Moved iTunes library, forgot to backup playlists...

So, I had my iTunes on an external hard drive but decided to upgrade my MacBooks HDD and migrate the library to that (makes traveling easier).
Every file is moved now....except, I goofed and didnt do anything for the playlists.
i have read about the xml files and all that, moving them/copying them from the old files to the new, and I am pretty sure I've done all that correctly. shut down and restarted itunes to see if it helped, and still no playlists.
is there something else i can do? i thought maybe building a new account and setting up that itunes instance to use the old itunes location could bring it back and help out, but that didn't seem to work. would be nice to not need to kill myself building new playlists....

Ok googlers from the future, here is the sultion I used.
This solution puts everything back to normal with minimal work, but it costs you however much disk space is on your ipod. I downloaded the copytrans suite off the piratebay. Then I used the ipod copy to back up my ipod. This will copy things to folders based on tags. So you have to have a second copy of your music. Once it is backed up remote the itunes library files from the top folder of the itunes library. Start itunes, and then go to import playlist. Then you select the xml file from your ipod backup. This will import the entire library into itunes. When you sync your ipod it will say iit is going to delete everything and reload it, but it doesn't. If there was stuff that was no in the library it would delete it, but there won't be because the library came from your ipod to being with. So it just copies anything to it that wasn't there, if there is anything.
From that point, when you want to add stuff to your library/ipod, you have to put a copy of the music in the library you made. So all the music you want on your computer and your ipod will take up double space on your hard drive because you have to put a copy in the library folder. Once it is there, you just go to add folder and select your library folder. THis will make it rescan and put the new songs in the database.
The good part of this is you don't have to do selective ipod loading. You make the selection when you copy to the library folder. So at that point you just sync your ipod making an exact copy.
That was the best solution for me anyway, with a big library and lots of playlists. I also never use itunes. The sole purpose of having itunes is to load my ipod. My ipod I use daily though. I don't drive anywhere without it connected to my stereo. Being able to select anything in a massive music library from my head unit while driving around is seriously awesome.

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Moved iTunes library to an ext hard drive to make space on my int drive... Followed steps from apple. Now I cannot access my music... It says: "File could not be used because the original file cannot be found. Would you like to locate it?"

Moved iTunes library to an ext hard drive to make space on my int drive... Followed steps from apple. Now I cannot access my music... It says: "File could not be used because the original file cannot be found. Would you like to locate it?"
I moved my iTunes library to my external hard drive some time ago and I followed the directions listed here on the apple support page. It did copy my library and now is on my hard drive... I can open iTunes and use it to sync all of my devices but I would like to play my music... I can see all of my music files but can not play them if I click on an album or song it says the following: "(file name) could not be used because the original file cannot be found. Would you like to locate it?" I click locate but do not know where to go from there? I need a way to access all files and not to hunt down one at a time on my hard drive... I am pretty sure I deleted the original library to make space on my internal drive which was the reason for moving it. I have tried and tried to fix it and do not have a lot of time to do so with a one and two year old at my house who do not like it whenI sit down at my computer. What to do??? Any help is much appreciated!!!

See Make a split library portable. Move all of the bits of the library together in the the correct shape and it should work. Or undo exactly what you did and then start over.
If you're a former Windows user don't try merging two folders together that have the same name by dropping one into the same folders as the other, as that goes badly on a Mac.
tt2

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I'm sorry for repeating this, but i have not found a clear answer. i have a macbook wit iTunes library, an iMac, and a time capsule. how can i transfer my itunes library from TC backup to the iMac? thank you -

i'm sorry for repeating this, but i have not found a clear, step-by-step answer in several hours.
i have a macbook with iTunes library, a new iMac, and a new time capsule. how can i transfer my itunes library from TC backup to the iMac?
(sharing the iTunes library between the macbook & iMack requires both machines and seems silly ...)
thank you -

