ITunes library.xml Metadata storage issues

Hi all,
I've had this problem for quite a while. My .xml file corrupts and changes to "read only", preventing any further writing. iTunes automatically creates temp files. My solution thus far has been to trash the .xml file after a restart, and trash the temp files once a new .xml file has been created, however, this only seems to be a short term solution as the problem consistently returns. Any suggestions for a permanant library.xml fix?

no it doesnt, so for whatever reason it is not updating propely.
here is the extract from my file:
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Major Version</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>Minor Version</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>Date</key>
<date>2012-11-12T02:50:28Z</date>
<key>Application Version</key>
<string>10.7</string>
<key>Features</key>
<integer>5</integer>
<key>Show Content Ratings</key>
<true/>
<key>Music Folder</key>
<string>
file://localhost/Users/trevans/Music/New/iTunes%20Media/
</string>
<key>Library Persistent ID</key>
<string>97C5AF902333D873</string>
<key>Tracks</key>
<dict></dict>
<key>Playlists</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>Name</key>
<string>Library</string>
<key>Master</key>
<true/>
<key>Playlist ID</key>
<integer>70</integer>
<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key>
<string>CE8150AF7533F59F</string>
<key>Visible</key>
<false/>
<key>All Items</key>
<true/>
</dict>

Similar Messages

Changes made to iTunes Library.xml keep reverting back

I'm helping a friend with his computer. He uses an external harddrive for all his iTunes music. Lets call this drive "iTunes HD".
He wants to move his collection to a newer bigger drive. So he mirrors the content to a new harddrive. Let's call this drive "New HD".
We remove the old drive called "iTunes HD" and launch iTunes whiles holding down the option key and select the iTunes folder on "New HD".
It finds the library and lists the songs, but can not find any of the songs. It's looking for each file in "/Volumes/iTunes HD" and not the new drive.
We exit iTunes.
I vi the "iTunes Library.xml" and globally replace "iTunes HD" with "New HD" and save the file.
We relaunch iTunes and again it can not find any of the files and when I get information on them it's still looking in "/Volumes/iTunes HD".
We exit iTunes and reopen the "iTunes Library.xml" file and all the changes have been undone and reverted back.
So I reapply all my edits and this time move the ""iTunes Library.itl" to /tmp to get it out of that directory. And relaunch iTunes.
Now it comes up with no Library of music at all. So I go to "File > Library > Import Playlist" and select the xml file I just finished fixing. I says Importing Playlist and then nothing happens. Cursor comes back and there's still nothing in the Library.
I have to move the "iTunes Library.itl" from /tmp back into the directory and relaunch iTunes for it to see the Playlist again. It still can't play them because it's still referencing the old "iTunes HD" which we removed.
How do I fix this?

In iTunes go to Edit > Preferences > Store and turn off
Show iTunes in the Cloud purchases
Share details about your library with Apple
On any iOS device go to Settings > Music and turn off
Show All Music
Close and reopen iTunes and/or reset the device and you should see your version of the metadata for each track rather than the original store data.
tt2

Have found multiple iTunes Library.xml files. Moved Library to new Hard Drive and it needs to be completely rebuilt?

Hello. I have a Mac Mini operating Mac OS X 10.7.2. I recently had to move my iTunes Library to a new hard drive. I followed the directions on how to move the library and refind everything yet when I do so what comes up is a mere skeleton of what I had. I have had to hunt down my purchased Apps, Music and Movies and re-add them to the library. I also noticed in doing this I have multiple iTunes Library.xml files ... shouldn't there only be one? If so how do I clean this up without doing any accidental damage (i.e. how do I find the one that is being used and delete the rest?)? If I delete the others is there any risk of losing purchased content? Lastly syncing my iPads has become a nightmare as I get the "This iPad is currently synced to another iTunes library" message. Obviously something

It's hard for me to picture the exact situation. It sounds like you still have your library file on the internal but some files on the external, and maybe some on the internal, some of which are in the library and others not... By re-adding things after consolidating it may have made things into a hodge-podge. Yes, that article you referenced says: "iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder"with Media Folder being the emphasis. You probably should have just moved your whole iTunes folder. Still, moving the media folder as instructed should not have messed up the library. Did you make the mistake of starting up iTunes before the external drive had mounted fully and it then told you it couldn't find many files? How you proceed to sort it out will depend upon how much time you want to spend and how important things such as ratings and playcount are to you. I have not actually used the consolidate feature across different drives myself (and don't feel inclined to do so here to test ).
If you are in the USA you can download some previous purhcases with iCloud, but not all.
Here's a bit on what an iTunes folder should look like:
What are the iTunes library files? - [http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660]
More on iTunes library files and what they do - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management]
Library files with graphic and explanation of different iTunes versions - http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=13169517
Once you get iTunes working off the external drive it should just put new media to the external when you add it.
I have almost no experience with synching (I synched my neice's iPod, once, about 4 years ago).

