Lost music files in iTunes library

When I installed iCloud on my PC and iPhone, all the music I had in my iTunes library that was from CDs disappeared. I have now uninstalled iCloud on both. Can I recover those music files using some sort of restore process? Thanks.

Your i-device was not designed for unique storage of your media. It is not a backup device and media transfer was planned with you maintaining a master copy of your media on a computer which is itself independently backed up against loss. To use a device with a new computer you transfer the content from the old computer (or its backup) directly to the new computer, not the device to the new computer. Media syncing is one way, computer to device, updating the device content to the content on the computer, not updating or restoring content on a computer. The exception is iTunes Store purchases which can be transferred to a computer.
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848 - only purchases from iTunes Store
For transferring other items from an i-device to a computer you will have to use third party commercial software. See this document by turingtest2: Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991

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How to move my music file to iTunes library

On June 20, 2008, I burned 149 songs by the same singer into a DVD and also a CD-R. Later, I somehow lost most of these songs from my iTunes music library. Today, however, I seem to have found them, or almost all of them. I found them in Music>iTunes>iTunes Music>Annette Hanshaw>Red Hot Jazz.
How can I move these songs from where I found them to my iTunes music library?

Niel wrote:
Drag them into the open iTunes window.
(34085)
2nd reply: As it turned out, I could do it. I just dragged the icon "Red Hot Jazz" out of the Hard Drive with my cursor into the Annette Hanshaw screen of my iTunes library. It was easy, although I did make one mistake that I'm going to have to correct. The mistake I made was that because it looked to me as if the transfer of files was being done in installments, I dragged the icon into the iTunes page many times. However, when I saw that it was going to transfer 800+ files, I realized that what I had done was simply to put several copies of each song in the iTunes library. Now I have to delete the extra copies, but I'm not complaining. Now I'm going to go after all of those song files that are scattered throughout my hard drive, and consolidate them into my iTunes library. There will probably be many extra copies, but fixing that will be a simple matter. Tedious, but simple. Thanks for your help.

Lost music files in iTunes 10 update.

I updated my iTunes and have since noticed that several music files are missing from my library including recently purchased items from the iTunes store. I tried locating them by going to the Purchaced folder along the left side of iTunes and this folder has now completely vannished. Music that I have copied to iTunes via CD is also missing.
Any ideas as to why this has happened and how to recover my music files without having to trawl through the guts of my computer?

I lost all my music and found most of it. The purchased music I found also but it was never recognized by iTunes. Also all my playlist were gone. I still haven't figured it all out.

Add music files to itunes library

Many songs that I have imported (create *.mp3) using an early version of itunes will no longer play in my ipod 5G video, or in itunes. So i've removed them from the itunes library, and now I cannot get the files back into itunes. I've tried all of the methods I know of: import a song, a folder, and dragging and dropping the folder. Please Help.

Create the playlist folders.
Create the playlists inside them.
Drag your folders of music to their respective playlists.
You may want to visit Edit > Preferences > Advanced, then turn off the Keep... & Copy... options.
tt2

HT3847 lost music file on iTunes prevention

some music file are located on one folder for iTunes but some times i get duplicated files and the error messege 'the original file could not be found' is really anoiyng

I tried that and it got very complicated for me so i had to use alternatives the closest was PhonTunes i did buy the upgrade 2 days ago now it's telling me i have to upgrade again. It was the only third party software i can understand the MPRG Streamclip only gave me options to play not to transfer it to iTunes.

How Do I Put my Music File to iTunes Library?

I already downloaded mp3 music from a website..how do I put it inside iTunes so I can put it into my iPhone? Also how can I make that song into my ringtone? Someone please tell me step by step instruction.

OK, there is a better way to do this. First of all, in your old library, I would add all your songs back by going to file > add folder and picking the new folder where all your songs are.
THEN go to edit > preferences > advanced (it's a tab) and then in a box is your source folder. Change your source folder to a new folder in whatever username's My Music folder you want. Then consolidate your library, and that will copy all your songs into that new folder. Then get into the other user's iTunes, file > add folder and add the new folder where you added all your songs. If all works successfully, you can now delete the other folder so you don't have two full libraries clogging up your computer.

Recovering lost music files after itunes 7 upgrade

Newbe here; I recently downloaded and installed ITUNES7.0.1(25.7MB)UPGRADE and was horrified to discover my ENTIRE music library disappeared(or deleted!)-how did this happen? More importantly, how do i recover the files- i performed every type of search there was on the computer but no luck- please help- many of these file were rare pieces I place on the Computer when changing computers from ibm to mac.

No it looks like I tunes deleted all my mp3s also. When I first ran 7 it crashed and I had to reboot. When I looked at my mp3 directory all files are gone and on this new system they can't be found anywhere else. Even undeletion software hasn't been able to find them.

I have lost all my music on my itunes library. These were not purchased items from itunes, just CDs i had imported, so I could reimport them, but would rather not do that.

I have recently lost all my itunes library. All the CD's were imported, but I would rather not go through the laborious technique of downloading them on to my computer again. I have tried all sorts of methods to restore my library, and have now given up. I have deleted itunes completely from my computer, and reinstalled the program.
I have now bought itunes match.
Unfortunately, I now realise that I will lose all the music on my phone if I use itunes match. So, is there any way of transferring the music on my iphone back to itunes?
Can anybody help?
Thanks.