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Here's my question. I keep my iTunes library on an external drive. My 250GB extrernal drive is full, so I'm moving my entire library to a new 500GB hard drive.
What do I have to do so my hundreds of playlists (most mixes with dozens of songs) still function once I've moved the music over?
Do I delete everything from my old drive, then use the 'add to library' function on the entire new drive? If I do that, will iTunes be able to find the tunes in each playlist?
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I DON'T MIND DRAGGING THINGS OVER; TH PROBLEM IS, WHEN I TRY TO PLAY PLAYLISTS AFTER MOVING STUFF TO THE NEW DRIVE, EVERY SONG WILL ASK "FILE NOT FOUND--WOULD YOU LIKE TO LOCATE IT?" WITH 50,000 mp3s, it will take forever to rebuild all my playlists. Is there a way to have iTunes search a new drive and recognize the songs as being the same as the ones on the old drive, so you don't have to do this manually?
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How to activate or import playlists from newly moved iTunes library on an external hard drive?

I have just moved my whole iTunes library from my notebook to an external HDD, due to space constraints. I followed the Apple steps to do so, and finally got all my songs and the rest to appear in the player.
However, my custom playlists do not appear in the playes. All my devices have a combination of various playlists loaded onto them. I have also just got the iPhone 5s and want to load similar playlists onto the new phone.....but my playlists are missing....
This will take me days to recreate........any suggestions please? (i have already removed the iTunes directory from the laptop )
Thx

Sorry, by mapped i meant what you described above...changing my designated media folder to the one on the new EHD.
I did try holding in the option/alt key as suggested by apple elsewhere in the forum but only opened the a window indicating where the shortcut file is located i.e. the iTunes.exe properties window. I tried the shift key too as well as several other but could not get the window asking me to choose a library.
Tried to copy a screen grab in but it doesnt allow me to.
When i opened the player after moving the folder there was nothing in my libraries except for a few purchesed songs and movies saved on icloud. I got my music in by going to file>add folder, and selected the music folder on the new drive. This "imported" my music to the player.
I must mention also i am using Win8 and the latest version of iTunes, but i live is South Africa and ive noticed my laptop keyboard keys/functions on the HP are different from previous computers i have used.
Where should the playlst files reside when using an EHD? Still on the main computer or on the new EHD?

Moving itunes library and playlists

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I don't know the answer to your question, but I am hoping you can help me, I have a tv show I downloaded and I imported my library, it imported everything except that tv show, is their a special way to do this?

Moving iTunes Library and playlists to new computer

This is my situation:
I want to reinstall Windows 7 on my current PC.
I have all of my music stored on my external hard drive and I have been
using this (E:) drive for over 2 years. In iTunes I made sure that my "iTunes Media folder location" was located as E:\...\My Music.
I have a lot of music and also a lot of playlists that I don't want to lose.
Thing is: my "iTunes" folder with content like 'iTunes library.itl' and 'iTunes music library.xml' is somehow located on my C: drive.
This file IS being updated when I change things in my iTunes so it seems to be the right one (plus there is no such map found in E:\...\My Music).
My question:
Is this 'iTunes' folder on my C: drive the right folder to move to my 'fresh PC'? (I am worried because I thought the folder would be on my E: drive)
And if so: how do I make sure that my fresh PC recognizes these same locations and make it work the way it is working now?
(placing the iTunes folder on my E: drive, after installing putting it back on the same location as where it is place now, open iTunes, change 'iTunes Media folder location' to E:\...\My Music again and then...????)
Please help me fixing this without any errors/complications
Best regards

Yes provided all your music files were in the iTunes Music folder in the iTunes folder, you should be able to copy the iTunes folder to your new PC and have all your playlists etc.
Install iTunes on the new PC first. Then, with iTunes closed and before you add any music, drag the iTunes folder out of the Music folder on the new PC to the desktop.
Then copy the iTunes folder from the backup onto the new PC to replace the one your dragged out.
You need to check the file permissions of the iTunes folder to ensure your account has full control, Vista is fussy about this, and the folder was created under another account.
Once you have done this, start iTunes and it should convert the library to the newer version etc. With any luck you will have your everything back as it was.

