ITunes Music Folder

Ok, so I tried downloading a TV show last night from the iTunes store and it said I didn't have enough space on my Hard Drive to complete the download. Well, that threw me off and as I was looking to see what was eating all my memory I noticed that my iTunes Music Folder, when navigated to via the finder, shows I have 30 GB of music files. If I look at the bottom of the iTunes window when the program is open it only shows 14 GB. I did FILE>SHOW DUPLICATES and it only shows 6.5 GB of duplicates. Does anyone know what is going on or how to correct? It is like there is two of every song, but I don't see duplicates in the iTunes Music Folder.

it is possible and likely that you have song files in your iTunes music folder that aren't referenced in your iTunes library. in other words, there are files in your iTunes music folder that iTunes doesn't know about.
for an unknow reason, you may have duplicate your songs using the finder. you can validate this by doing a "Get info" in iTunes on a song for which you see duplicate using the Finder. The Get info will show you the path of the selected song in the General tab. The duplicate you will see in the finder would have a difference in the name. This will allow you to manually discriminate which song is referenced in iTunes. But this could be a tedious task.
At this point, you will need to clean up this mess and there is several way to go. the simplest could be to drag'n drop your whole iTunes Music File into the iTunes window in order to have iTunes reference all your files and then, clean up the duplicates.
you may think of other way to go, but this will not be simple if you have a large library.

Similar Messages

  • Moved iTunes music folder to HDD, Now iTunes Can't Find it--Help :-)

    I finally was able to get an HDD that actually mounted and now I have moved my iTunes music folder based on the instructions here: iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder. I printed them out and followed them step-by-step.
    Before moving the folder iTunes Music from my internal HD (~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music) to the trash, I played random tracks with no problem. So I moved the folder to the trashcan, then emptied the trash as instructed. Went back to iTunes to play some music, and now all of my tracks have the dreaded exclamation point in the first column. When I click on a track to play it, I get the message "The song 'blah blah blah' could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?"
    Of course, I can select 'Yes' and go through the steps and locate the files on my HDD. This, however, is not an optimal process with over 2400 songs. Does anyone know what went wrong with my relocation?
    Melissa
    PowerBook G4 PowerPC   Mac OS X (10.4.8)   iPod 30G, MyBook 250GB HDD, iTunes 7.1.1

    I've used that method to transfer music from one drive to another literally dozens of times and never seen it fail in the way you experienced. I'm at a loss to explain how you could have followed the instructions, successfully transfer the music to the new drive, and yet have the iTunes database still think the music should be on the original drive.
    What I can suggest are two solutions: One for it you don't care about keeping your playlists, rankings, and playcounts intact. The other for if you do care.
    Fast fix but loses the meta data: Quit iTunes. Open your home directory, find the music folder and open it. Trash everything you see in your music folder and restart iTunes. All your music and playlists will be gone. Open your new drive on the desktop, find the folder with your music, and drag it into your iTunes window. Your music will be imported into a new iTunes catalog and then you can create your playlists.
    Keeping the metadata: After quitting iTunes, move the music back to its original location by dragging the music folder(s). Unmount the new drive and play some music. Remember the songs you clicked on and showed iTunes how to find? Do those songs all over again and once you've verified the iTunes library now points to all the songs properly, delete the songs from the new drive and repeat the steps to move them again.

  • ITunes Music Folder organization

    Hey. I have all my albums stored in a My Music folder, some are labelled fully (Artist - Album) as the folder name, while others are simply the artist, the album or what have you. As I load new albums onto my computer, I just do a manual "add folder to iTunes" each time. I checked both Keep ITunes Music Folder Organized and Copy Files to iTunes Music Folder when Adding, and it prompts me to copy all the files over. I've tried this a few times, using My Music as the folder, and other locations, but it only ever copies like, ten of my three-hundred odd albums.. I want it to copy ALL my music and organize it accordingly, but it won't.. What gives?

    Hi Jen, welcome to discussions
    iTunes always manages the music folder in that way (\[artistname]\[albumname]\[title]).
    To keep it from splitting up your albums with several different artist, check "part of a compilation" in the info tab (right-click->get info). Now those albums will appear in one folder (\compilations\[albumname]\[title])

  • ITunes Music Folder Organization Inproperly

    After I imported music of the album "Wings Of Song", by James Galway, from my removable hard disk to "iTunes Music Folder" and had iTunes organized it, I discovered something that's a little bit wierd. All the music I just imported is put under the folder Compilation\Wings of Song. This means that when iTunes organizing the music folder, it unexpectedly "thought" all these music are by the artist Compilation. What is the reason? Could anyone tell me why? Thank you!

