Merging iTunes Media folder with general "My Music" folder

Using iTunes 10. My designated storage folder for files imported into iTunes is the default "C:\Users\My Name\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music." Over the years I have also imported many mp3 files and stored by artist/album/song in the general "C:\Users\My Name\Music" folder (same parent folder in which "iTunes music" resides).
For various reasons -- mostly related to cleaning up my drive and making simpler backups -- I would like to move all my itunes music files out of "iTunes Music" into the general "Music" file without losing the locator links in iTunes.
Is there an automated solution for this, rather than just dragging each folder out of iTunes Music and into Music and then reimporting through iTunes? Can I simply import the entire "Music" file into iTunes and let God sort it out, or is there some better way?
Thanks for any suggestions.

Wesley Everett wrote:
Can I simply import the entire "Music" file into iTunes and let God sort it out,
You could do that, but be aware that iTunes will treat each file as if it were newly imported, i.e. with no rating, no playlist membership, play count of zero, and Date Added of today.
or is there some better way?
You will probably find it preferable to run Consolidate. Read the article in iTunes Help before you run it. Long story short, it will copy the files all to one place and maintain their current library information.

Similar Messages

HT1364 when I moved the iTunes media folder from my PC to my external hard drive, upon iTunes start up with the harddrive connected beforehand, my music and all the files transferred to my harddrive but now all my playlists music& ratings are gone. what d

I transferred my itunes library using all the guided steps promepted on this topic, when I restarted iTunes in its new location on my xternal hard drive, iTunes did not have any of my ratings or playlists. I did have the hard drive running before i started up itunes as well. what can I do?

I got it to work!!!!!!!
what I did was after doing this( http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364) moving my library and iTunes folders using that link, I held shift while double cicking and opening iTunes, It promted me to select a library, I went to my external hard drive and opened iTunes library.itl folder and selected the iTunes library.itl file. In the picture below I just selected the highlighted file and it opened itunes, THIS time with all my music and with all my music ratings and playlists, all still intact thank you so much!!!!

Laptop died. Had backup of ITunes Media Folder but now cant restore music to Ipod after ios5 upgrade!

Hi guys. My laptop died a week ago and I managed to get the Itunes Media Folder copied off hard drive before it completely died. Since then, loaded Itunes on my main PC for first time (ios5), authorised it and then pointed iTunes at the Itunes Media Folder. Since trying to sync my Ipod Touch (which effectively had to be overwritten) I've noticed that most of my music on the iPod Touch is Greyed out. Majority of the music was from Amazon and purchased CD's imported to Itunes. All plays OK on iTunes but Ipod wont play 'em.
Any ideas guys? Tried syncing about 8 times now. Real pain in the bum!

I am getting a bit lost on what was done and exactly why you did it that way. It looks to me like you use iTunes with standard preferences settings and you didn't so much move your media folder to the external drive as your whole iTunes library (everything in the top level folder including all the media files). This should have been done simply by copying the iTunes folder from the old drive to the new one, renaming the AllMyiTunesMusic folder if you so desire, then starting iTunes while holding down the option/alt key and selecting that folder as the iTunes library to now start using. Apart from the copy time when you could go away and drink a pot of coffee the actual labor time would be about 2 minutes. I think you must have done something different which has kind of messed up your library and resulted in duplication of files. Some of those folders such as Movies and the neighboring Music folder should be in the media folder, but don't move things about in Finder or iTunes may lose track of them and things will get worse. If you can go back and do things properly then I recommend you do so, otherwise we can see what we can work with here.
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
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847 - plus supplemental information about organizing to new structure https://discussions.apple.com/message/26404702#26404702
Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392 and making an iTunes library portable.

Share itunes music across family without sharing other things in the itunes media folder!

