Lost itunes on external hard-drive!

Yikes! I think I lost my music. I have been keeping my itune files on a lacie external harddrive, in order to keep my ibook free of space.
For the most part, we import new songs only when the external is hooked up so that all the new files go right into the itunes music library located on that drive.
Over time, though, purchased songs and other song files have imported right into the ibook's library. Recently, I went to move those files over to the external, just as I had when I first moved over everything. I subsequntly deleted the same song files from the ibook.
Now, when I go to play the files I moved that day, I get an error message saying that the file cannot be located. I've searched for the artsist, song, album on both the external & ibook drive, but the do not show up anywhere!
Holy canoli! I have a horrible feeling that they are gone for ever! Any advice given would be greatly appreciated.
Courtney

That's the cause of the problem.
The way you described it in your first post, makes me think the files could still be on your external HD.
The problem is, you moved the files without letting iTunes know.
The locations are stored in the 'iTunes Library' file (more info here).
If you move them using the Finder the links are lost.
You should have changed the 'iTunes Music folder' (Preferences>Advanced>General) to the music folder on your external HD and then use the 'Consolidate Library...' command from the Advanced menu in the menubar.
That copies all music to the 'iTunes Music folder' as set in the preferences.
It won't help now, but you can use this procedure next time.
It's also important to understand that when iTunes doesn't find the Library at startup, it will reset the 'iTunes Music folder' to the default location on the internal HD. Always connect your ext. HD before running iTunes.
Now to the possible rescue.
If the files are still on your ext. HD, you can use a script to restore the dead links.
Go to www.dougscripts.com and type 'dead' (without the quotes) in the 'search scripts:' field. Of the scripts that will be found, 'iTunes Track CPR v1.3' looks the logical choice to do the job.
Hope this helps.
M
17' iMac fp 800 MHz 768 MB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9) Several ext. HD (backup and data)

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Restoring itunes from external hard drive

-I used WD backup program to store itunes on external hard drive
-hard drive on mac pro crashed, replaced hard drive
-trying to restore itunes songsa from external drive and when I copied songs from external hard drive to new internal hard drive which has itunes program, only song titles appear and track number for songs I ripped from CDs. All info is present for songs I purchased from itunes (why is there a difference in the way these two are restored???)
-Can I restore itunes from external drive so that artist and album are associated with each song title I ripped from CDs?
Much appreciate all assistance. Thanks.

I know MP3 and AAC save tag data, and I believe AIFF does as well (if you want to keep them in full-quality but space-greedy format). I don't think WAV supports tagging which is why they were lost. Read:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9558241&#9558241
This time make sure you have a complete backup of your itunes folder (which, in fact you may still have). That way you can recover your complete library and everything intact (as long as you keep your backups up to date).
Here is a related topic
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9267109&#9267109

How do I copy iTunes from external hard drive to iMac?

How do I copy iTunes from external
Hard drive to iMac?

if your main library is on your external, then when not connected, you wont have access to it.
so first decide, where do you want to keep the files.
E.g. In my case, I keep my files on "C:\iTunes Music".
I have a backup on external "Z:\iTunes Backup". If I format my laptop, this is how I restore everything.
Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced.
The iTunes music folder in selects as "C:\iTunes Music"
I have checked Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized, and also Copy Files to iTunes Music folder when adding to ibrary". Click OK to save and close preferences.
My iTunes list is now empty. I go to file, and select "Add Folder to Library". From that window, I select "Z:\iTunes Backup". iTunes then copies everything from the backup to "C:\iTunes Music". For me, backup is backup, I dont need it to play music.
Now decide this. If you do not want to keep music on C:, but want to only connect the external to update music on your ipod, do this:
In preferences, set iTunes Music folder as "Z:\iTunes Backup", and uncheck Copy files to iTunes Music folder, since they are already there. Then in files, select Add folder to library again to build and update the list.

HT1660 How do I run itunes from external Hard drive?

How do I run itunes from external hard drive. I only have ssd on PC and media is too large to fit

You do not.
iTunes, like all programs is installed on the C drive.
You can store the media on another drive.
Assuming you are moving an existing library from another computer:
Move or Copy the ENTIRE iTunes folder from the old computer to the new computer and put it where you want it.
Install iTunes using the default options.
Hold <SHIFT> while launching iTunes. It will prompt to create a new library or locate an existing library.
Select the option to locate an existing library.
Point iTunes to the iTunesLibrary.itl file in the iTunes folder that was moved from the old computer.