    The Compilation directory is how iTunes organizes albums that Gracenote (CDDB) considers works of various artists or collections of songs from the same artist, but differing albums (like "Best Of's" or "Greatest Hits").
    The CDDB is not always consistent, as some Greatest Hits are marked as compilations and others are not. This really irked me in the beginning as I was wondering why some of my albums went missing. At first I tried to manually reorganize and move the files, but it was cumbersome. I stumbled on the "Compilations" function and it made things much easier.
    For instance, if you have a Greatest Hits album of U2 sitting in the Compilations directory and would rather have it under the U2 directory (where I feel it better belongs), you would perform the process outlined below and the album and songs would move to its "improved" location.
    That's why you have folders in your Compilations directory. Some you may wish to keep there, some you may want to move to a more appropriate place. This is how. Try moving some of them to their Artist's folder (if you have any that would qualify).
    First check your Preferences:
    -- Advanced/General: Keep iTunes Music folder organized (on)
    -- Advanced/General: Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library (off) - change it back to 'on' after the song switch, if you want
    To move an Album from the Compilations folder after it was imported from a CD (or otherwheres):
    -- Highlight the collection of songs on that CD within the main Library
    -- Right-click, 'Get Info'
    -- Remove the 'Part of Compilation' check-mark - turn it to 'no'
    -- Click 'OK'
    iTunes will reorganize your PC folder structure, moving the songs from the Compilation folder to their Artist folder.
    To defeat a Compilation designation prior to ripping the tracks from a CD, go to 'Get Info' on the CD and make sure that the 'Part of Compilation' box is not checked. This will keep the album under its designated Artist folder.
    This is how I keep my music organized. I only want 'true' compilations under the Compilations folder, not some of the Artist's 'Greatest Hits'. You may have other desires.

  • How can I move my iPod iTunes Music Folder from C: drive to a New Drive?

    Running out of space on my PC's C: drive, so I tried moving all the folder to my new E: drive ie: (E:\My Music 2\iTunes).
    ALSO set iTunes (Edit/Preferences/Advanced/iTunes Music Folder location to E:\My Music 2\iTunes - but nothing seems to help!)
    All of the files couldn't find the source files, unless I pointed to them one by one.
    Can't move them all back because they are about 7GB+, and I now only have about 5.5 GB on my C: drive.
    And when I just went to open iTunes again, all my libraries don't even show.
    I'm afraid to plug in my ipod for synching until I get this straight, for fear of messing that up too.
    Please advise.
    Compaq Presario Windows XP Notebook.
    Compaq Presario   Windows XP   Notebook.

    To move your iTunes music to an external drive...
    1 Quit iTunes.
    2 Move the entire iTunes folder including music to
    the external drive.
    In point #2 do you mean move the entire Program File folder of iTunes or just the "My Documents" iTunes library folder?
    I have a full laptop, a big iPod and an external HD, I am trying to figure out how to store my library on the HD, but access it as if it were on the laptop.
    I moved my iTunes library to the HD and then in iTunes I used the "add folder to library" function, but it brought all of the song files back onto the laptop.
    How do you iPod gurus configure your setup with comp, HD and iPod? I need some guidance, my methods are not working.
    laptop   Windows XP  

  • How can I move iTunes music folder to another drive?

    I have iTunes version 7.1 running on a notebook with Windows Vista. My iTunes music folder is becoming too large for the C; drive and I am having problems successfully moving it to the D: drive.
    I know the folder is in the D: drive because I can see it there. I have followed guidance on how to link it to iTunes: Edit / Preferences / Advanced / General / Change (choosing iTunes music folder on the D: drive) / OK. I have also ticked the "Keep iTunes Music folder organised" box, as well as the "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" box. Nevertheless, when I open iTunes my music does not appear in the library.
    What am I doing wrong?