After moving itunes library paths are still set to old drive

I have moved my itunes library from my hard drive to a network connected NAS drive. The problem I'm finding is that itunes now can't find the songs in the library as they still show (when looking at 'Get info') the path to the old location).
I have done the following:
1 copied all song files in the 'itunes music' folder as well as the files in the folder above (including 'itunes library.itl' and 'itunes library.xml') to the new location
2 Checked the boxes in Edit > Preferences > Advanced that read 'Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized' and 'Copy Files to ITunes Media folder when adding to library'.
3 Changed the iTunes Media Folder location to the new location (the same folder as the 'itunes library.itl' file is held.
4 Re-started iTunes while holding the shift button so that I can 'choose' the library, then browsed to the new location and selected the 'itunes library.itl' file in the new location.
None of this has any effect. This is what I've noticed:
a - The individual files cannot be found and when I right click and choose 'get info' it shows that the path is still set to the old location
b - The 'itunes library.xml' file still shows links to the old path for each of the individual songs.
c - I can manually 'point' the songs individually to the new location so that they can be found - although this is not an option for the whole library which is several thousand. I do this when I get the error message 'The song 'xxxx' cound not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?'.
d - I import a new CD or buy a new song from iTunes, the songs are correctly located on the new drive and play with no problems.
Can anyone tell me if I've missed a step? If I was to guess, I'd say that the 'itunes library.itl' still has all the old paths for the individual songs, but I don't know how to get iTunes to re-create or update that file and can't edit it myself.
Regards, Steve.

Thanks for that R. I'd seen a few of those posts but none of them seemed to match my query exactly.
However, I seem to have found a solution to my own problem. Whether it will help with yours I don't know (looks like you're a Mac user) but here's what I've found:
* The basic problem was with the file itunes music.itl' which was still pointing iTunes to the old location of the music files. I don't know why it didn't update this file when all the 'consolidating files' was done but there you go. This is not in a format editable by ordinary mortals, but you can re-create it if it gets corrupted by editing another file called 'itunes music.xml', which is in an editable format.
* It seems the .xml file basically contains all the .itl file information and is used essentially as a backup (my guess, don't know if it's correct). So deleting the .itl file and then re-creating it by telling the system to import the information from the .xml file is the thing to do. Here's how I did it:
* Go to the new drive and path where you've copied your itunes library to. I copied both the two files above first just in case to my desktop (doesn't really matter where). They're in the 'Music' folder above the folder where all your music files are kept (music files are kept in 'iTunes Music' in my setup).
* Edit the 'itunes music.xml' file. You'll need a good text editor with search and replace functions to do this as you'll have to do the same number of replacements as you have song files - in my case a number of thousand. Even better than a standard text editor would be an XML editor as that will make the text file easier to read (I used Dreamweaver just because I already have it on my system).
* If you look through your xml file you'll see all your songs listed with lots of other information such as track id. At the end you'll see a line that says something like:
<key>Location</key><string>file://localhost//EDNET01/Users/Steve/My%20Documents/My%20Music/iTunes/iTunes%20 Music/Bob%20Dylan/Modern%20Times/01%20Thunder%20On%20the%20Mountain.m4p</string>
If you're in the same position as me you'll notice that the path name is wrong (it's still showing the old path and drive). So the job is basically to edit and replace each of the paths to show the new drive and path.
*To do this with a single search and replace you don't need to change the album and file name, nor should you need to change the folder containing all the song files. This is the search and replace change I made then:
Search (all instances, hopefully if your text editor will allow it):
//localhost//EDNET01/Users/Steve/My%20Documents/My%20Music/iTunes/
Replace with:
//localhost/X:/FamilyMusic/
which is the drive and path where I've moved my itunes music to. The song folders are in the folder below that called 'itunes music'.
* Once you've saved this file (and having a backup copy of the old .itl and .xml files saved somewhere just in case) delete the two old files from the new folder where you've copied your music
* Open iTunes. Go to File > Library > Import playlist.
* Navigate to your newly edited version of 'itunes music.xml'. Select it and you should find that itunes begins rebuilding your library with the new paths and creates a new 'itunes music.itl' file in the process.
Once that's done you should have your music, podcasts and playlists back.
** Disclaimer ** I'm no iTunes expert so I don't know if this is the 'proper' way to do things. If it doesn't work you should be ok to replace the copied files back into your music folder and no damage done, but in any event I'm not responsible for any problems. Make sure you've got backups is my advice!