Whilst moving location of iTunes to external hard drive, I lost my iTunes Media folder and now it can't find my media files

Whist moving my iTunes folder to an external hard drive, (I was following this post: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1364) I seem to have accidentally deleted the itunes Media folder - I misread the last action point!
All the files transferred to the external hard drive as I can see them and I am able to copy them into itunes, but only links, and they're still organised.
Can anyone help me restore the folder structure so itunes can see the music?
I added a new cd to itunes so I could see where it is now saving music and it created a new folder where the music now resides (I guess as a deleted the file structure from previous it needed to create a new one). I thought I would be able to copy and paste the old music into this newly created fold but it doesn't seem to have worked.
Any advice on what I should do would be greatly received
(I'm using windows vista)

Stop with the whining.
Download past purchases from iTunes

How can I transfer Itunes from external hard drive to a new computer?

Hello,
I had a Dell laptop with Windows XP on it recently crash, but I have everything saved to a Seamagine external 1 terabyte hard drive. I have about 250 gigabytes of media on it, mostly CD's and audiobooks. The setup I had on the XP computer was my Itunes folder saved on the C drive, but I kept all the actual music and audiobooks on the external hard drive, which was labeled the F drive.
After the crash, a relative sold me their three year old Compaq laptop, with Windows 7 instead of XP as the OS. My relative already had Itunes downloaded on it, but when I opened the Itunes on the new (new to me) laptop, Itunes only recognized their (my relative's) account. So, I uninstalled their Itunes and then I re-downloaded Itunes for 64-bit Windows 7. I then opened the Windows Explorer folder so to drag and drop my backed up Itunes folder and library information from the old C drive to the new Itunes folder in the new C drive. But, it wouldn't do anything. It still wanted the password info from my relative's account. It wouldn't recognize my account, even though I had uninstalled and then reinstalled a newer version of Itunes. Dragging and dropping my backed-up Itunes folder from my external hard drive to the new C drive didn't work because it said it didn't have certain permissions or something like that. I think I might have downloaded a newer version of Itunes, different from what I had saved a couple of days ago, which might be one of the problems here, not to mention that I switched OS's from XP to Windows 7.
When I plugged the external hard drive USB into the new laptop no Seamagine manager came up for user-friendly accessibility. I didn't know what to do, so I installed Seagate Dashboard onto the new computer. It didn't do anything for me either. No problem, I thought, I'll just use Windows Explorer to move the Itunes library, and then once I transfer (i.e., drag and drop) the old Itunes folder to the one, all will be as it was. I could then direct my Itunes account to use my external hard drive as the media source folder. I was wrong. It won't let me do that either. It says I don't have permission to do it.
How c an I get my old Itunes library info onto the C drive of this new computer, but keep the 250GB of media files on the external hard drive, just like the setup I had on the old laptop before it crashed? If you can help me, then you will be my hero. I'm scared to death that I've lost my library info and afraid to mess with it too much more for fear of erasing it or, worse, losing the 250 GB of media that is on the external hard drive, which has taken me a tremendous amount of time and money to compile. It is, in effect, irreplaceable. I'm very worried and frustrated. I've been working on this for days, to no avail. You're my last hope. Thank you.

Hmm, I think we should start over...
Here are the typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
In the image above the red outline denotes the "media folder", that is the folder listed under Edit > Preferences > Advanced. In the standard layout where the "media folder" is inside the "library folder" the iTunes library has the advantage of being self-contained and portable. Since you've lost the "library folder" from your old computer you're going to have to start over so you might as well get organized properly.
If the folder curently holding your media files is called G:\iTunes then rename it as G:\Media.
The support doc How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one explains how to create a new iTunes library where you want it. In short click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and hold down the shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library, click Create and browse to G:\, make sure the folder is going to be called iTunes and click save.
Move the folder that actually holds the media inside the folder G:\iTunes\iTunes Media. We're going to let iTunes reorganize everything (unless you have a collection of .wav files in which case stop and tell me because they require a different approach).
Use File > Add folder to library and select the folder G:\iTunes\iTunes Media. iTunes will search through the whole series of subfolders adding all media files into the library and reorganizing them into the correct artist & album folders.
Again, for data security, you really ought to obtain a second external drive at some point and backup your library to it. Only having one copy, as you have found, leaves you vulnerable to failure. External drives are no less prone to it.
A) Windows uses \ as a folder separator in path descriptions, Mac uses /.
B) Do you have a backup of the iTunes folder that was on drive C:\ or are you simply referring to the location of your media as a "backup" when it really the only copy? If you have a backup copy of your "original" iTunes library you could move/copy that to G:\iTunes shift-start-iTunes to open it, and then I can offer tools or techniques for fixing the links that will be broken becuase the drive letter has changed.
C) Use Store > Sign out and then Store > Sign in to sign into your iTunes account. You will also need to use Store > Authorize the computer to allow playback and transfer of any protected content. If your new library contains protected content from any other accounts then you will have to authorize the computer for those too.
tt2