    Firstly there is more than one kind of iTunes Library file:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732
    Secondly you should consolidate your library:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iTunesMac/7.3/en/670x.html
    The following link will give you the instructions to move iTunes to an EHD. These instructions need to be followed EXACTLY.
    The 2 metadata files within the main iTunes folder must stay on the main drive of your system as that is their "home", they can't be moved.
    Now read this:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301748

  • I have 100's of CDs that I have downloaded to my itunes library and they are in the library playable but they do not show up in the C drive under the iTunes Music folder under users.  Why are they in the libary and not in the itunes music folder. Win 7 OS

    I have 100's of CDs that I have downloaded to my itunes library and they are in the library playable but they do not show up in the C drive under the iTunes Music folder under users.  Why are they in the libary and not in the itunes music folder. Win 7 OS.  When I look in the library under the get info screen it says they are in the folder itunes music, under the c: drive but when I actually go to that folder to look for them they are not there....HELP!

    Hello RumDog,
    I think this article will help you find the media in your library.
    Where are my iTunes files located?
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
    Discovering and changing the iTunes Media folder location
    Note: You would usually only change the iTunes Media folder location to share music between accounts on the same computer. See this article for specific steps on how to accomplish this. Also, see this article if you want to know how to move your music to a new computer.
    Mac OS X: Click the iTunes menu and choose Preferences.
    Windows: Click the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
    Click the Advanced pane. iTunes displays the location of your iTunes Media folder.
    You can then:
    Note where your media folder is, such as for backing up your media.
    Use the Reset button to reset it's location to the default (which is the iTunes folder).
    Click the Change button to select a folder for a new location. Once you change this location:
    If you make a new or alternate iTunes library, the new location will be used by that library.
    Existing files will not be moved unless you choose File > Library > Organize library and choose the option to "Consolidate files."
    From: Where are my iTunes files located?
              http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
    Cheers,
    Sterling

  • Adding songs, they copy to iTunes music folder, but don't show up in my lib

    Hi,
    I recently built a new computer, and wanted to put my music on it from my external hard drive, which contained my "iTunes Music Folder" from my old computer. However, when I add music from my external hard drive to my new computer's hard drive, it says it's copying it to the iTunes Music Folder (on my new comp), and says that it's "Analyzing Gapless Playback" and the like, but the only problem is, the music doesn't show up on my Library! And I've looked, all the music copied to the new iTunes Music Folder, but my library (in the iTunes program itself) remains a blank list! Does anyone know what the problem is, and what I can do to fix it? Thanks in advance.

    I have a Dell that's running Windows XP. I have found that itunes is very temperamental. this works most of the time... except on my son's computer that's running Windows Vista.
    Go to your library in iTunes. Then go up to file and try one of the options (import, add folder to library, or add file to library).
    Adding a folder is the least work. You can add all the files from a folder with one click... if it works. Remember that itunes is temperamental.
    If that doesn't work, try adding a file. The problem with that is that you have to go through the whole process for each and every file (song, movie, etc).
    Sometimes the only thing that works is to import.
    I haven't gotten iTunes to work on my son's computer (Windows Vista).
    I can't get support from apple in any way at all! They are good about creating electronics that appeal to us But they are lousy at support. If anyone figures out how to access support (where you can actually contact Apple) please let me know ([email protected]). I've been trying for 6 months.

  • Music in 2 locations, iTunes media music and iTunes music folder???????

    I have music in 2 locations, iTunes media music and a iTunes music folder.  The media/music folder appears to have more content.  What is the difference between these two locations and can one be deleted without losing content?

    With iTunes 8 and earlier the "correct" location for music was:
    <User's Music>\iTunes\iTunes Music\<Artist>\<Album>\## <Name>.<Ext>
    Since iTunes 9 this has become:
    <User's Music>\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\<Artist>\<Album>\## <Name>.<Ext>
    If your library started in the old layout it may have been inadvertently switched to the new one at some point, with a mix of content in both locations.
    Check under Edit > Preferences > Advanced that the media folder location is set to <User's Music>\iTunes\iTunes Media (assuming your library is stored in the usual place).
    Under File > Library > Organize Library... tick "Rearrange files...", if possible, and "Consolidate files", then click OK. This will drag in copies of any file currently stored outside of the media folder.
    Assuming you're happy letting iTunes organize your media then under Edit > Preferences > Advanced turn "Keep..." off, Click OK, then go back and turn it on again. This will ensure that everything is set out in the current layout.
    Anything now stored outside iTunes Media, e.g. in ..\iTunes\iTunes Music, is now a disconnected copy and can be safely deleted.
    You should also backup your library, ideally before you start tidying up just in case something goes wrong and you need to revert.
    tt2

  • Sharing iTunes Music folder on external HD but not Mobile Applications folder?

