Itunes match - do I need to keep my Itunes Library original files?

Can I delete my Itunes library on my hard drive if I subscribe to Itunes match? Would that be unwise?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You can delete the music from your hard drive and you will be able to access to it from your iTunes Match. In that case, you will have to be connected to Internet in order to listen to your music but you will save storage on your hard disk. iTunes Match uploads your music to your iCloud, so you will be able to listen to the songs without having them saved on your hard drive

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I can't open my Itunes keep receiving error message- The iTunes Library.itl file cannot be found or created. The default location for this file is in the "i Tunes" folder in the "Music" folder

I can't open my Itunes keep receiving error message- The iTunes Library.itl file cannot be found or created. The default location for this file is in the "i Tunes" folder in the "Music" folder. I have even tried removing and reinstalling iTunes and it still does work because I continue to receive this error message. Please Help!

Anyone can help to advice how to solve this issue ?

I want to move the location of my iTunes library music files. At present they are all on my time machine . I want to move them all to my imac. Can I do that and keep all my playlists and play counts? Thanks in advance

I want to move the location of my iTunes library music files. At present they are all on my time machine . I want to move them all to my imac. Can I do that and keep all my playlists and play counts? Thanks in advance
its 1000s of songs . Originally I used the time machine as a networked drive but it can cause the songs to pause so I'm thinking it would be better to have the songs on the internal imac drive
how can I move the songs so I can re-open iTunes and the playlists (with plays in the 100s) find the song in the new place?

Do you mean on your Time Machine backup drive? Or are you actually accessing the backup? In either case you shouldn't be doing that. If you haven't space on your HDD to store the iTunes Library, then at least put it on another external drive.
Since you did not provide any information about what's actually "on my time machine," here's what you would do. The entire iTunes folder should be stored in the /Home/Music/ folder. Within that folder you would have three folders: imm Media, iTunes, and iTunes Playlists.

I want to move the location of my iTunes Library db file but keep the media in it's existing location. Is this possible?

I want to move the location of my iTunes Library db files to a new location without moving the whole lot, including my Media file [Music, Films etc etc files]... in this case I want to move the Library db files to my iCloud Folder so I have a backup of the Library db File [ good idea huh :-) ] and I should be able to open iTunes whether the media can be seen at that point or not. is it possible to just move the Library files and then tell iTunes where they are so it can launch iTunes?
Is this just a case of cut and paste the Library files to the new location, then updating config in iTunes?
This may be a silly question but in my book, no question is silly if it needs to be asked.
Any ideas, advise welcomed.

m1g1c1 wrote:
Thanks Chris but I think I have not explained it well enough.
This...
I am using an iCloud Folder on my local Mac hard drive. iCloud Folder syncs with iCloud and works like a backup. It is a subscription service that Apple offer.
You should be adding them to iCloud, not your local drive.
Yes I understand how it works.
The iCloud folder on the local drive is (and should be) managed by the iCloud drive/OS, not you.
You are simply trying to work around iCloud drive.
I just want to know if I can move the iTunes Library cb files to a new folder/location on my macs local hard drive
... and tell iTunes where to look for the Library so that it can launch / startup
The iTunes library.itl file is part of the iTunes library.
I already back up my actual media files (music etch) by other methods.
You should back up the entire iTunes folder, not just the media.
If you wna to backup the iTune slibrary.itl, just copy it to the iCloud drive on the left side of aFinder window.
You don't need to go (and shouldn't) into the iCloud folder in your user library.
This is what the "guru" will tell you.

My computer keeps saying "The iTunes Library.itl file is locked, or you do not have write permission for thsi file." I am running iTunes 10.5 on a windows 7 computer. PLEASE HELP!!!