Hard drive crash/iTunes on External Hard Drive

I have a 40GB iPOD with the flywheel. For years, I have been using an old laptop (Dell Inspiron 5000e with Windows 2000) essentially for iTunes/iPod only, using an external harddrive to hold my ~3500 songs. This week I added new songs and synched with the computer, but the process was slow and my computer made strange noises and then would not shut down. The iPod--which had to be pulled even though it said "Do Not Disconnect" because the computer was just going through agonal gear-grinding heartbreaking death-- initially played normally but then began to skip through the songs erratically and finally showed the dreaded file folder/exclamation point sign, and now is just showing the Apple and will not reset. When I tried to fire back up the laptop it just makes lots of groaning sounds and will not even stay booted up. So I'm guessing my problem is that my computer is very sick or dead, and this is not an iPod problem.
I've had headaches everytime I try to change anything about my setup (probably because I was trying to squeeze a lot out of an obsolete computer, but anyway...), so I'm anxious about proceeding to a new arrangement without seeking advice first. How do I set up anew using a different computer? Should I use the same disk that came with my original iPod to download iTunes/iPod software to a new hard-drive? Or can I get the latest versions from on-line without needing the original disk? Once these are downloaded onto a new computer, I assume I can then hook up my external hard drive and that it will fill in the iTunes of my new hard drive (I am confused about the access to these tunes because they were stored in the external drive but somehow directed to my computer desktop--I'm easily lost when it comes to drives, etc, and I may be Jones'ing from not having my Shuffle of tunes this morning)? Is there something I need to do to train my iPod to synch with a new computer? Will it likely still synch even though it is showing the Apple sign and appears not to respond to any commands or to charge in its cradle?
Sorry so detailed, but I mainly need advice about the order of the steps I need to take to change my set-up. Thanks!
Michael

Hey jcaqualung,
Thanks for the question. I understand that you are experiencing issues with iTunes on your Windows Vista machine. The following resource may provide a solution. I would also recommend installing iTunes on the internal hard drive of your computer, as opposed to the external drive.
iTunes for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8: Fix unexpected quits or launch issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1717
Thanks,
Matt M.

Help: itunes and external hard drive

I bought 2 TB Seagate external hard drive just so I can put all my music/movies/tv shows on it so I can free up space on the laptop. I followed these instructions from Apple's website... http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364
What I've read was after the above was done I could hook up the external, hook up my iphone and I would be able to use itunes as I normally would b/c it was getting my music (& stuff) from the external but I could never do it. Last night everything kept giving me the exclamation point and saying it couldn't locate the file. I tried to load the music from the external to itunes so I did that in itunes with add file/folder to itunes and it duplicated a lot of my music BUT I was able to play some of the files. So I started deleting the exclamation point ones and this morning I was going pick up where I left off and it has been nothing but ****. Nothing would play and itunes kept not responding. So I uninstalled itunes (exactly how apple website said too) thinking and praying I might start from scratch b/c at this point I was boiling and I was done. So now after reinstalling itunes it is still not responding and nothing will play.
My hard drive still shows all the files but won't play.
I was simply trying to save space but simple is not what i've got!!!!!!
Thanks- Megan

Windows is probably changing the drive letter of the exHD after you plug in the ipod. Isn't that nice, it can do that without telling you?
For instance you started ituens and made the library while the exHD was F:
Then you plug in the ipod and the windows changes it so the ipod has F:
Now itunes is lost so you get the !
You need to assign the drive letter to be permanent on the exHD. Use windows disk manager.
You an also assign a permanent drive letter to your ipod.
My advice is to pick letters far down in the alphabet.
This page has drive letter directions
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1493