Can't import iTunes Library.xml to rebuild library in iTunes 7.5 - why?

Hi,
I did an "erase & install" with Leopard because I got kernel panics with 10.4.11, and whenever I try to import my old iTunes Library.xml (which weighs more than 45 Mo) to rebuild my library in iTunes 7.5 as indicated in the kb, I get a new kernel panic before it can complete the process, usually between the 10th and 15th minute. This happens even with extensions removed, and with permissions repaired.
However, I noticed that when I interrupt the process, the partial file I get is functional and I get access to a random portion of my library...
Does anybody have a tip?
My library is really important for me, especially the playlists, which I have saved separately one by one. Does anyone know if they would work if reimported with a library rebuilt from scratch by dragging and dropping my music files in iTunes?
Thanks for your help, I know it's a lot to ask...
Ben

You should be able to create a new Library file by doing the drag and drop of your music files as you describe. I would do them about 50 albums at a time to start with.
You might want to start by quitting iTunes and going to the /Your Home/Music/iTunes Music folder and moving the "iTunes Library" itl and "iTunes Music Library.xml" to your Desktop. Then launch iTunes to create new blank ones. Set your iTunes preferences and so forth before you begin. Do a few and make sure you are getting the results you are expecting. In other words do you want iTunes to move your music files to the default location, etc.
You may need to recreate your playlists when done if you do not have the individual xml files to re-import.

Why do i have to itunes library xml files?

Along with iTunes Library, there are two xml files i have; itunes music library.xml and itunes library.xml, do i need them both? I only ask as the file path information in itunes music library.xml are not up to data(i moved my library to an external HD) and would like to know if it would be safe to delete it.
The links in itunes library.xml have seem to been updated.
Thanks
"If it's not broken, don't fix it...
........I never learn!"

Google is your friend! (To quote:)
iTunes Music Library.xml
This file contains some (but not all) of the same information stored in the iTunes Library file. The purpose of the iTunes Music Library.xml file is to make your music and playlists available to other applications on your computer. In Mac OS X other iLife applications (like iPhoto, iDVD, and iMovie) use this file to make it easier for you to add music from your iTunes library to your projects.
Actual article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660

Is there a way to rebuild the ITunes Library XML file from my IPod?

After several promptings, I finally decided to install ITunes 7.4.3.1. Like a fool, I did not backup my entire library prior to doing this upgrade. Nothing is going to go wrong now mate, is it? Everything seemed to proceed just fine with the upgrade. I noticed that ITunes updated the XML Library in the process. Where the problems occured was after the upgrade, I was in the middle of listening to the latest "NPR Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" Podcast (I have some 3,000 downloaded podcasts in over 85GB worth of space) when ITunes crashed. When I brought ITunes back up, it had seemed to have reverted to an earlier backup ITunes Library XML file that I had made months ago.
I still have all of the .mp3, .m4a, .mp4 and .m4v files stored in my ITunes Music folder. Somehow when I brought ITunes back up, it had lost all of the music I had dowloaded from the ITunes store even though the files were still out on disk. It thought there were only 395 podcasts despite the 3,000 plus files out there.
Clearly, something went horribly wrong and I don't want to spend weeks downloading these files again when the only thing that really needs to be done is the ITunes Library XML data file needs to be rebuilt. It dawns on me that my IPod has an XML data file that save any updates I have not yet synced with it that it is quite current. Is there some way that I can sync my IPod with ITunes and copy the IPod XML data file into ITunes Library XML data file? I know that there must be some way to access the IPod since I can plug it into my Kenwood car stereo and read through the IPod's contents.
Is there anyone out there that has an idea that might be able to help me recover my ITunes library?
Thanks for any assistance,
--randyt00

The XML file is not used by iTunes. It is created for the use of other programs. Your library is in the itl file. SInce you still have the file you could simply add them to your library using the add folder option instead of downloading again.
What are library files
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732
Rebuild library.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93313

Force Re-Creation Of iTunes Library.itl from iTunes Library.xml?

