don’t need & use except the ones for your *current* printer(s)/scanner(s).
HD>Library>Printers Folder
If you accidently threw something out that you needed for your printer/scanner it can be easily obtained from the manufacturer’s website and/or from the CD that came w/the printer/scanner.
Garage Band
Has about 1GB of loops stored. Get rid of some some them. You surely don’t use, like and/or need them all.
HD>Library>Audio/Apple Loops>Apple>Apple Loops For GarageBand
Or just get rid of the Garage Band app altogether if you don’t use it.
Get rid of extra languages
Strip your computer down to your “native” tongue.
You can do this with a *FREE* utility called Monolingual. Another app that apparently does all the work for you. I’ve never used it. However, a lot of users here swear by & recommend it highly.
However, there is a warning for *native English speakers*. Make sure you keep BOTH English and English (United States).
Other Resources:
HD Space Checkers:
Disk Inventory X (FREE)
WhatSize (SHAREWARE)
OmniDiskSweeper (FREE)
GrandPerspective (FREE - donation)
==================
Mac Performance Guide
Slimming your hard drive
Rule of thumb: You should never let your hard drive get to where you have only 10-15% of space left.

How can I get the songs from my iPod on to my new iTunes library?!! Help!!

So I've looked on all the support pages but I've got a feeling there is nothing that can be done with this, hopefully someone can help!
We moved to the US and while our computer was being sent over it got water damaged so I lost all of my itunes library. And I didnt back it up properly. So I want to know if there is anyway to transfer all the songs from my ipod onto our new itunes library, or if i can somehow get my ipod songs on to disc and then import them?? I really don't want to lose all my songs, so if anyone can help I'd be very grateful!!

Connect your iPod to your computer. If it is set to update automatically you'll get a message that it is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press "Cancel". Pressing "Erase and Sync" will irretrievably remove all the songs from your iPod. When your iPod appears in the iTunes source list change the update setting to manual, that will let you use our iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. Check the "manually manage music and videos" box in Summary then press the Apply button. Also when using most of the utilities listed below your iPod needs to be enabled for disc use, changing to manual update will do this by default: Managing content manually on iPod and iPhone
Once you are safely connected there are a few things you can do to restore your iTunes from the iPod. If you have any iTunes Music Store purchases the transfer of purchased content from the iPod to authorised computers was introduced with iTunes 7. You'll find details in this article: Copying iTunes Store purchases from your iPod or iPhone to a computer
The transfer of content from sources such as songs imported from CD is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, this is just a small selection of what's available, they are generally quite straightforward. You can read reviews and comparisons of some of them here:
Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
Comparison of iPod managers
TuneJack Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod2PC Windows Only
iDump Windows Only
SharePod Windows Only
iPodRip Mac & Windows
YamiPod Mac and Windows
Music Rescue Mac & Windows
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows
Floola Mac & Windows
iGadget Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
There's also a manual method of copying songs from your iPod to a Mac or PC. The procedure is a bit involved and won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's available on page 2 at this link: Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide
Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync. I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up, relying on an iPod as your sole backup is not a good idea and external drives are comparatively inexpensive these days, you can get loads of storage for a reasonable outlay.

How to restore a backed up iTunes library from discs?

I had backed up my iTunes library a while ago (more than a couple years) on CDs as Apple "demanded" at the time. Now I find that I need to restore my library to iTunes on the computer, and lo and behold, restoration doesn't work in the same manner anymore. Apparently, the process used to be quite simple; you inserted the discs, iTunes would ask if you wanted to restore the backup to the library and voila, the library was restored. I'm not exaggerating when I write that I have been looking for a solution for hours and have yet to find any instructions to remedy this problem. Any help (specific instructions) would be greatly appreciated.
Using Windows XP, Dell, and iTunes 11.4.0.18
Thanks.

This is what I always do (and believe me, it's been done many times):
1. Quit iTunes.
2. Locate the current iTunes library (this assumes that you have used iTunes since your old lib got damaged). You can use find to do this, the current lib will be the one that's been modified last (so if you last used iTunes on September 22nd and quit afterwards, the library should show that it's been modified 22/9).
3. It'll probably be named just as 'iTunes library.xxx' (can't remember the file ending now). Now, back up the backed up library (you can never be too sure) and when done, change its name to be identical to your current, pathetically small library.
4. Move the old library to the folder where the new one is. The system will ask whether you want to replace the the existing library with the same name, and of course you will want to.
5. Start iTunes anew and you should have your old library back.

Startup disc full after file transfer from old mac

Hi everyone,
I had a Macbook pro that was about 6 years old until I bought a new Macbook Air. I tried to transfer my files via the migration assistant but it didn't work, so I backed everything up onto an external hard drive and then transferred everything via that onto my new macbook air. All the files saved onto my desktop in a file called "Olivia's MacBook Pro", but none of the files are directly linked to my new air (i.e., I can access my old pictures through my desktop but they aren't in my new iPhoto). The issue I'm having is that I often get a popup that says my startup disc is full. I followed directions on old threads that said to download omnidiscsweeper, which I did, and all the room is being taken up by that folder of all my old stuff on my desktop (~185 GB).
My question is- do I just have too much stuff? Is there a way to keep my pictures and such on my new computer without always getting this error message and having to shut down different applications? Please help! I am not very computer savvy
Thanks so much for reading.
PS- appx 76 GB of my computer storage is movies...but I don't have any movies saved on here that I know of... another 72 GB is "Other".
Thanks!!

Frankly, You'll probably waste more time and effort than if you just got a Firewire cable. I'm pretty sure you'll need to have a cross connect Ethernet Cable (I usually make my own, not sure where you'd buy one) to connect them via ethernet, and even then you still have to mess around with getting them to talk to each other. Other option is to plug both computers into a hub or switch, or better yet a router.
Another option is to spend $20 on a usb adapter that can connect any drive to your Mac. [Here is one that I have|http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo =2329300&CatId=3770] from Tiger Direct that works quite well.

ITunes Library/ Startup Disc Full ...Help Needed!!!

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