Moved my files and accidently moved my "library".

i moved my files to external hard drive. Accidently moved the "library" file as well. Now when I plug my 80gb Classic in and it says I don't have a library to sync with. I still have the files. How do I get the IPOD to recognize it so I can keep adding files. HELP!

Did you fix your iTunes library so everything is still there and you can play everything? If so, just let the iPod sync to the library and assuming everything on the iPod is in the library, it should sort itself out and you will end up with the iPod happy with the new library location and nothing lost.
Patrick

Similar Messages

Moving files and folders in the Library module

I teach a lot of LR users and one area that's consistantly frustrating and unintuitive (even to some experienced users) are the rules for moving files and folders around in the Library module. I'm not sure I have all the right answers/suggestions/remedies but here are the basic points worth examining:
1) Additional hard drives aren't listed unless images from it have been imported into Lightroom. It would be nice if people could add a new hard drive without importing files from it. People don't get it that you can select "Add Folder" from the Folders pop up menu. Classic example: Say someone has purchased a new hard drive for archiving purposes. It's empty and they want to drag folders of images onto it from within LR. Possible Solution: include a "Add Drive..." option from the Folder's panel + pop-up menu that would behave the same and add a root level folder.
2) One can't drag more than one folder at a time. While I assume this is designed to prevent accidental mass movement it would be nice if one could enable the movement of multiple folders.
3) One can't drag a folder onto the main drive bar that lists the drive's name and capacities - one has to drag onto a folder within a drive. I'd love to be able to drag a folder onto the root level of a drive by dropping onto the drive bar (this would be similar to the MacOS finder).
4) Sometimes the root level of a drive isn't apparent. One may need to right click on a folder and select "Show Parent Folder" to show the root level folder which is named after the volume. Showing a root "folder" that has the same name as the drive is also confusing to people since there isn't actually a folder on the hard drive with that name. I completely understand why folders are hidden by default and I'm not sure the remedy is but, again, this isn't intuitive for new users. If #3 worked as described perhaps we could have root level access without the root folder?
Scott Martin
www.on-sight.com

Perhaps I should add that I really like and appreciate a lot of the decisions that have already been implemented into the Library's Folder's tab. Moving files instead of copying them, showing only folders that contain imported images, the ability to show or hide parent folders.... Bravo!

Moving files and geting "!" on library

I upgraded my hard drive, and wanted to move my music library from an external drive to the bigger internal drive. But even though I copied the music files to the hard drive, the library looks to the external drive. If the external drive is turned off, it can't locate the files and I get the dreaded "!" in the left column, I know there must be way for the system to automatically re-index and find all those files (isn't there?).

Thanks, but this didn't work. Funny thing is, that I can find each song individually by simply searching for it, and it is on the hard drive. Under the main music folder on the hard drive, however, are a bunch of library subfolders, presumably created at different times. Do you think I should move all the contents into the main folder? But how do I get it to find and index everything?

Convert files and remove originals from library?

Ive only been using iTunes for a bit now but I think Ive got it figured out but one thing I cant seem to work out is if there is a way to get iTunes to remove the original file after it has converted it to an iPod format.
So far I have to do this:
-Import Files
-Convert Files
-Then go through and delete original files form the library
Is there a way to set it to 'remove original after conversion' or only 'add to the library after conversion'? Any ideas of how I can get this to work or not would be greatly appreciated.

Nope. No way to automatically remove the original file.
You'll have to manually do this.
You can create a Playlist of songs to convert, then go back to the Playlist and mass delete those originals (Shift-Delete).