Can't figure out how to edit a post, so I'm putting this here instead of adding it to "Recovery From Hosed Music Locations - Without Losing Ratings?".
iTunes v9.
It's dawning on me that I can edit "iTunes Library.xml" and fix my hundreds (if not thousands) of broken links there.
But iTunes seems to work out of "iTunes Library.itl".
Seems like there had to be a way to get iTunes to re-create "iTunes Library.itl" from "iTunes Library.xml".
?

Damage the ITL first. That method has worked for several folks. Example:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11566523#11566523

Recovering iTunes Song List (iTunes Library.xml not updated)

How do I recover the iTunes library song list? My computer recently crashed, so I had to get this new one. The old hard drive is working fine. I just need the song list to be able to identify the songs that I have yet to copy unto my iPod (I arrange the library by 'Date Added'). Since my music files are located in a variety of places, it would be very difficult for me to locate each without being guided by the list.
For some weird reason, the iTunes Library.xml is not updated. It's still dated 2009, so that fix goes out the window, I guess.
Thanks in advance.

try if the suggestions in this thread help: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2168081&tstart=0.
JGG

Itunes Library.xml save automatically?

Is there a way that the itunes library.xml file that you export when clicking the export library button under the file menu can be saved automatically without having to click it everytime? Thanks

No... When I add a new song or video or something, I want Itunes to update the Library.xml file automatically instead of having to clicking export library every time. Is there a way?

Itunes library . xml disappears how recreate it. If possible in french

Bonjour
j'ai effacé par erreur iTunes Library .xml, donc plus de possibilité d'utiliser la bibliothèque Itunes dans Imovie, Garageband etc ....
Que dois je faire ?
Comment recréer seulement iTunes Library .xml ? Dois je supprimer et réinstaller iTunes ? si oui comment ?
Hello
I accidentally deleted iTunes Library. xml, so more can use the iTunes library in iMovie, Garageband etc. ....
What should I do?
How to recreate only iTunes Library. Xml? Should I remove and reinstall iTunes? if so how?

Bonjour,
Merci pour votre réponse mais malheureusement, même en quittant iTunes et en le relançant à nouveau, Itunes ne recrée pas le fichier .xml. Par contre j'ai un fichier .itl, qui je croyais n'était que sous windows. J'ai toujours le contenu des musiques dans le dossier iTunes Music mais pas ce fichier .xml, à chaque fois que je mets à jour iTunes.
Hello,
Thank you for your response but unfortunately, even leaving iTunes and rerunning again, iTunes does not recreate the file. Xml. For cons I have a. Itl, which I thought was only under Windows. I still have the content of music in the iTunes Music folder but not this. Xml file, every time I update iTunes.

Help please. Lost itunes library.xml file

Hello,
I have windows 7 and have failed in my attempts to locate my itunes library xml file. I think I lost it when I transferred music from one computer to the next. Online I have seen a tutorial on how to find it, user - my music - itunes. However it's not there. I was trying to sync my itunes music to android, but cannot do so unless I have the xml file. Please note, i am not a computer savvy guy. please don't make it to technical.
Thanks
- Anthony

I already have itunes installed and all my music, playlists and podcasts which work fine, but the media cannot be transferred onto my phone via Isyncr due to not having the itunes library.xml file. You are saying all I have to do is get the itl file from my old computer and save it onto my new one. then re-download itunes and it should work?
Edit: I found my old computer and still cannot locate .xml or itl file.
Looked in users/music/itunes music. and nothing saying xml or itl is there.

Why is itunes library xml disappearing?

