ITunes Systematically Find Files

My computer got a bug and needed to be recovered. I had all the songs from iTunes saved, and in My Music Folder.
iTunes continues to list all my songs, but cannot find the files. Is there anyway to have iTunes systematically find the songs (vs me clicking on a song, letting it tell me the original cannot be found, and I manually browsing to the file location)?
Please help!

Sounds like your library database ITL file got corrupted, and itunes lost the paths to the songs.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
See if you have a previous itunes library on your PC, as mentioned in that article.

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Renameing files - iTunes cannot find files?

I recently got a new computer and forgot to send all of the music on my old one to this one - so i imported them from my iPod. When it imported them, it gave them file names such as "APKF" and "NXVX", so if i delete and file and then want it back - i have to go through all of the files until i find the one i'm looking for. A simple solution to this would be to rename the files with their correct artist name and song,... but when i do this iTunes cannot find the files when i go to play the songs ... it also does this if i simply just move a song from one folder to another ... help?
Thank you!!!

I'm gonna keep them as their original four letter name and then just create a key in Notepad were it links the artist to the song by that four letter name. And them inport them one by one and enter their keys into a notepad...
It'll take a long time, but after i do it this one time i can just add and delete songs from the notepad.
like this:
Cage the Elephant:
Back Against the Wall: WTHK
Ain't no rest for the wicked: TYRE
thank you soooo much for your help, but i'm a neat freak so i'm gonna do this. you don't know of somekind of software were you can save some kind of data? like a non-trial version of Windows Office Excel?

Itunes not finding files

After a disaster recovery on my computer I used my ipod to transfer all the music files back to my PC (after opening the hidden files etc).
I have selected the file from my PC and uploaded them into Itunes and synced my ipod which is working fine.
The problem I have is when I go to play any of the songs using Itunes I receive the error message "cannot find file". I know where they are on my PC but as the files are all named as per the ipod filing system (rather than by artist and song title) I do not know which file to choose.
Is there a way of getting Itunes to find all the files?????
Any help would be appreciated.

iTunes is still probably looking for the files in their location on your iPod's Hard Disk rather than on your PC desktop. You can look to see where iTunes is looking for these files by right->clicking on one of these tracks and selecting Get Info. When the window appears, look at Where field at the bottom of the Summary tab.
If it's still looking for them on your iPod's hard drive, you'll need to remove these files from iTunes and re-add import them. However, before doing that again, head to Edit-> Preferences and select the Advanced tab. Make sure there is a tick mark next to Copy Files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library is ticked. It wouldn't hurt to also tick the Keep iTunes Media folder organized as well. From there, you can re-import the file's from your iPod.
B-rock

ITunes cannot find files even though the path is correct in Preferences

Hello: I have a problem that is not addressed in any support article.
When I click to play a song in iTunes, I get the message that iTunes cannot find the original file.
When I check Preferences > Advanced > iTunes folder locations, I see all of my files there, but iTunes does not.
I have reset, consolodated the library, and performed all tasks noted in the support articles. Still no luck.
Can anyone help?
Thanks very much.
Tophersteele
PowerPC G5 iMac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I had the same thing happen and have been pulling my hair out about this for a week now. Finally today I hit on a fix that worked for me and I hope it works for you.
For this to work, you need a backup of the last saved iTunes Library file.
First, follow directions about locating your iTunes music folder. In prefs>advanced choose your location and make sure that is right.
Locate your last saved iTunes Library file (the one that was working before things went haywire with the !'s everywhere). Also locate the iTunes prefs file in ~/library/prefs. For me, these were part of a Backup, so I selected "restore" ONLY THESE particular files from my last backup. When prompted to replace existing files, I said YES.
After backup ran, restoring the old Library and replacing the corrupted one, I relaunched iTunes and VOILA. All files were now correctly linked.
This left one last task, re-importing all songs I'd imported since that previous backup. To find these, I sorted my music folder by date modified and checked the most recent songs against the most recent in my Library. (sort your iTunes LIbrary by "Date Added", which you can add manually if it's not part of your categories bar.

Old hard drive crashed, cannot get iTunes to find files

Hi,
Please help. Been working on this for weeks and can't get it right. Am at my wit's end:
Old hard drive crashed; had new one installed. Tech person was able to find my iTunes on old drive and saved to thumbdrive. Downloaded most recent software and synced iPod - it "read" some of what was on it but would not play anything. tried to consolidate libraries/import from thumbdrive, then could view my whole library, but when I try to play any song it says it cannot locate the original file - does not matter if i purchased it from iTunes or added from CD. This computer is authorized, I've tried all the other "tutorials," added files (didn't work), tried using my iPod to xfer music to new computer - didn't work. I have my old hard drive booted and ready to go, can see the files and have copied them direct from drive to drive, still didn't work (followed the directions to keep music folder organized, etc.) What am I doing wrong?? I can't use my iTunes at all - just downloaded three new songs and that's all I can play from it. iPod itself seems unaffected.
Thanks!! - [email protected]

Hi, you said you still have access to your old hard drive.
Can you move the entire itunes folder from the old to the new?
Not just the 'itunes music' folder - you need the parent folder of that.
It has an important file named itunes library.itl that holds ratings, play counts and the paths to your music files.
Copy that entire itunes folder and all its subfolders over to the new PC.
Press *and hold* the shift key while starting itunes and choose the ITL file you just copied over.