Moving iTunes library to External HD

I needed to move my library to an ext HD. However, in my haste I've managed to make a mess of it. First off, I do not have a backup. Don't ask, it's a long story.
So far:
1 changed folder location to L:\
2 did not check Keep files organized box (stupidly)
3 moved iTunes folder from C:\ to L:\
4 opened iTunes and library didn't appear, so
5 added a folder to the library on L:\ (poss stupid)
6 can't find original library or playlists or purchased tunes in iTunes
7 did find original itl file in C:\ and opened it; all info seems to be there but all links are broken; I noted that itl file in L:\ contains only folder I added earlier. Not clear why that is.
My questions:
1 Since I neglected to Keep files organized when I moved, should I attempt a File>Library>Organize files to get original itl links back?
2 If above works, how do I move my original library to L:\
3 I did find many previous itl files by date on L:\, can I load these?
4 Do I win the Idiot of 2010 award for this maneuver?
I do have a pic of current status of iTunes folder(s) if that would help.
Thanks for any assistance, consolations, etc.
Message was edited by: Jamowa GA

+1 Since I neglected to Keep files organized when I moved, should I attempt a File>Library>Organize files to get original itl links back?+
No. Since itunes already can't find any files, it won't be able to organize anything.
Can you move everything back to C: like it was to begin with? That's your best bet.
+4 Do I win the Idiot of 2010 award for this maneuver?+
No, you've just made the most common mistake folks make when going to a new drive. You have PLENTY of company.

Moved iTunes library to Vista PC but iTunes 'can't find music files'. Help!

I'm running iTunes 7.1.1 on a new Vista PC and I followed the instructions on this support site for transferring the library using an iPod.
All songs (with artwork) are showing in the new PC's iTunes library, BUT all have a '!' symbol to the left and refuse to play. It offers to let me find them, but this would take hours for the thousands of tracks. I've tried consolidating but to no effect. All the music files are in the iTunes library folder, so why can't iTunes access them?
Can anyone help?

I'm running iTunes 7.1.1 on a new Vista PC and I
followed the instructions on this support site for
transferring the library using an iPod.
All songs (with artwork) are showing in the new PC's
iTunes library, BUT all have a '!' symbol to the left
and refuse to play. It offers to let me find them,
but this would take hours for the thousands of
tracks. I've tried consolidating but to no effect.
All the music files are in the iTunes library folder,
so why can't iTunes access them?
Can anyone help?
hi i to have a similar problem, i moved my music file for another problem i had and now it has removed all my files from itunes, albums and playlists as well, they are still on the pc and i have moved them back but i seem to have to start again, this will take weeks to do, i hope someone can help us.

How do I restore my iTunes library from a backup?

Like an idiot I deleted my Itunes library after backing it up to an external HD. After doing this I deleted my original iTunes library and lo and behold I had no music. I thought I would be able to play them from the external HD but this wasn't the case. I did restart iTunes with the option key pressed and I was asked where I want to take my music from, but when I selected the copy I had made I got a window pop up
http://img.skitch.com/20091004-r8me3yehp85rmtrdj2qhff8udb.jpg
I since copied the folder back from my external HD (but not using Time Machine as I use another HD for that), but how can I restore all my playlists I had before, is this possible?

All your playlist info is in the iTunes Music Library.xml file. If you deleted that, you are out of luck. If you can find the iTunes Music Library.xml file in your backup, see if this document can help you: How to re-create your iTunes library, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451

Moved iTunes library, forgot to backup playlists...

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