Original files unable to be located???

Why have some imported albums appeared with a ! stating original file could not be located?

Hey ammerz15,
Exclamation points appear when iTunes is unable to locate the media file like you said, or if a purchased item hasn't completed downloading. Follow these steps to locate the missing media:
Resume any interrupted downloads
Choose Store > Check for Available Downloads from the iTunes menu. Click Resume if any downloads are listed as unfinished. For more information see How to resume interrupted iTunes Store downloads.
Check your iTunes media folder
For Windows 7 and Windows Vista
Open Windows Explorer from the Start Menu.
From the left-hand column click Music located under Favorite Links.
In main window to the right, double-click iTunes.
Then double-click iTunes Media.
Note: You may need to double-click on the iTunes Music folder if the iTunes Media folder is empty.
Double-click the corresponding folder for the file type you are looking for.
The contents of the folder will be listed in alphabetical order. Depending on the folder, the files will be sorted by artist, author, or title.
If you weren't able to locate your lost media in the iTunes Media folder, you can check your preferences in iTunes to see if your media is located in another location. To do this, see Where is my iTunes media located?
Check your Trash/Recycle Bin
Check the Trash (Mac) or the Recycle Bin (Windows). If you're able to find any of your missing items, you can re-add them back to your iTunes library.
Windows 7 and Windows Vista: Right-click on the item and choose Restore.
Windows XP: Right-click on the item and choose Restore.
If after restoring the item from the trash your media doesn't reappear in your iTunes library. You will need to locate the restored file in your iTunes Media folder and drag the item into your iTunes library window.
via: iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
Have a great day,
Delgadoh

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I get an error message saying that the original file could not be located on about half the songs in my library. Not all but half.

I'm unable to play approx. half the songs in my library. I get an error message saying that the original file could not be located. I am asked if I want to locate the file, I click locate and get a screen with a list of confusing looking files and nothing seems to solve the problem. As is probably apparent by now I am not particularly computer literate. I don't understand why this problem occurs on only half my library.

This "original file cannot be found" thing happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout,or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then cancel when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions.
Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes .
tt2

What do i do if my songs won't play and it says original file can not be located?

My "original" I-tunes library is on my windows xp desk top and I have a macbook pro laptop library. I always accessed the original through home sharing but the library no longer shows up on my mac. On my desktop it says the song cant be used because the original file can't be located and there is 2 i-tunes shortcuts but neither will play music. I chose to locate the original but that doesn't work either. How do I fix this?

Hello shaum9120,
Thanks for the question, and welcome to Apple Support Communities.
It sounds like iTunes has lost the file path for the music. The best step will be to follow part 4-6 of the following article (under the External drive section):
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Here is an excerpt of Part 5 (see article for other important steps):
Part 5: Copy music to your new computer
To copy all your music files (including the library file that holds all your playlists and other settings) to your new computer:
1. Locate the following folder on your new computer:
          Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
          Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
          Windows Vista: \Users\username\Music\iTunes
          Windows 7 and Windows 8: \Users\username\My Music\iTunes
2. Drag the "iTunes" folder in this location out to the desktop.
          From the Music folder to the Desktop on your new Mac:
          From the My Music folder to the Desktop on your new PC:
3. Locate the external drive on your new computer:
          Mac OS X: On the desktop.
          Windows: In My Computer.
4. Double-click on the external drive icon to open it.
5. Drag the iTunes folder from the external drive to the Music folder (Mac OS X) or My Music Folder (Windows) on your new computer (from step 1 of this section). This can take a while if you have a lot of content.
6. Open iTunes.
You've now moved all your music, playlists, and other information like play counts and ratings from your old computer to your new one.
Thanks,
Matt M.

The song...could not be used because the original file could not be located

I just used Garageband this past Sunday, no problem...I open it up tonight and I get this message:
"The song...could not be used because the original file could not be located."
I click the OK button and it comes up with another song title, and I have clicked it 20 or 30 times already and it keeps coming up and I can't access anything else and it is frustrating!
Anyone know how to stop the madness?!
iMac 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HD, OS X 10.9.3
Garageband 10.0.2

"The song...could not be used because the original file could not be located."
GarageBAnd cannot find the recorded media or imported audio files, that should be in the Media folder inside your project.
Crtl-click the GarageBand icon in the Dock and use Force-quit to quit your current project.
Then ctrl-click the .band file of your current project and select "Show package contents." open the Media folder inside and check if all recorded media and imported audio files are there and you can play them.
Have you moved your project or has it been transferred by mail?
If the media are missing or do not play, there is not much you can do. If all media are there, repair the permissions of the project. If it is on an external drive, move it to your system drive and try there.
If you cannot rescue the project, copy the media file out of the project, so you can use the recordings to recreate the song.You can launch GarageBand into the file "recent songs" panel to create a new project or to pick a recent project, by holding down the alt/options key while double-clicking the GarageBand icon.

Original file could not be located

I woke up this morning, booted my PC (Windows 7 Professional), opened iTunes and tried to create a playlist. All of my music is stored in iCloud and last year I even used Apple's Music Match. The world was right last night when I powered down and this morning no matter what song I choose I receive the following error message: "The song XXX could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" There have been no changes to my PC and how can I locate the original file when I uploaded alll of my music to Apple????
Help.....