Itunes cannot find file location

it says that the file location couldnt be found

Give me some more info and I'll be glad to see what I can do. A screenshot, what file iTunes is trying to find the location of, etc...

ITunes cannot find file??

Recently i have purchased a movie on iTunes but when i went to watch it, it had that exclamation point next to it and it tells me that the original file cannot be located?? does anyone know have to fix this??

Use Spotlight to search for the file. If you're in the USA you may be able to download it again for free.

"cannot find file" after formatting and moving!!

Wanted to have iTunes library included in Time Capsule backup. So had to reformat external hardrives where all my songs are from Windows do OS. Copied everything on other HD, reformatted HD with OS, copied back all songs. HD still has same name "MUSIC", but iTunes cannot find files.
Changed in iTunes preferences the location of files to ensure it searches in the right place AND also replaced with text editor in "iTunes Music Library.xml" file all links with new address of HD (now after reformatting to OS I found it to be slightly different despite still same name).
But iTunes still cannot find the files. Everything is the same as before, HD name, directory structure, file names, etc. ONLY difference is it all is on "OS formatted" drive. Don't want to lose ratings and playlists of over 15,000 songs....is there still a solution?

The moment I "drag out" the Tunes Library File, then there is nothing left there, and when I open iTunes it is empty.
That's as expected. That file is the database iTunes uses that keeps track of everything, so when you then launch iTunes, it's starting from scratch.
I can import the Playlists from the XML and they do appear, but still no songs, all is empty. If I try to reimport from the new location, then they "do not fit into the playlists", meaning ratings etc. are lost.
Then you apparently didn't get the XML file edited properly; it's not easy to do.
Why does the simple location function in iTunes Preferences not work?
It does, when used as designed. The preference is where new additions (imports & purchases) will be stored. It does not change the location for existing files.
Put the original library file back. Then launch iTunes, Get Info on a representative track, and look at the path to where it thinks the files should be and compare that to the actual path. Any difference at all will break things. If there are differences (drive name slightly different, any difference in folder names/structure, etc.; letter case counts), try correcting them in Finder and see if that gets things working again. If not, then you'll have to use the Add to Library command to get back your tracks which will lose all your ratings, etc.
Where does iTunes save the links to the original files so it can simply be changed?
In the iTunes Library file, which cannot be manually edited.

How can i get itunes to find my music files?

i am reloading my hard drive after it crashed. everything is there, but itunes cannot find my files. how do i match my music files up with itunes? I keep getting the message " original file cant be found"

If that doesn't work for you then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes .
tt2

How do I find out where iTunes thinks missing files are?

I have several hundred "missing" files in my iTunes library but they are all actually on the computer. But I don't remember where the were previously. I add dozens of songs at a time to my library all the time and there is no Earthly way for me to constantly remember where they were before. I don't just want to reimport the files because I have several hundred playlists with these files and it would be completely stupid to edit them all one at a time when all I need to do is to move them back to where iTunes thinks they should be. So where is that? The Windows media player has a column that displays file location. Why doesn't iTunes? (This is so stupid. It makes things -not just this- so much easier when you have the file location in the music list in your music player.)
Is there a way to find out where iTunes thinks the missing files should be at?

Chris CA wrote:
How do I find out where iTunes thinks missing files are?
The exclamation mark means ITunes doesn't think they are anywhere.
If you right click - get info on a song then view the Info tab, you will see where iTunes last used it from.
I'm not a newbie. I know quite a lot about iTunes. You sound like you don't though because if you did you would know that this is not true. If you "right click - get info on a song" (pressing cancel to the Locate popup) "then view the SUMMARY (not info) tab" you will see "Not Available" where the file location usually is. I wouldn't have asked this question if I hadn't gone through the steps already.
Thanks for trying though. Next time, please try the advice before you give it.
I add dozens of songs at a time to my library all the time and there is no Earthly way for me to constantly remember where they were before
You should not have to remember anything about where they were.
I agree.
Are you always moving them around?
When I install a new hard drive. Yes. I generally keep everything organized and I let iTunes keep the folder organized but several years ago I used windows media player to organize my media.
Frankly I don't know HOW the recent songs/videos/etc. go missing. But some do. Maybe I accidentally move a folder without realizing it. Mistakes happen. Then I need to move it back but since I didn't know I did it in the first place I can't possibly be expected to remember where I moved it from.
Do you have iTunes prefs -> Advanced Keep ITunes music folder organized ticked and Copy files to iTunes ... ticked?
*OF COURSE!* Again, I'm not a newbie.
I have several hundred playlists with these files
Why would you have several hundred playlists?
I don't mean to sound rude but you sound like an Apple fanboy. Are you trying to tell me how I should use my own program? The answer to the question is I am a salsa instructor/DJ and I am constantly adding songs and videos to my library. Every month I have various salsa events, classes and performances that I do. I use my iPhone for the music. I need to maintain the playlists because students/teachers/studios/clubs/bars/churches/etc. call me back and want a repeat of the great salsa night I gave them a year ago. Naturally my playlists are highly organized into folders. So, I still have them and I need them.
Apple has its own ideas about how people should use its stuff but everyone is unique and our needs therefore are unique too. Apple doesn't realize this and still wants us to do things "the Apple way" even though "the Apple way" only works well for people who want their hand held through everything. This is why I say you sound like a fanboy. You don't know my situation and question if I need hundreds of playlists. I do.
I just need an answer to the question.
Thank you for your reply though. It gave me hope, for a time.