I am sick and tired of itunes. seriously! apple just wont let go off its tight control over how I can configure my machine!
i have had to create 3 user accounts on my machine (which is the only mac in my home and only used by me) just because my mom and dad each have an iphone and would want to be able to backup and update their iphones. its simply impossible to get it done from the itunes of a single user account.
now i set the target media folder in each itunes library of each user account to the 'Shared' folder on my mac but it ends up sharing more than just the music. worst, it doesn't handle apps from each account gracefully. consequently, it failed at syncing my dad's apps to his new iphone when i restored the back up from the old one cause there was some conflict with the same app from my user account and his. thankfully his smartphone needs are minimal and i'll only have to redownload about half a dozen apps. but this is getting more complicated by the day.
i decided to just move the music folder to the shared folder and keep a referenced library but that means that when one user account downloads a track the others cannot access it as the track creates and exists in a new music folder inside the itunes media folder (which is not 'reseted' back to its original location).
so now that i have the apps trauma sorted out my music needs to be manually managed! sigh. i have like 30 gb of PAID FOR itunes music (yes paid music! some legalized using itunes match and nearly half of them purchased) and i dont want my family who stays with me to purchase all of the stuff again.
is there any graceful way of handling this?
Message was edited by: AceNeerav

iTunes: How to share music between different user accounts on a single computer - Apple Support
this article mentions nothing about the conflicts created by the apps.

How to set up iTunes with an external hard drive so that there is not a double location for the iTunes Media folder

Hi,
A very helpful postee got to the end of his knowledge level, so I am posting this for you tech guys to sort out. Bit long because I've tried to set it out step by step. Briefly I'm new to iTunes and my laptop has a very small hard drive and is virtually full and due to be replaced. So I want to use an external hard drive.
Now I know that iTunes installs itself to two locations: 1. Programs Files 2. Music. And its the Music location that bothers me.
I asked about using an external hard disk to store the actual AAC files. I was advised that in order to change the loaction of the iTunes media folder I was should employ preferences/advanced/ and this is what i saw (as you would expect):
Then I hooked up my hard drive, hit 'change', and this is what I saw:
I was a bit worried by the lack of pathway details, but assumed it must have done something on the external drive, so I looked on it and this is what i saw (highlighted):
But compare this with what was in the directory I attempted to reproduce, viz in the iTunes folder in /laptop/Music/iTunes:
A ton of stuff. The only stuff that corresponded with what iTunes had created on my external hard drive was in Music/iTunes/iTunes Media folder:
Now this suggests that there are TWO locations for my preferences. The advanced tab only allowed me to ADD an extra location, not REPLACE the original.
So:
1. Which of the two locations will iTunes choose when I add music? Surely it will go with the original pathway laid down in the directory when iTunes was installed, and ignore my external Hard Drive? I mean, how can there be two automatic locations?!!!
2.. I don't mind itunes library being on my laptop as this is just a list, but it obvoiusly has to have a pathway to the site where the actual AAC files are stored.
so surely it won't work unless the whole lot is on the external hard drive: library, extras, genius, the lot?
4. How then do I get it all on the external since merely changing "preferences" doesn't do the job?
5. Is this perhaps the reason why so many people report that iTunes does not recognize their external hard disk:
http://www.ehow.com/info_12199596_external-hard-drive-not-recognized-itun es.html
I just don't want this to happen to me. Any answers?
Philip Joy
UNITED KINGDOM

As I've replied to your other threads...
Easy method 1:
Move or Copy entire working library from current location to the root of your external drive. Press & hold down shift (option on a Mac) as you click the icon to start iTunes. Click Choose when prompted, then browse to ..\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl on the external. If you copied the library across then test your new library works properly after renaming the original folder, before deleting the original folder to recover space.
Easy method 2:
If you haven't really started to build your library. Press & hold down shift as you click the icon to start iTunes. Click Create. Browse to the root of the external drive. Create the library as ITunes. Drag your media into ..\iTunes\iTunes Media\Automatically Add to iTunes.
Complex method:
Required if you've already tried other things and now have media & library scattered around. See the post make a split library portable.
in addition...
In all cases the idea is to get a library folder called iTunes containing a media folder called iTunes Media with all media inside this media folder. Once you have the library in this shape it is easy to reconnect to the library with the shift-start-iTunes method if the drive letter changes, move the library to another computer, and backup the library by cloning the folder to another drive.
tt2

I need help transferring my itunes content from an old exteranl hard drive to a new one. The itunes media folder is on the external drive, the itunes library file (.itl) resides on my mac in the music folder.