Hey xxCreepyFiaxx,
First, I would try the following suggested steps for when you don't see content in iTunes after updating:
Quit iTunes.
Download and install the latest version of iTunes.
Use the Finder (Mac) or Windows Explorer (Windows) to go to the iTunes folder that contains the iTunes library files:
Mac OS X
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/
Microsoft Windows Windows XP and Windows 2000
\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\
Microsoft Windows Windows Vista and Windows 7
\Users\username\Music\iTunes\
Drag the iTunes Library file from the above location to the Desktop.
Open the Previous iTunes Libraries folder in the iTunes folder.
Locate the file named iTunes Library YYYY-MM-DD where YYYY-MM-DD is the date you upgraded iTunes (Year-Month-Day).
Drag this file to the iTunes folder (the enclosing folder).
Rename this file to iTunes Library.
Open iTunes.
You should now see your missing content in iTunes.
via: No content shows up in iTunes after updating
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1967
If that doesn't resolve the issue, then I'd go through the steps in here:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
Have a good one,
Delgadoh

HT1349 Unable to play any of the music in my itunes library. The message The song "__" could not be used because the original file could not be found.

Unable to play all the music in my itunes library. The same message always appears - The song "____" could not be used because the original finle could not be found. How do I fix this problem?

Hello there, Paso Kid.
The following Knowledge Base articles provide some assistance with locating content in your iTunes Library:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
and
Where are my iTunes files located?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1391
If you have already reviewed those steps and still cannot find the songs you purchased from iTunes, delete the songs and download them again using the information in this article:
iTunes 11 for Windows: Download previous purchases from the iTunes Store
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12491
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro.

I have lost most of my music files in itunes, ca I back up my ipod or download music from my ipod

i have lost most of my music files in itunes, can i backup my ipod or download music from my ipod to itunes . Also i have tried to save music in itunes to an external storage devise but my computer still stores them in the c drive which runs out of spce quickly what can i do

See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

Why have i lost purchased music from my itunes library

itunes;
why have i lost purchased music from my itunes library (files not found) and how do I get it back??

Hello ullu,
iTunes Store purchases can usually be re-downloaded from the iTunes Store.
Downloading past purchases from the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2519
Cheers,
Allen

My itunes stops working when i try to add a music file to the library. how do i fix this?

when I open iTunes and try to add a music file to my library from my computer, I slecet the song and click open and then it just comes up with the error message saying that iTunes has stopped woking and closes the program... ive tried everything- uninstalling and reinstalling the program and even disabling my antivirus software. I have no other ideas about how to fix this?

If you are still having this problem, the fix below takes care of it. It was posted in another conversation by Sony Singh. I did it, rebooted, and all works!!
Copy QTMovieWin.dll from: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Apple Application Support
to: C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes
Hope this helps or you've already done the fix, especially since you posted in October.

My computer broke and i lost all files including ITunes. what happens to all the stuff purchased already. will this appear in itues when i download it agian? how can i save the music on my ipod and transfere it over to the new itunes?

my computer broke and i lost all files including ITunes. what happens to all the stuff purchased already. will this appear in itues when i download it agian? how can i save the music on my ipod and transfere it over to the new itunes?

Unfortunely, all movies and songs purchased in iTunes will be lost...you'll have to purchase them again! Any applications you've purchased, you can download again for free.
Music Rescue is a program you can use to transfer any and all data (music, movies, pictures..) from your iPod to your computer, and iTunes.
http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/products/musicrescue/

TS3694 Hello, I have an error while trying to add move music into my itunes library. 'The itunes library file cannot be saved. You do not have enough previledges for this operaion? help - what does this mean?

Hello, I have an error while trying to add move music into my itunes library. 'The itunes library file cannot be saved. You do not have enough previledges for this operaion? help - what does this mean?

Hi luxmi01,
Here is some information and troubleshooting on the permissions issues you are seeing:
Trouble adding music to iTunes library or importing audio CD
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1387
Cheers!
- Ari

I have just downloaded itunes 10.6 and in the process my "podcast" option under library has disappeared! The files are still on my laptop. I can also see some of my recorded music in my itunes library but can play them - there is an exclamation mark next

I have just downloaded itunes 10.6 and in the process my "podcast" option under library has disappeared! THe files are still on my laptop. I can also see some of my recorded music in the itunes library but can't play them - there is an exclamation mark next to each track. Basically I can't use itunes - is the only option remove and replace? Thanks in advance

Visibility of the Podcasts section is controlled from within the Edit > Preferences dialog.
Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
Missing tracks
Typically this can happen because a file or folder is accidentally shunted to the wrong location. iTunes can also get confused if it expects to be talking to an external drive which isn't there. If will often reset the default media folder location and may have trouble finding files in the old folders.
Select one of your tracks that is missing in action. Press CTRL-I to Get Info. Cancel when asked to try to locate the file, then look at the location given on the summary tab. This where iTunes thinks the file ought to be? Now find out where it actually is. Post back the two locations for comparison. I should be able to give you some steps to reconnect everything once I can determine which of the things that might have gone wrong is most likely in your case.
When you get it all working make a backup!
tt2

Lost music files in iTunes library

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