Itunes 9.2 can no longer find files.

Using Mac 10.4.1, With itunes open, the music files are all there, but when I click to play, it says they cant find file. All the files are on the main hardrive where they have always been. Not sure what to do. Garage Band also does not mix down to ituens as it has in the past, but goes to the hard drive where the other music files are store. It appears a new itunes has been created as well but it is empty.

Something has happened to breaks your links. Have you verified your hard drive with Disk Utility? You may have directory corruption.
As for solutions, the only one I can think of is to rebuild your iTunes library.
iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1451
I suspect you haven't recently updated or else you could try:
Restoring old library file after doing an iTunes update - https://discussions.apple.com/message/17789607
Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash - https://discussions.apple.com/message/19812487 - turingtest2 post on restoring library archived at time of last iTunes application update.

ITunes not finding music files

iTunes cannot find 90%+ of my music files. I manually linked them together over the last weekend (yucch) and today when I went into iTunes, the links were all broken even though the .mp3 files were in the same directories as before. I can manually find the music files but that's a chore, particularly if I have to do it several times (not!). Any suggestions?
Inspiron 6000 Windows XP

Well, you have a couple options. First shut down iTunes. Then unmount your HD. Then mount your external HD again, then after it pops up on your desktop, launch iTunes. Any files iTunes has that points to your ext. HD should play just fine.
Or, you can copy all your music to your ext. HD (if you don't already have it there), and simply delete your iTunes library (by removing your data files). You could then add to library, making sure you uncheck "copy itunes songs to music folder). This way, iTunes will only "point" to your ext. drive to play the music. If the drive isn't on, you don't get any music, and the "!" sign. If you have many playlists, this can be tricky.
As a rule, I don't go crazy with playlists, other than smart playlists. This way, you don't go nuts when you lose your data file, or want to do a clean update of your library. You'd be surprised at the times I thought I kept my library in tip-top shape, only to delete it and add the music again. I often find a song or two that I had hidden somewhere.
Bryan

I transferred my music to a larger hard drive and when I went to sync to iTunes there half my library had a '!' next to the songs. After I located one song the question 'would you like itunes to find other missing files' came up. What does this mean?

I recently transferred my music from one external hard drive to another and when I went to sync it to iTunes half my music had a '!' symbol on the left side, which meant that the songs weren't located. When I went to locate one of the songs it asked me if I wanted iTunes to find other missing files, which I said yes. What happens next and what is iTunes doing to find the missing files?

iTunes is a database. When you import songs to the database, it records the location of that song, so that when you play, or sync the song iTunes knows where to look for it.
When you moved your music to a different location, iTunes can't find it because you didn't tell iTunes that you moved the music.
You'll have to re-add those songs that you moved to your itunes library. Your best bet is going to be to delete all the songs in your library and then go to File > Add folder to library > and then find your music folder on the new external hard drive.
Also, the external drive HAS to be connected in order for iTunes to find it.

I am trying to install itunes 10.5.1 but it can't find file IXP609.TMP where can i get this

i am trying to install itunes 10.5.1 but it can't find file IXP609.TMP so stopping the upgrade. how do i upgrade itunes? I tried uninstalling but it can't find another file 389 so I can neither uninstall nor reinstall. Any thoughts please?

Hi Rick,
by "repair" I mean I went to the control panel, option - programs and features, and in the list of all my installed programs I selected "Apple Software Update". On top of the screen you find the options Uinstall, Change and Repair. I clicked the repair button and that did the trick. After the repair I could uninstall the program. I also uninstalled iTunes, Apple Application Support, Apple Mobile Device Support en Bonjour, thus all Apple programs. Then I installed iTunes 10.5 again and everything went fine.
Success,
Peter

Itunes error message "file cannot be found..." I know the file is somewhere since I find it when I do a system search and it plays, but can't get itunes to see it. Any help?

itunes error message "file cannot be found..." I know the file is somewhere since I find it when I do a system search and it plays, but can't get itunes to see it. Any help?

Hello pwithero,
The following article details the process of indicating to iTunes the correct location for the affected file.
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
Cheers,
Allen

ITunes Systematically Find Files

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