Moving library when files and library are on different volumes

Hi all,
I know there are many posts here on moving libraries, but my situation is where I unclicked the "copy files to iphoto library" in preferences, so my files are on one drive while my "iphoto library" is on my main mac drive. Any way I can move my files and "point" my present library file to look in the new direction for these files? It would save me having to do a new library and all the time re-organizing. Using iphoto '09
THanks
Scott

In other words, where would iphoto prefer these files be?
In the iPhoto library
If your library is still intact and the path to your referenced photos is still the same then Alias Herder - http://www.rorohiko.com/wordpress/downloads/aliasherder/ - has proven successful to converting to a managed library - make a backup of your library and run Alias Herder to bring your photos into the library - check the preference to copy imported items to the iPhoto library and now you can move the iPhoto library where ever you want and point to it by launching iPhoto while depressing the option key and selecting the iPhoto library location
This will eliminate many future problems
LN

Moved iPhoto 11 library to external drive and have a iPhoto Library file left on desktop

Hello,
I have a blue file on my desktop labeled iPhoto Library, that appeared during the course of me moving my iPhoto Library ( iPhoto 11) to an external hard drive to make room on the internal disk, my attempts to reopen iPhoto on the internal disk, move selected photos from the iPhoto Library on the external drive over to the newly emptied iPhoto Library on my laptop.
The blue iPhoto Library file contains these items:
AlbumData.xml
AlbumData2.xml
iPhoto.ipspot
Questions: does this blue file belong somewhere or can I trash it?
This is what I did:
1. I opened Pictures, dragged the iPhoto Library from there to the external drive.
2. When I opened iPhoto on my MBP it said it needed a library to open with and the choices already in the box were:
iPhoto Library(default)
iPhoto Library
3. I chose "iPhoto Library" because I thought "(default)" meant restoring the original library.
4. iPhoto opened to the "get started with iPhoto" like a new install.
5.I moved (drag and drop ) some photos from the external drive back into the "empty" iPhoto Library. I tried to move a group of photos but I didn't know how to do it so ...
6. I took the iPhoto Library from the trash and put it back into the "empty" iPhoto Library.
7. I tried to delete all the photos except the ones I wanted to keep in the internal iPhoto Library. I couldn't do it so....
8. I closed iPhoto, went back into Pictures and trashed the internal iPhoto Library again.
9. Reopened iPhoto and it needed a library to open with and I think I clicked
iPhoto Library (default)
10. When I opened iPhoto this time, it was the "get started with iPhoto" but the original photo albums and labels listed but all empty.
That's what I remember so far.
Hope you can help.
Medusa59

It appears you created a new library. Launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and select "Choose Library".
Navigate to the library on the external hard drive and select it. Once you're satisfied that it's the one you want you can delete that folder from your desktop.
OT

I moved iTunes and library to new Hard drive M: , now Sync is lost. Need to collect files and rebuild to proper folder.

I installed a new hard drive and partitioned it into 2, P: Pictures: and M: Music: . I moved all my iTunes Files and Folders to the M: drive. Then when I connected my iPhone4 to iTunes it asked if I wanted to create a new sync, I said no but I seemed it couldn't find my old sync file. So I searched my computer for files and folders of iTunes and placed them all into a iTunes folder on the root of M: drive. I need to rebuild the iTunes folder correctly.
I have all the correct items on my iPhone and haven't lost anything. Its just a problem trying to sync. Biggest problem is my music. When I try to sync music there is trouble. I can't seen to remove all music from iPhone and resync. When I thought I did iTunes would say no more music will fit. (Music is normally 70% of my memory on phone and I try and leave 1GB of 16GB free on it).
I wan't to build the iTunes install on the D:\Program Files (x64)\ since I don't install anything on my SSD drive C: except Windows 7.

How exactly did you move the files or more specifically, what did you move?
The correct way to move the iTunes files is to move the ENTIRE iTunes folder (or copy it) from the original location to the new location.
Once moved, hold Shift while launching iTunes and point it to the new location.
If anything other than the ENTIRE iTunes folder was moved, it needs to be put back in the original location to correct the issues created then moved correctly.

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.

I have a Nano, where I changed computers and moved my library. Now my nano doesn't recognize the location or the song on the nano. How do I update my library so the nano will recognize.