I have already copied over from the old hard drive to the new hard drive the iTunes media folder (423 GB). But this does not contain the iTunes Library .itl file which for good or bad reason has been working from the mac itself from inside the user music folder. In iTunes Preferences, Adanced Preferences window the iTunes media fold location is currently set to the ITunes Media folder on the old hard drive. How and why i set it up like this all that time ago is forgotten! Do i simply browse for a new location for the newly created duplicaye file? My worry is that i will end up with every song listed twice in iTunes, or worse manage to wipe the content like a mate did!

Okay, solved. Simple really, just moved the media folder location and there was no duplication. Phew!

I transfered my music into my new mac into itunes media folder from an external, but it dosnt show in itunes. I have to click on each one to activate it on itunes. there has to be a better and easier solution. help

i transfered my music into my new mac into itunes media folder from an external, but it dosnt show in itunes. I have to click on each one to activate it on itunes. there has to be a better and easier solution. help

Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow? In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

ITunes Music Folder Missing on external hard drive after changing iTunes Media Folder Location from MacBook Hard Drive. Not deleted...just missing?

I store my iTunes media folder on my external hard drive and can no longer find it there. It seemed to becomd lost after I re-designated the default iTunes media location. I had downloaded some things from iTunes without my external hard drive plugged in and when they downloaded they downloaded to the default location on my Macbook Pro. In recognizing that, I wanted to move those files from the hard drive on my MacBook Pro to the external hard drive. When I re-selected the location as the external hard drive a copy process began. I cancelled the copy process fearing the small number of files from my Macbook Pro would over-write all of the files on my external hard drive so I quit the copy process. Now I do not see my "iTunes Music" folder on my external hard drive. I fear that I have somehow lost the path but I believe the content is still on my external hard drive although I no longer see the "iTunes Music" folder on my external hard drive. I know I didn't delete it, but it isn't there. Is there a way to make it re-appear? I would really appreciate any guideance anyone has.
Thank you.
Best,
Matt

When you change the location in preferences it tells iTunes to start, from this point on, storing new media files in the new location. It then presents you with the option to move any old files in their current locations to the new location. It doesn't move the library files which are not media files. Read the links below to understand how iTunes works because you are the one with the computer in front of you and are in the better position to understand how it stands as regards to iTunes files.
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
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
Now, did you keep the whole library on the external drive, or did you keep just media? From your description of the situation it sounds as if you kept the whole library there and when the external was not attached it returned to default location on the internal drive. What you should have done then was plug in the external drive, hold down the option key, and guide iTunes to the library file on the external. At this stage you could have dealt with the mislocated new files on an individual basis.
I guess the key question is, did your trying to move the couple of new media files to the external drive overwrite the iTunes folder there, which because you then canceled may have also just resulted in it being deleted. I am not going to test the theory on my system.
How big was your library on the external? If it was 40GB do you now suddenly have 40 GB free?
Look for any iTunes folders on the external drive. In view options turn on "calculate all folders sizes" and see if there are any big ones.

HT1203 I moved my Itunes media folder to my public folder in my home folder so that my wife can share my music when she logs on to my computer. Since then aperture has been unable to locate the music files and I cannot add any of my itunes files to a slid

I moved my itunes media folder to my public folder in my home folder so that my wife can share my music when she logs on as a user. Since doing this Aperture cannot locate any itunes music files and so I cannot add any music to a slideshow. All of my existing slideshows no longer play music. Can anyone help?
Thanks

Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow? In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

In I tunes I cant down load a CD. I get the message "The file couldn't be convereted. You don't have write access for you ITunes media folder or a folder with in it. To change permissions, ... When I do this it still dosen't work

In I tunes I can't down load a CD. I get the message "The file couldn't be convereted. You don't have write access for you ITunes media folder or a folder with in it. To change permissions, ... When I do this it still dosen't work.