After adding new music, my itunes library xml is disappearing. If I shut my computer down and restart it it's fine. If I don't it says cannot find file and it was modified at some date in the year 2000. I use the dj software traktor which reads the library xml. This started happening after I upgraded to lion, I was running leapord before. Anyone have any ideas what is causing this? Also, I have no problems in itunes

Click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and hold down the SHIFT key until asked to choose or create a library. Create your new library at, for example, D:\iTunes.
tt2

My iTunes library and metadata/ID3 tags issue

Since 2010, iTunes is the only media player I use to play music. My library consists of music purchased from the iTunes Store, CD rips and stuff many artists these days release as freebies on the internet to promote a new album. Also, M4A and MP3 are the only formats I use so far.
Since iTunes, I really got into editing my library's metadata tags by hand, in order to create a custom archive which serves my preferences best. I should mention that besides iTunes being the only software I use to play my music library, it's also the only software I use to edit their metadata. Also, before iTunes – when my library was on different media players – I never bothered with editing them.
A few days ago, I found how a lot of people in forums complain about the way iTunes edits and stores metadata. So, I experimented and moved a few of my songs to other media players after editing their tags within iTunes. And indeed the tags and/or artwork were often displayed messed up and/or incorrect, some times partially and some times completely.
Some people were referring to the version of the ID3 tags being the issue, while others suggested using the "convert ID3 tags" feature. I myself am a little bit confused. "Converting the ID3 tags" wasn't available for my M4A files and once I performed it for my MP3's I didn't know which setting I should apply or what version to choose. I chose one version randomly but I'm not sure what happened.
My goal is to make my music library able to play and display my custom metadata on the majority of the popular media players. I hope that firstly this is possible and that secondly it won't be a solution which requires me going through every single song individually.
I really hope that all those years work on my library wasn't for nothing.
I'm using a MacBook running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and my iTunes version is 10.7
While my music library is more important that my iTunes version, I do like iTunes 10 more than 11.
I apologize for any grammar mistakes, since English is not my first language. Thank you all for your time and any suggestion is welcome.

itsjamesd wrote:
Hello turingtest2 and thank you for your reply.
In response to "a possible cause of problems is multiple embedded tags", what exactly does that mean and how can I avoid doing it in the future?
Anything ripped with iTunes should get a single tag. If multiple tags in some of your older mp3 rips are the cause of the problems when you try to access the files elsewhere then you should apply the suggested remedy selectively, not to the whole library indiscriminately. Once fixed you shouldn't have the problem again unless you use different ripping software. If so check the options to ensure you generate a single ID3v2.3 tag. Downloads from elsewhere are pot luck.
If I use Convert ID3 Tags>None before converting to v2.3 as you suggested, how many times is "several times" and why do I have to do it more than once? Also, what are your thoughts on 'v2.3 vs. v2.4'?
Several is at least two, but more could be needed if a file has both v1 and v2 tags in multiple languages. If there are two tags, the first conversion to none should remove the first one, and the second conversion the second. Experiment, And stick to v2.3.
In response to "the process removes any embedded art but otherwise preserves the data that iTunes knows". All fields excluding cover art remain the same? Does that mean that I will have to start from scratch and apply new cover art individually for each album? That would be too time consuming given the fact that I embed custom art.
Yes, everything but artwork is held in the iTunes database and is restored with the final Convert ID3 Tags... v2.3. Use Doug's scripts SaveAlbumArtJpeg before you start and RestoreArtworkFromAlbumFolder afterwards to save and the restore your existing artwork.
Also, what happens with my M4A files' metadata? ID3 tags are only used for MP3's, right?
Yes, m4a/aac files have a different tag mechanism. Multiple ID3 tags is just one possible issue that you might have. You said:
So, I experimented and moved a few of my songs to other media players after editing their tags within iTunes. And indeed the tags and/or artwork were often displayed messed up and/or incorrect, some times partially and some times completely.
It might be worth going into some more detail about exactly what differences you noticed. iTunes can automatically associate (instead of embedding) artwork when it can match the album in the store which could be why some tracks didn't get artwork.
tt2

ITunes library on external drive issue....

I have my entire iTunes library on an external hard drive. I recently moved and had to restore my computer because of some issues. The computer is working now but iTunes does not recognize my library on the external drive. It shows everything I have purchased in the cloud but anything that I have manually put in my library doe snot show up in my library. When I look in the external drive all my media is there, I just can't get to it through iTunes. The path that can be changed in the advanced settings is not right and I am not sure how to correct the path. Thanks
I have a late 2008 iMac - 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - I just upgraded RAM to 6GB - right after I upgraded the RAM iMac booted into disk utilities - had to end up reinstalling OS and basically restore my files from Time Machine. Since I had to redownload iTunes the path under Advanced settings is not correct - it is not linked to my external. How do I fix this - I have had my library set up like this for years I just can't remember how to do it.
Thanks