    I share the iTunes Music folder on an external HD between two separate Mac user accounts. Each user has their own iPhone and syncs within their own user account. All the media for user#1 (books, apps, etc) are in the appropriate folders in this shared iTunes Music folder, which means user #2 is seeing all user #1's stuff in their iPhone sync windows in iTunes.
    I don't want to share anything but the actual iTunes library music files between the two Mac user accounts (and the two iPhones). Everything else for each user (apps, books etc.) I want to keep separate. Both users have a separate iTunes store account. Is this possible?

    It seems that removing the apps of user#1 from user#2's library (i.e. deleting them in iTunes window, not trashing the actual file) does the trick ... this change updates the user's library .xtml file. Now user#2's apps are syncing only on their phone when they log in and use iTunes. When user#1 logs in iTunes just shows user#1 apps and syncs those.

  • Two user accounts one Itunes Music Folder, How do I keep the Libraries sync

    Okay let's see if I can explain my dilemma properly. My girlfriend shares my computer with me, so I gave her a seperate account to keep her stuff in. However I keep all our music on an external hard drive in the iTunes music folder. The problem is everytime I upload new music or delete something on my account/ iTunes library, It doesn't update the iTunes library on her account. Therefore I have to sign in to her account to update her library with new music or delete tracks that have been removed from the Music folder. Kinda a minor thing until you upload 5 new CD's and remove like a 100 old tracks/podcasts, then it gets to be very annoying and time consuming. So is there anything I can do to sync our libraries to the music folder when changes are made? Hope I explained that well, and thanks for your help in advance!
    powerbook G4 1 Ghz 12.1 inch   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   iTunes 6.0.1
    powerbook G4 1 Ghz 12.1 inch   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

    open749
    As both libraries are the same you're wasting disk space, so have only one library - yours and enable sharing on it.
    You need to be looged in and iTunes running, she will enable 'look for shared libraries' in her Preferences... and your library will show up.
    Regards
    TD

  • How do I move my iTunes Music folder to a new hard drive?

    I've installed a new drive in my Mac Pro. I now have to move my iTunes Music folder into the new drive and junk the old one. I know that I can use iTunes/File/Add to Library menu item to get iTunes to locate the new Music Library; however, this is going to leave me with two entries for every track, one good and one broken after I remove the old drive. I think I should junk the old library and then have iTunes rebuild it from the Add To command... what is the best way to avoid problems? Select All, move to Trash and then locate and add them back?  Expert advice appreciated.

    No, it's simpler, epecially if iTunes manages your music for you (default).
    iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
    do not confuse moving your whole folder and library with moving just media files as in
    iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
    Quick answer if you let iTunes manage your music:  Copy the whole iTunes folder and all its subfolders and files intact to the other drive.  Start iTunes with the option key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.
    I'm not sure abot your model Mac but you might be able to do this with the computer in Firewire Target Disk Mode.
    How to use FireWire target disk mode - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661 - includes description of hardware and software requirements.
    Target Disk Mode - Mac OS X 10.6 Help: Transferring files between two computers using FireWire - http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8443.html

  • Can the path to the iTunes Music folder be locked?

    I'm trying to simplify the results of my own occasional user error.
    Can the path to the iTunes Music folder be locked?
    I have my library stored on an external drive that I keep turned off when not in use. If I accidentally start iTunes with that drive off, it recreates the original iTunes Music folder and directs itself there.
    Can that behavior be stopped? It seems like there should be a way for iTunes to send a pop up or something, rather than this automated over ride to manual settings.

    Yeah, I know I don't have an end of the world scenario here.
    But just remounting the drive doesn't do it. I have to go back into iTunes and reset the folder location. Then wait several minutes as it all reorganizes itself.
    I know just leaving the drive on is the easiest answer. It causes too much of a domestic dispute about all the blinking boxes I have running all the time. I have convinced her that the green one on the AEBS has to be on if she wants internet.

  • Is there a way to have iTunes show what is in the iTunes music folder?