My computer keeps saying "The iTunes Library.itl file is locked, or you do not have write permission for thsi file." I am running iTunes 10.5 on a windows 7 computer. PLEASE HELP!!!

sorry, i don't have the answer, but i think i have the same problem if i may expound:
I did a windows 7 update.... and today i tried to modify some song info in iTuens... I selectd an album with 12 songs in it, right clicked for "Get Info" tied to update album info including year, album artist, etc... but it would not take. I checked the security setting in the windows folder and confirmed i had admin rights etc...still no go...

After downloading latest version, keep getting error message "The iTunes Library .itl file cannont be found or created"? The file never moved from My Music. Repeated attempts to restore previous version result in same message. Help!!

Help!!

Hello Whit1erj,
It sounds like you are not able to access your iTunes library. With the error message you are receiving, you will want to first locate the iTunes Library.itl file. These are the default locations for this file on a Windows computer, but if you dont find them here, you may need to search for the file:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\
Windows Vista: C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\
Windows 7: C:\Users\username\My Music\iTunes\
Windows 8: C:\Users\username\My Music\iTunes\
You can find the full article about iTunes file locations here:
Where are my iTunes files located?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
Once you locate the iTunes Library.itl file, you can make iTunes point to it using these steps:
Steps to create or choose a different iTunes Library file
If iTunes is running, quit iTunes.
If you are using Windows, hold down the Shift key and from the Start menu and choose All Programs > iTunes > iTunes.
You should see one of the following screens:
Then you can select Choose Library and navigate to the location of the iTunes Library.itl file. You can find the full article here:
iTunes: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1589
Thank you for posting in the Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

My itunes keeps popping up with this; the itunes library .itl file cannot be found or created

i found my itl files and even when i click on them it still pops up with that message what do i do?

Hello EliCooper,
It sounds like when you open iTunes, it says your iTunes Library.itl file cannot be located. If you know where this is located, you need to point iTunes to this file to avoid the error message. I found an article with the steps to choose your iTunes Library.itl file:
Steps to create or choose a different iTunes Library file
If iTunes is running, quit iTunes.
If you are using Windows, hold down the Shift key and from the Start menu and choose All Programs > iTunes > iTunes.
You should see one of the following screens:
Once you get that dialogue box, you can click on Choose Library and navigate to your iTunes Library.itl file.
You can find the full article here:
iTunes: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1589
Thank you for posting in the Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

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).

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.

ITunes 11 - Where is the iTunes Library.itl file?

I used iTunes 11 to move my entire library to a new Western Digital Thunderbolt duo drive. In iTunes advanced settings, I specified an itunes library path of /Volumes/Media Library/iTunes Media. Then from the menu selected File -> Library -> Organize Library. This moved all my itunes media from my local hard drive to the external drive in the path specified above. As expected, there was still a /Users/bernie/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media folder, which contained my iTunes Library.itl and other files. So, I moved this folder somewhere else, yet iTunes continues to function normally.
The iTunes Library.itl file is NOT on the external drive. Can anyone tell me if this file is still necessary, and if so, how is my iTunes still working without it?
-Thanks

You did not in fact move your entire library, you moved just the media files. Your iTunes application is likely using the true "library" file (along with all the other supporting files it needs) normally in your Home > Music > iTunes folder. I have not tried what you have done but it seems iTunes is keeping track of where you have relocated that iTunes folder with the rest of the library in it. In some regards iTunes is good at keeping track of moving files, but is horribly unforgiving if you do that to media files.
Yes, that file is still necessary, though you could use Spotlight to see if you have other copies iTunes could be using instead.
To properly move your whole library to the external you should have copied the whole iTunes folder to the external drive, then start iTunes with the option (alt) key held down and guided it to the iTunes Library.itl file on the external drive.
As expected, there was still a /Users/bernie/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media folder, which contained my iTunes Library.itl and other files.
Is this accurate? Your iTunes Library.itl file should not have been in your media folder.