I'm having the same problem myself. Just upgraded from Ilife 09 to 11 and the following message comes up for all my song files.
The song " by name" could not be used because the original file could not be located.
But if I go to my I tune files and click on the song, it plays it. On going back to garage band I tried to copy Podcast and memo files and it allowed this to happen. Can any body help.
Walter

Garageband - original file could not be located

I have just started to use garageband but i have fallen at the first hurdle. When i click on a song from my itunes library in the media browser i get the message "original file could not be located" However, if i right click on it, i locate it in my finder or open it in iTunes, both of which play fine. I have today bought ilife 11, installed it but i still have the same problem. Also, if i drag a song into the track window it also plays there. Can anyone shed any light.

I'm having the same problem myself. Just upgraded from Ilife 09 to 11 and the following message comes up for all my song files.
The song " by name" could not be used because the original file could not be located.
But if I go to my I tune files and click on the song, it plays it. On going back to garage band I tried to copy Podcast and memo files and it allowed this to happen. Can any body help.
Walter

The song "---" could not be used because the original file could not be located. Would you like to locate it?

I have 2 users on my computer and it is causing an error message telling me the original file could not be located. How can I fix this?

Probably not every one, but you will have to do it several times. Right click on the name of the song, show in window's explorer and when it can't it should give you a dialogue to find the song.
Once it finds one it'll offer to find more and you can locate stuff that way.

FCP X can't import iTunes music - says "The song "Warp Factor" could not be used because the original file could not be located."

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I saw the reply that iTunes was probably moved. I restored it from Time Machine when my hard drive crashed. How do I fix it to import into FCP X?

I figured it out by going into iTunes and clicking on the Library link under File. This bring up a box that allows the music files to be reconnected to the iTunes music folder.
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My audiobooks say "original file can not be located" when I try to play them. Why?

All of my previously purchased audiobooks say "original file can not be located" when I try to play them. Why? They do not appear under the "purchased" area of the itunes store. Why? How do I fix this?

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I dropped my external hard drive which contained my iTunes library and it is no longer readable. I attempted to upload my library from iPod and while all the songs appear to be in iTunes I get a message telling me that the original file can't be located.

I dropped my external hard drive that contained my iTues library and the disk is no longer readable. I figured I would simply transfer my music back from my iPod to my MacBook Pro and it loks like it worked. All the songs are there, but I receive a message that the original file can't be found when I try to play anything. ANy help would be greatly appreciated.

A Couple of questions..
Is the location shown under preferences/Advanced/General still showing the correct location?
Is the check boxes under this checked or unchecked?

Song can not be used because Original file can not be located - HELP

Hi - Newbie here and I have run into and error and don't know how to fix it. When I try to play a large number of songs from Itunes I get the following message. "The Song (NAME) could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" I have no idea where the orginal files are and I am not sure how to fix this error. Could someone please help me out! Thanks - KAggie

This happens if the files are no longer where iTunes expects to find them. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the files, or that the drive they live on has had a change of drive letter. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout, or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then cancel when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions.
Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes.
If the files are nowhere to be found on your computer, but exist on a device, see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
While deleting & reimporting works when the media can be found the process will delete user playlists, ratings, play counts, date added information and any other metadata not stored in tags.
tt2

How do I redownload previous purchases? Itunes says that the items are downloaded, but when I select them in my library it says that the original file can not be located.

I've gotten a new computer, the hard drive of my original one had issues and I wasn't able to move all of my iTunes over to my nec pc. I went to the purchased area on my iTunes to redownload the missing stuff (music and tv shows), but it says that they all are already downloaded onto my pc. I do find the items in my library but they won't play, I get the option to "locate" the missing original files or "cancel". I've even tried simply repurchasing the tv series, but I get a message to go to my purchases to redownload. Any suggestions on what to do?

If you plug in your iphone, click on it in iTunes, and go to the apps section, it should be checked to sync apps if you want them to show up in iTunes as well as your iPhone. Once synced they will show on both.
Then if you click Apps under the Library header in the left panel of iTunes, you'll be able to permanently delete apps, removing them entirely from iTunes. Highlight an app's icon or a group of icons by holding down Shift and hit the delete key (or select Edit > Delete from the top menu or right-click on an icon and selecting delete).

My itunes library got screwed up some how. When i goto play a song in my library it says original file can not be located. how do i locate them

when i go to play the selected song it says original file can not be found. do you want to locate the file. how do i locate the file?

Have you moved, renamed or deleted the original files?
Has another programme on your computer moved, renamed or deleted the files?
Have you just created this iTunes Library?
Have you recently added the missing music music from an external hard drive?
If it's none of the above, what have you been doing recently? For example, have you been "sorting" your files in your file manager?

Itunes error "This song could not be used because the original file could not be located"

i keep getting the error that the _____________song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to loacte? " when i try to locate it does not find the song anywhere on the computer. Please advise

This happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout,or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then cancel when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions.
Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes .
tt2

Error message original file could not be located

when i try to play songs from my library i get this message. "original file could not be found" all my hardware is the same, no recent changes. not sure how to get my songs back in my library. the album/artist icon is still there but will not play.

Well I've tried installing itunes 7.3.2 on two different computers and it has messed up each one of them and itunes is no longer functional on either machine. I have no idea what is going on. in both situations the error message comes up that there are files missing and itunes must be reinstalled. i also cannot delete itunes and an attempt at installing a previous version gave me the exact same error.
this is very disappointing. i finally took the plunge and purchased a mac and am waiting for it to arrive. if this is the kind of service to expect i'm afraid i'll be very disappointed.
HAS ANYONE FIGURED THIS OUT YET???

Original files unable to be located???

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