I have an IPOD Nano. I had it originally set up on another computer where I would down load my songs that I purchased from ITunes. My Nano would sync up with my PC when I would plug it in. I had to change computers, so I moved all my songs / library to my new PC. I downloaded the ITunes process to my new PC and then purchased a song. I saw the song in my download area of my PC under ITunes Media / downloads. However, my nano would not sync as it is still referencing the prior location, which was on my old PC. I moved the song directly to the Nano when it was plugged in. I see the song on the Nano directory when I have it plugged in to the PC via the USB cable. I even click on the song and I hear it play from the Nano on the PC. However, when I go to look for the song directly from my song listing from the Nano music screen, it doesn't list he song or the artist as being on the Nano.
I have tried to follow the online instructions for erase and sync the old library to the new, but that doesn't happen. Any suggestions on what I may be doing wrong in moving from one PC to another. Seems to me this should be a much simplier process. But I find working with Apple products they are all harder to deal with. I would appreciate your help.
Mel

I am not doing it in ITunes, but i did down load the song from ITunes. I loaded the song on to my Nano, but in my menu selections it doesn't show the song or the artist in any search format. However, when i plug in my nano to my PC I see the Nano library on my PC drive listings and that song and artist are there. I can click on the song and it will play in Windows media on my work PC. I did notice that the format for most all the songs in my library on my Nano are MPEG - 4 audio Files.
Thanks for your help, Mel

After moving files out of the iTunes library they still show in the iTunes list

I am archiving movies out of my iTunes library. I have moved the files from the iTunes media folder and into another folder but the movies still show up in the iTunes movie list in the main iTunes window. I am sure there is some kind of link to the file but do I need to break that somehow or can I refresh the iTunes list so it will see that the files are no longer in the media folder?

Geoffrey Kleinman wrote:
I am archiving movies out of my iTunes library. I have moved the files from the iTunes media folder and into another folder but the movies still show up in the iTunes movie list in the main iTunes window. I am sure there is some kind of link to the file but do I need to break that somehow or can I refresh the iTunes list so it will see that the files are no longer in the media folder?
An easier way is to simply drag movies/songs from the iTunes window to where you want.
Then delete it in iTunes.
I am sure there is some kind of link to the file but do I need to break that somehow or can I refresh the iTunes list so it will see that the files are no longer in the media folder?
When you add files to iTunes, it adds them to the iTunes library database file and this is what is displayed in iTunes.
I f you remove the file from its location, iTunes will not know until you try to access it in iTunes. It will then show an exclamation mark if it cannot find that file.

HT1229 Tried moving my library to an external hard drive and now when I open iPhoto, there are no pictures there!!!!

I am using iPhoto '08 and moved my library to my external hard drive exactly as all the instructions online explained how to do. I renamed the original "iPhoto Library.old" and ,y external hard drive shows a iPhoto library using the same amount of memory as what it shows on my internal hard drive. Here is where is becomes a problem. When I hold the option key and open iPhoto, the only box that comes up does not give me a list of libraries to choose from. It give me the option to "Create new library" or "choose existing library". When I click "choose existing library" I can find the copied library on my external hard drive but when I open it, iPhoto shows No Photos. When I have tried opening the original iPhoto Library (the exact same way using the option key and choosing library) that I have not done anything to, except rename it, it does the exact same thing: No Photos. Both my internal and external hard drives show about 137 GB of space being taken up by photos but I can't access them. My other big problem is that ,y internal hard drive is completely full, which is why I am trying to transfer them to an external, to free up space so I am very limited on what I can do because I have no free space. Also, when I open iPhoto and try to go to the Preferences to change to path under advanced settings, it freezes and I have to force close it.
Ay advice would be greatly appreciated as I am getting stressed out that I can't open my thousands of photos!

My guess is that the library has been corrupted from being run on an overfull HD.
So, try rebuild the Library on the External
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In Library Manager it's the FIle -> Rebuild command)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new *iPhoto 08* library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.

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

HT1364 I have moved my library to an external hard drive and changed the location of the iTunes media folder in Preferences, but every time I close and re-open iTunes, I have to do it all over again. How can I make the iTunes media folder change permanen

I have moved my library to an external hard drive and changed the location of the iTunes media folder in Preferences, but every time I close and re-open iTunes, I have to do it all over again. How can I make the iTunes media folder change permanent? I have an older machine with Windows XP.