dekker1 in your screenshot the folder that is usually 'one level above' that has the 'iTunes Library.itl' and the 'iTunes Music Library.xml'. Do you have copies of those files?
Those two are the files that maintain iTunes Data (playlists, ratings, song info …). Purchased files come from iCloud so that is why they always show up for download. According to Apple the library files should be placed in your home folder…
iTunes: What are the iTunes library files?
Can you restore those files back to /Users/[username]/Music/iTunes/ ?
If you don't have these files the only choice I can see is to import all the files & manually recreate all the playlists (this loses metadata, play count etc).
Normally you also have the following at the same location in your /Users/[username]/Music/iTunes/ folder.
Album Artwork/
iTunes Library Extras.itdb
iTunes Library Genius.itdb
Previous iTunes Libraries/
If you also have copies of these, restore them too.
The media folder can live anywhere, but you set the preference in iTunes to that location. It looks like your library may be in a mess already, the duplicate "Automatically add to iTunes" folders are a sign that you have chosen the wrong folder for iTunes media at some point.
Apple have a guide for moving the media, you need to ensure the media library is in the same path as on the old system, otherwise links to files will break.
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder
Once the media is working you can 'consolidate it' but it must be in a good state before this.
I hope that makes sense, does this clarify anything? I use those Apple pages as a guide for moving & handling iTunes media.

ITunes Media And Removable Storage Issue - Can't Get iTunes to recognize the new location. Any tips?

I've had my iTunes media on an external HDD for years. Let's call this drive B.
My iTunes library and xml file reside on my Mac HDD.
I decided that I wanted to buy a bigger HDD and move all of the media to it. Last night I copied all of the media files to the new HDD (let's call it P) from B. I also copied the iTunes folder from my Mac HDD to P and directed iTunes to look for the media in the Advanced settings.
Of course when I launched iTunes after all the hours it took to do all of this copying, it could not find any of the media on P without asking whether I wanted to locate it - and the library was full of explanation points. When I examined the info on a few songs, it was showing that all of the media was still pointing to B as the location with the complete directory structure pointing to that old location - and not to the new drive.
I tried creating a new library and still could not get the library to recognize that all of the media was now on P instead of B.
I remember when I did something similar years ago, I just changed the location in iTunes in the Advanced settings and iTunes realized that all of the music was on B instead of its prior location.
I finally gave up and restored things back to the original settings with all the media on B.
I did a lot of searches and followed everything explicitly -- which basically meant copying the iTunes folder (with the library and xml files within it), and the media to the new drive and then telling iTunes where the new location was. To me it shouldn't be any simpler than that to get iTunes to recognize a new location for all the music.
Can anyone offer a more rudimentary breakdown of things for me to try so that I can get iTunes to acknowledge that all the media is on P and not B?
P is larger than B for those of you who are wondering why I'm trying to get this to work. And P also will be a drive that dedicated to iTunes and media and nothing else. Unlike B, which has all kinds of assorted files on it along with my music, etc.
And yes, each time I made changes - I restarted iTunes

Thank you both for the information.
It sounds like I did something out of sequence based upon reading the split library information, thinking I was doing the right thing.
This is exactly what I did
I copied the folder with all the media from B to P
I copied the entire iTunes folder from the Mac HDD to P
I option click started iTunes and connected to the library file and when iTunes opened it was OK - and looked like it normally does when I was still using B as the storage
I connected to P
When it didn't work, I tried to create a new library and did the same exact things.
So let me ask this:
Should I hook up P again and delete everything off of it except for the folders that have the media in them and then copy the current iTunes folder over onto P again - and then copy all of the media from it's current location into the iTunes Media folder inside of the iTunes folder I copy over from the Mac and then try to connect and consolidate everything?
I assume that if I move everything from the current media folder into the iTunes/iTunes Media/ that I copy over everything will be under the iTunes umbrella as if things were never split?
I don't seem to recall it being this difficult when I originally set up things on B, as it was a split situation then too, if I'm not mistaken.
I really appreciate the instruction. And honestly it does make sense to have everything in one location to prevent problems like this from happening - it would just be great if iTunes had a feature that moved and/or copied the necessary files to the new location to prevent splitting links

ITunes library.xml Metadata storage issues

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