Thanks C F McBlob but I recursively changed the permissions of my Music directory meaning every file and directory beneath it, as well as the directory itself, had the write permissions added.
I used "chmod -R u+w ./Music" and chmod -R g+w ./Music" to do it.
Alas, no cigar. :-(

Reinstalled software on mac pro, now can't sync mac pro, macbook, iphone, iPad. tried to rip a cd to iTunes, was told i didn't have access to itunes media folder or a folder inside it. i was directed to go to finder to deal with it. nothing helped.

I've had big problems since the reinstall. can't use past itunes purchases, can't share properly across my different devices. all my devices use the same login in id and password. still, my main computer - the mac pro, which i did the reinstall on - is treated like a stranger. it's a big hassle, because i'm use phone, macbook, and mac pro interchangeably. today i tried to rip a cd to itunes on the mac pro (where I have 500 gigs of music on one of the hard drives). i was told i dont have access to itunes media folder or a folder within it. to change permissions i should open the itunes media folder in the finder and change the permissions. i tried changing permissions (the box at the bottom of the info box), and had no luck.
if anyone can help me, i'd appreciate it.

You haven't been hacked, you just have problems with your system. What those problems might be I have no idea, as your posts are a bit rambling and unclear.
What I would recommend is to find a nearby Apple Store and take the time to bring your machine in to the Genius Bar there. (Make sure to make an appointment first!) You can do all this from the [Apple Retail Store page|http://www.apple.com/retail>. A Genius can look at the machine and help solve the problems. If your communication style and level of knowledge about computers makes it difficult to communicate with techs on the phone or internet, as it sounds like has been the case, this hands-on help could make all the difference.

I have tried to consolidate all my music files to my Itunes Media folder but it is still missing quite a few files. How can I fix this?

So I just bought a new computer and want to transfer my itunes library over. I went through the organize library option and consolidated the files to the itunes media folder, but when i checked the folder it was missing many files still. I tried to consolidate again and it didn't do anything. How can I fix this?

Just to clarify ... you still have media files that are linked correctly from iTunes (i.e., right-click > Get Info, File tab shows the correct location), but these have not been moved to the "expected" location - assuming your iTunes folder is in the default place - C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\artist_name\album_title - correct?
There are a couple of other scenarios in which iTunes may not be able to complete the consolidation process:
Some folders in the iTunes Media hierarchy might be set to read-only - to fix this, right-click on your iTunes Media folder in Windows Explorer and select Properties. On the General tab there's a check box labeled "Read-only" - click the box so that the flag is unchecked and the box is white. Click OK, and then OK again when the "Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files" option selected.
Windows permissions issues are preventing iTunes from moving your media files (there's some anecdotal evidence of a change in this behavior in iTunes 12). See turingtest2's notes on Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows for advice on fixing this.
Then try the consolidation process again ... if it still doesn't work as expected we'll need to dive further into details of how your media is currently organized and how the non-moving items appear in iTunes.

On my mac, when I try to import certain music CDs (not all) I get this message "You dont have write access for your iTunes media folder or a folder within it. To change permissions, select your iTunes media folder in the finder, and chose file get info"

I am not sure how to fix this and it is driving me crazy can anyone help?
Thanks.

Hi folks,
I've had this issue for a year now and I've read this and several similar articles on how to change permissions for you iTunes Media folder and all that enclosed stuff.
Well today, I got brave and dove into this issue once again and to my surprise I have it remedied.
Before I kept going to my side bar folder 'Music', then located the iTunes Media folder ( I have several libraries).
This time, I went from (your mac)HD, directly to the 'Library', scrolled to 'iTunes' and reworked my permissions there by creating a new user... (ME). While at it, I adjusted 'Administrator from and back to, 'read and write', gave myself, 'read and write' and left other users as 'read only.'
I then applied to all enclosed folders with the 'gear wheel,' locked the whole shabang up and proceeded to install several old CD's which refused to import in the past.
RECAP:
HD/Library/iTunes set permissions for YOU to 'read and write,' then apply to all enclosed folders.
BTW: those enclosed folders are likely to be all the albums you've collected previously.
Perhaps, the 'iTunes Media folder' description from previous instructions kept people looking in the wrong place.
In any case, I'm up and running and I hope you will be too.
Thanks,
PS