TS1717 unes, i have windows 8, i get the message, "the itunes Library .itl file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file. how did this happen, how do i fix this?

the message"The itun, library .itl file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file". i have windows 8. how why did this happen? how do i correct this and prevent another occurance? I am able to access itunes on my i5, ipad, and my old i4 that i use solely as my ipod now. At the time problem occurred, i was connected to ext hard drive that hold over 190GB music, to add to my library. I am now unable to add to my library using my laptop. any advise/help is greatly appreciated!!

I just had the same problem and was able to fix it after trying a couple of things I found after a search.
The solution that worked for me:
Find iTunes folder - it should be in C:\Program FIles (x86) or similar depending on your operating system
Right click the entire folder (no need to open it) and click properties
Click the security tab
Click edit and highlight the user name under which you logged in.
Click the box next to full in the allow column, which should check everything
Click apply
Open iTunes
This worked for me.

How To Fix: "The iTunes Library.itl file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file."

I can't reopen my iTunes after I have to force quit when it does not respond. I get this message:
"The iTunes Library.itl file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file."
I've read to do the solutions. I right clicked on both the iTunes and Music folder and went to info for each. On both the lock at the bottom of the Get Info was locked. All of my users including admin can read and write all files within those folders. They are even a shared folder. I clicked on the lock to unlock it, typed in my admin password, and went to the gear to apply to all files inside. After doing that I keep getting the saved message.
I tried another way that I've found online to move my ituneslibrary folder to the desktop and then open my iTunes. In theory the iTunes is supposed to ask for where the iTunes library is. Once that is prompted you quit iTunes and drag the iTunes Library folder back to the folder from the desktop and reopen iTunes to apprently solve the problem. However, when I move the iTunes Library file to the desktop and try to reopne iTunes the icon just keeps bouncing and when I right click the application does not respond.
This problem is only resolved if I restart/shut down my macbook pro which is a 15-inch Core 2 Duo with intel. It will be 5 years old in December. I currently have Lion and the latest iTunes 10.5. This problem started in late December.

If you hold down the option key when starting iTunes, it will allow you to select a library or create a new one.
You can create a new one, and then add all of your iTunes music back in by simply dragging the old iTunes music file onto iTunes.
There are more detailed instructions at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451#
It will show you how to re-build your iTunes database file.

HT1527 iphone wont open it says the itunes library.itl file is locked on a locked disk or you do not have write permission for this file. nothing l do seems to help thanks

Have tried to connect and sync my iphone 4 to my computer in itunes but this message keeps coming up The itunes Library .itl file is locked on a locked disk. or you do not have write permission for this file.

I have tried both suggestions, unfortunately neither fixed this for me. Hoping there's another possible fix. Thanks in advance.
Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash and/or Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows.

ITunes Library .itl file cannot be found or created **Please Help**

I am running windows 7, and recently downloaded iTunes 10.7 Opened iTunes today for the first time since the download, and got the following message:
The iTunes Library .itl file cannot be found or created. The default locaton for this file is in the "iTunes" folder in the "Music" folder.
I uninstalled itunes completely, restarted my laptop and then reinstalled itunes again. Unfortunatley it is still not working. Please help, I need to sync my phone!!!
Any help?

Hi Renee31,
If you are having issues with the library.itl file in iTunes, you may find the following articles helpful:
iTunes: What are the iTunes library files?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1660
Apple Support: Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
Regards,
- Brenden

Itunes library.itl file cannot be found or created. The default location for this file is in the "iTunes" folder in the "Music" folder

itunes library.itl file cannot be found or created. The default location for this file is in the "iTunes" folder in the "Music" folder, I keep getting this message everytime I try to install Itunes after having to remove windows 8.1 and go back to windows 8. I have uninstalled and reinstalled and it keeps telling me the same thing. What do I do?

Hi Renee31,
If you are having issues with the library.itl file in iTunes, you may find the following articles helpful:
iTunes: What are the iTunes library files?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1660
Apple Support: Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
Regards,
- Brenden

Itunes match - do I need to keep my Itunes Library original files?

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