Lost Folders on External Hard Drive

Hi all,
Today I tried to delete my time machine back up to free some space on my external hard drive. Unfortunately my mac would not delete the back up via Trash, so as a last resort I ran a terminal to locate the folder within my external hard drive and force delete it. I couldn't just delete the partition because i had lots of other stuff on the external hard drive.
After the terminal command was successful ,deleting only what was in the trash folder within my external hard drive, the back up was deleted. However at the same time three folders have disappeared from within my external hard drive all containing films i was storing. Strangely all three of the folders that appear to have been deleted had an asterisk infront of the folder name.
I can't figure out what has happened to them and how they were seemingly deleted. If anyone could shed any light on this issue i would be very grateful.

That's the cause of the problem.
The way you described it in your first post, makes me think the files could still be on your external HD.
The problem is, you moved the files without letting iTunes know.
The locations are stored in the 'iTunes Library' file (more info here).
If you move them using the Finder the links are lost.
You should have changed the 'iTunes Music folder' (Preferences>Advanced>General) to the music folder on your external HD and then use the 'Consolidate Library...' command from the Advanced menu in the menubar.
That copies all music to the 'iTunes Music folder' as set in the preferences.
It won't help now, but you can use this procedure next time.
It's also important to understand that when iTunes doesn't find the Library at startup, it will reset the 'iTunes Music folder' to the default location on the internal HD. Always connect your ext. HD before running iTunes.
Now to the possible rescue.
If the files are still on your ext. HD, you can use a script to restore the dead links.
Go to www.dougscripts.com and type 'dead' (without the quotes) in the 'search scripts:' field. Of the scripts that will be found, 'iTunes Track CPR v1.3' looks the logical choice to do the job.
Hope this helps.
M
17' iMac fp 800 MHz 768 MB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9) Several ext. HD (backup and data)

Moved iTunes to external hard drive, iTunes can't find location of music

I recently moved my iTunes and library to an external hard drive as my laptop was running too slowly.
Suddenly I can't play any music (only some podcasts) directly from my iTunes. Those selected in my iPod Selection folder will play on my iPod.
There is an exclamation mark icon in the column next to the name. I've looked in the library and all the songs are there in .m4a format.
Does anyone know what I can do??????
Cheers
Kate

Windows will change the letter of the external drive you moved your stuff to inadvertently. If you go into control panel, computer management and drives. you will see the drives listed. Try changing the drive letter back to the original drive letter when you moved the files, right click on the external drive and change it back to f: or g:, making sure to unplug any other usb sticks/memory sticks drives you might have used since the last time you moved your files to the external drive. Do this a couple of times if it happens again and xp will remember to reserve that drive name for you.

Problems trying to store iTunes on external hard drive and back up iPhone to internal hard drive?

Hi
I have been tirelessly trying to relocate my entire iTunes function to an external hard drive to free space on my laptop. I have migrated the iTunes library (from the 'My Music' location on laptop) to ext hard drive and also reinstalled iTunes, asking to save all files during set up to the ext drive (not in default 'Program Files' on laptop). I have also pointed iTunes to the library's new location on the ext hard drive. I did this after reading a recommendation on here that it is better to have both my library and all other iTunes files in the same place.
One of the problems is when I have moved the library, it has for some reason created two iTunes folders on the ext drive with different music in each, but the library database file is only available in one of them, and I am not sure if all the music from both folders is available in iTunes.
Another huge issue is that when I have tried to back up my iPhone to the computer (as recommended to do after migrating the iTunes program to another location), it is not letting the process complete; I get an error message saying it cannot save to the computer. It seems the location of the back ups (C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup) isn't compatible with the new location of my library etc (on my ext drive)and from searching the internet for a solution, it seems you can't change the location of where back ups of an iPhone are stored.
So, does anyoine know if there is a fix-all solution to these dilemmas? Or should I just keep my library on one drive and the iTunes program on my int drive?
Thanks in advance
VR