I don't believe mounting the hard drive should be necessary, unless you have several external drives and want your computer to recognise them as folders, rather than drives. I've never had to mount a hard drive, ever. If you don't know how to do it, then it shouldn't be necessary now.
Try this:
Prepare iTunes so that it can see the external drive.
Make a note of which drive-letter the external drive has been allocated. (Look in Windows Exploer)
Look at the file location for a song. Make sure it plays (and therefore that iTunes has found it). Highlight it and select File/Get Info/Summary>Where: and make a note of the drive letter for that song.
Close and shut down the computer.
The next time you turn the computer on again, connect the external drive
Before you start iTunes - check the external drive in Windows Explorer. Is it ready, does it have the same drive-letter that it had last time? Can you go into the drive and see the files on it?
Once you can, start iTunes. (If the drive lettter has changed, you need to work out why before going any further.)
If iTunes fails to find your external drive, you need to check where iTunes is looking for your Library.
Select the same song you checked before (presumably iTunes can no longer find it). Follow the procedure for locating it. You should be able to see where iTunes thinks the file is. It's the drive that counts. Which drive letter is iTunes looking at? Is it the same one that it was previously (which should also be the same one that the drive has now).
What happens, which step do you have problems with?
Message was edited by: the fiend

Moved my library to an external hard drive. Now I get this message when trying to import video: Cannot start ingest because there is no storage location set. Please set one under Storage in Preferences and try again.

I recently moved my iMovie Library and all of its contents to an external hard drive. I then erased the library and all of its contents from my iMac HD and created a new library. Now when I try to import video from my DV camera I get this message: Cannot start ingest because there is no storage location set. Please set one under Storage in Preferences and try again. There is no way to set a storage location in Preferences. I have chosen an Event in the middle drop down box. But it still will not import. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

My iTunes library is set up the way I said in the top post and works totally fine.
Yes, and that is the default structure to which I was referring. iTunes will organize it that way automatically unless people do start changing settings (in which case they should know what they are doing and how iTunes works with library files and media structure.)
Both ways work, the advantages of mine would be that should iTunes try looking fo a library, it will always be in the default location.
It makes people think they have to change media location in preferences. They do not unless they want to relocate media only and leave other things on their internal drive (in which case there is no point in copying library files to the external, and you certainly wouldn't want to then delete them from your internal).
Downside is that then should someone move their iTunes library to anther computer they need to remember to get those library files on the external hard drive.
Just copy the whole iTunes folder and it will get the library files to the other drive in one step, along with all the other files.
Your post has good stuff but it makes a move appear intimidating and look like people have to do a lot of organizing to move the collection. It also throws in extra steps (namely altering preference settings) that could cause confusion or even make a mess of things. If people leave iTunes to default preference settings (which most people do) the move summarizes into a short line: Copy a folder and hold an extra button the next time you start iTunes.
Note that the instructions in the link I provided earlier do also include many steps, but those are to ensure that everybody does have it all organized correctly before simply copying the iTunes folder. In the end it is just a simple action.

HT203167 Moved iTunes library from one computer to another using external hard drive. Cannot play many files. Says they are missing but locates them in an archive file but still won't play them. Are the files themselves part of the .itl files?

Moved iTunes library from old computer (PC Windows 7) to new (PC Window 8) using external hard drive. Library listing shows all music but can only play a fraction of it. On the ones it cannot play it asks to locate, then refers to an archived version (an .itl file), and still cannot play them. Do I just need to copy the archived .itl over, or is that not where the actual media are (do the actual media files even exist on the new computer?)? Any advice or information on this would be helpful.

*Also...is there any way I can filter out all the tracks with the ! so I can delete the unplaying copies as they're taking up room in my iTunes? I know how to find duplicates, but then I have to go and delete each one individually...*
*Thank you!*

Moved my files and accidently moved my "library".

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