    I have several folders that I moved from an old iTunes music folder into a newer one on a different HD. I just put the music into the folder, but not into iTunes. So now, I have a huge folder of music that doesn't show up in my iTunes library. I was cleaning off the HD to make room for something else, so I deleted the "old" iTunes folder with all the music in it. The music is in my new iTunes folder, but not in my iTunes program. Sorry this is so convoluted!
    What I want to know is this: Is there a way to have iTunes recognize and check for music in the iTunes folder that is not already in the iTunes program? Exactly what does consolidate library do? Could that solve the issue? I am a little intimidated because it says that it cannot be undone.
    Thanks,
    Jim

    Chris,
    You're a GENIUS!! Thank you!! That's exactly what I was looking for. I am in the process of doing it right now. Hopefully, everything goes well. You just made my day!
    Happy 2009,
    Jim

  • Restored my Macbook Pro but my iTunes content was saved on a separate partition. When I re-setup iTunes the status bar reports 30gb less content than my iTunes Music folder. How can I find what is 'missing'?

    My Macbook Pro software was failing and the Apple Store was able to restore it without removing the partition on my hard drive that contained most of my files including all my iTunes content. Initially when I re-setup my library I simply went to file--> add to library. Shortly after I realized that was essentially copying the library to the other portion of the partition because I forgot to change the location of the library. So I deleted the content already copied & then I re-setup the library, by asking it to be pulled from the previous location using this pages advice: iTunes: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
    It appeared to work & everything I thought was imported. But on closer inspection, it appears that I have 30gbs less appearing on the status bar in the iTunes app than I do when I pull up the info on the iTunes Music folder in my finder. I'm not sure if this means somehow I have 30gbs of duplicates in my finder folder or if (most likely) I somehow didn't fully import the library from that file. Any advice? Is there a way to restore iTunes to factory settings again & set it up correctly this time?
    Also I never actually trashed the original content I accidentally transferred to the other drive but when i skimmed those in my trash bin it appears they ARE indeed in iTunes, so I have no clue what didn't actually import. Any ideas?! I'd greatly appreciate it!

    You could have all the computers point to the same library but it can't be opened by more than one at any time.
    No answer for knowing which library is in use other than selecting it at startup.  This question gets asked here occasionally but I don't think it is a high-demand feature since most people have just one library.  I guess you could put in an empty playlist with the library name so you have an identifier.

  • How can I add songs to itunes music folder without them being duplicated within the folder (not on my hard drive)?

    I have music files all over the place and want to put them all in itunes with no duplicates and get rid of all the rest. how can I do that? Some of my playlists are missing songs. I would like to move the playlist back to itunes from my ipod without having to put the songs in my media folder yet again! I have wasted so much time fooling with this. Really what I am trying to get at through all of this is to run the songs on the ipod through ivolume so they play equally.
    Can anyone make sense of this for me?

    It sounds like you have a few different problems.
    To find all your music, try using a spotlight search. Type "kind:music" in the spotlight search (the magnifying glass in the far upper-right corner ) then choose "show all in finder". You'll end up with a window that shows all your music files, regardless of where they are on your hard drive. But don't move any files, because that may confuse iTunes (it won't be able to find files that you move, because - d'oh! - you moved them and now they're not where iTunes left them. That's usually how people end up in the kind of situation that you're in.)
    If you want to let iTunes organize your music for you, make sure those options are turned on in the iTunes preferences (in the "advanced" section), then go to the "File" menu, choose "Library" and then choose "Organize library". That will put all your music in the iTunes Library folder (but leave copies of the originals wherever they were, all over your hard drive).
    To find duplicates in your iTunes Library, choose "display duplicates" (or hold down the option key and it changes to "display exact duplicates" which might help in some cases). You'll still have to manually go through them to delete one of each duplicate.
    Now you can start combining those three techniques - if you consolidate your music and let iTunes copy everything into the music folder, you'll know that iTunes safely has a copy of all your music in the iTunes Library folder. So you can do the spotlight search, and delete any duplicate files that are not in your iTunes library folder. Anything that's left over (that is, it's not a duplicate and it's not in the itunes music folder), you'll need to add to iTunes (try using the "automatically add to itunes" folder - spotlight search to find it -  anything you drop in there will get added to iTunes without leaving a duplicate file). Then you can use the itunes "duplicates" feature to find the duplicates in iTunes and fix those.

Maybe you are looking for