Hmm.
I'm sure I'd successfully tested the command line version of the move instructions at one point, but I'm getting the same "access denied" error when I try. Maybe "Move" doesn't like working with folders when the path contains sections with hidden or system flags. Anyway herewith version 3 which I've just tested works as described...
Relocate iOS device backups
Assuming you're running Windows Vista or later you can use the following steps:
Using Windows Explorer move the current Mobile Sync Backup folder from C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup to your chosen location, e.g. as X:\Backup where <User> is your Windows user name and X: is your preferred drive.
To make iTunes look for the data in the new location open a command prompt by hitting the start button and typing CMD<Enter> in the search box that opens up, then type in this command and press <Enter>
MkLink /J "C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" "X:\Backup"
If your external drive has a different letter or you already have a folder called "Backup" then edit "X:\Backup" accordingly.
If you're still running Windows XP you can use Junction (cmd line tool) or NTFSLink (shell ext). In both cases you move the existing folder to a new location, create an empty folder where the old one used to be, then use the tools to get the operating system to link the two together and silently redirect any file operation on the old location through to the new one.
Note that while this method works for iOS device backups it cannot be used to redirect sections of the media library. iTunes will break the connection the first time it tries to write a file to the target folder.
What happens when you want to sync the device? If you're getting a warning about erasing and reloading the device with media from the current library then something is wrong. If you moved the library files correctly and then reconnected them to iTunes this should still be the "home" library of the device and it should sync as if nothing had changed. If not then revist the make a split library portable post for advice. See also Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device if for some reason you accidentally erased the original library files and all backups thereof.
tt2

Problem with itunes and external hard drive

I've have recently downloaded the newest version of itunes, I also have an external hard drive with 40gbs of music on.
When I open itunes preferences and set library to an external one, none of my music copies to itunes.
I have tried to individually copy music folders to itunes, but my whole mac freeze's
Any advice please?

You might find this article useful: iLounge - Managing your iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive

Itunes on external hard drive wont open in Win7

I have my itunes stored on an external hard drive using Windows XP. I have just changed my computer to a Win7 version, and now I cant access my library. I can see it there but cannot find the correct path to it. I have been able to access it on my old XP PC so it still works OK, but frustrated not being able to get it to work on a later OS/computer.

Do you have the itunes database file from XP also on the exHD?
iTunes Library.itl
Copy it from XP onto the exHD.
Then connect the exHD to Win 7, do a shift-start of itunes.
Which means, press *AND HOLD* the shift key while starting itunes, keep pressing until you get the prompt. Then browse to the exHD and choose the ITL file you copied over.

Moved Itunes to External hard drive and Itunes can't find them

I went to the Apple Store at the Grove on Friday. An employee there printed out these instructions:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301748
I followed the instructions. All my music is on my external hard drive now (My Book). When I open Itunes all the songs in the entire library have a circle with ! in them.
It says the song could not be used because the file could not be found. When I search My Book the song plays and the ! is removed. I have several thousand songs. Do I have to do this with each and every one?
Also, I can't import new cd's now.
Can anyone help?
Thanks, Vicki

Try this -> iTunes Track CPR v1.3

Is it really possible to operate iTunes from external hard drive?

The internal hard drive on my Mac Book Pro is full and most of it is music for iTunes. I have been told that it is possible to operate iTunes from a library on an external drive but it hasn't worked for me. I have moved the iTunes folder on to my external hard drive. Then I did two things...First, I opened iTunes while pressing the "alt" key. Then I clicked on "choose library" and directed it to the iTunes folder on the external hard drive. Second, I opened Preferences>Advanced>iTunes Media Folder Location and then clicked on "Change" and directed that to the iTunes folder on my external hard drive. It should work right? Well, it worked the day that I did it but the next day I had "!" beside every song in my library of nearly 10,000 songs. It says that it can't find the location of the song file and asks if I would like to find it. When I show it where the file is it works but it will take me forever to do that with each individual song. Can this really be done successfully?

One question. What is NAS?
Here is a link http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751 . I did it exactly this way the first time I tried, including consolidating and the organize library part but it made a mess of my iTunes folder. Luckily I had it backed up on another partition of my hard drive using Time Machine. So, I deleted the iTunes folder and started over.
I dragged the iTunes folder over last night to the partition on my hard drive that I want to operate iTunes from. It took about an hour or so to copy the files over but the iTunes folder looks organized the way it should be again. Then I Alt>Clicked on iTunes in the dock and picked create library. Then I directed it to the new iTunes folder. Next I chose preferences>Advanced>Change media folder location and directed that to the new Itunes folder. Then it asked me if I would like iTunes to organize the folder(or something to that effect). I can't remember exactly but I chose "No" or "Cancel" this time, I didn't the first time. It has been working ever since but I am waiting for something to go wrong. Because, it worked last time for a day and then stopped.

Lost itunes on external hard-drive!

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