What's the difference between the music in the iTunes Media folder and music folder

I've noticed that the music in my iTunes folder has two copies -- one in the 'iTunes Media' directory and another copy in the 'iTUnes Music' directory. Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the two, or what they're used for? When I click on a music file in the Music folder, iTunes opens up and plays, but the same thing happens when I click on the file in the Media directory. I have noticed that the file in the Media directory has the icon for the album cover next to the file name, while the icon for the file in the Music folder just has a couple of eight notes next to the file name.
It seems to me that it's a waste of space two have copies of the same file. Or am I missing something?

Here are typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
If you have upgraded from version 8 (or earlier) to iTunes 9 (or later) at some point, then your media folder (everything inside the red outline) may still be called iTunes Music instead of iTunes Media. The extra Music folder inside the media folder is used if you have allowed iTunes to Upgrade to iTunes Media Organization (iTunes 9) or used File > Library > Organize Library > Reorganize files in the folder "<Media Folder>" (iTunes 10). Depending on your choices for Keep iTunes Media folder organized and Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library plus a little bug in which one build changed the name of the file storing the choice of layout it is quite easy for some of your files to be organized according to one layout and some the other.
In your case it seems you also have both media folders structures sitting side by side with music in each. It is probable that everything in iTunes Music has a duplicate in iTunes Media, but if you are not sure then you could add it all in, then remove duplicates. (Steps 6-12 below)
Assuming you're happy letting iTunes organize your files the following steps should tidy things up:
1. First make sure under Edit > Preferences > Advanced that the current media folder is given as .../iTunes/iTunes Media. If not then in the following steps you need to swap the words iTunes Music for iTunes Media and vice-versa
2. Select File > Library > Organize Library... > Tick Reorganize files in the folder "iTunes Media" and click OK. Ignore this step if the option is greyed out.
3. Select File > Library > Organize Library... > Tick Consolidate files and click OK. This will bring any files currently organised outside the designated media folder into it.
4. Select Edit > Preferences > Advanced tab, uncheck Keep iTunes Media folder organized and click OK.
5. Select Edit > Preferences > Advanced tab, check Keep iTunes Media folder organized and click OK. This triggers iTunes into reorganizing everything.
6. Select Edit > Preferences > Advanced tab, uncheck Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library and click OK.
7. Use File > Add Folder to Library. Add iTunes Music. This may take some time.
8. Hold down the option key and click File > Show Exact Duplicates.
9. Sort the library on Date Added, select everything added today and delete it.
10. Click Display All at the bottom of the screen to show all files again.
11. Select File > Library > Organize Library... > Tick Consolidate files and click OK.
12. You have now confirmed that everything inside iTunes Music must be a duplicate copy of something in the iTunes Media folder and made sure your library is connected to the copy in iTunes Media. Delete the iTunes Music folder...
tt2

My old computer crashed and deleted my iTunes media file with all my playlist. However, my iPod has the playlist I lost on the computer. How can I replace (reverse synch?) my iPod media information back onto my (now reinstalled) virgin iTunes media folder

My old computer crashed and deleted my iTunes media file with all my playlist.However, my iPod has the playlist I lost on the computer. How can I replace (reverse synch?) my iPod media information back onto my (now reinstalled) virgin iTunes media folder?

Yes it's possible to sync music back from a iPod back into iTunes that (I assume) wasn't purchased on the iTunes Store.
Apple allows iTunes Store purchases on devices to be reversed back into iTunes, just not cd rips and stuff like that. For that it's a one way trip to the device from iTunes.
I likely can't suggest such software here, but if you visit iLounge you can ask what is the latest software that works for your platform.
Really it only takes a mere few minutes to backup your iTunes Library and stick in a few cd/dvd's or a external drive. iTunes even has a menu command for it to make it oh so simple. Please use it and backup all your data.
Hard drives fail, computers burn up, thieves steal, stuff gets forgotten. Plan for something happening because it will.
Good Luck

Merging iTunes Media folder with general "My Music" folder

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