Rebuilding ITunes Library

Just migrated to my new IMac, Itunes library is there ok with all its contents
It opens ok too but most of the tunes won't play
IT tells me it can't find the original and asks me to look for it
15,000 of it !!!
Any way to rebuild Itunes library so that IT plays the files ?

How did you do this migration, specifically how did you migrate your library?  Importantly, do you let iTunes manage everything or do you manage your own media in which case you should only do so if you are 99.999% familiar with iTunes?
Have you tried finding a track when asked to do so?  Have you tried letting iTunes find others as it will invite to do so when you have found one?

Similar Messages

  • Rebuilding iTunes Library...What is the next step ?

    Hi:
    I tried follwoing your advice.
    I can do the Ctrl-A to select all songs in the iTunes libary.
    I can right-click and select Delete,
    but when I do, I do not get the 3 options that you mentioned
    (Cancel, Keep Files, and Move To Recycle Bin)
    I get a dialog box stating:
    Are you sure you want to remove the selcted songs from your iTunes library?
    These songs will also be remove from any iPod or iPhone which synchronizes with your iTunes library.
    Why am I not getting the options you stated above ?
    I have seen you oprions on a Mac at best Buy, but I am running an HP laptop under Vista Home Premium.
    Then has a Remove or Cancel button to be clicked.
    If I follow through with the above, will it wipe out my music library ?
    How do I go about rebuilding the databse ?
    Thank you
    DaleB
    HP dv6500z laptop Windows Vista
    ==========================================================================
    Toocan
    Posts: 54
    From: Gauteng, South Africa
    Registered: Jul 23, 2008
    Re: iTunes forgets my CD files...how do I rebuild tune database?
    Posted: Aug 17, 2008 10:27 PM in response to: DaleB Reply Email
    Sorry DaleB, I have redone my library so many times, I forgot about this prompt. Just click 'yes'/'remove' to that question.
    Reloading the library will only make your iPod resync again, thats all.
    Intel Windows XP Pro P4, 3.4GHz, 3GB RAM, XP SP3 - iPod 80GB Classic
    ===========================================================================
    DaleB
    Posts: 145
    Registered: Jan 18, 2006
    Re: iTunes forgets my CD files...how do I rebuild tune database?
    Posted: Aug 18, 2008 4:02 AM in response to: Toocan Reply Email
    Hi:
    You tell me to click "Yes" / "Remove" when prompted by iTunes with
    "Are you sure you want to remove the selcted songs from your iTunes library?"
    but when I do, I do not get the 3 options that you mentioned
    (Cancel, Keep Files, and Move To Recycle Bin) ?
    What is the next step ???
    I don't want to accidentally erase my Library.
    Thank you
    DaleB
    ==============================================================================
    DaleB
    Posts: 145
    Registered: Jan 18, 2006
    Re: iTunes forgets my CD files...how do I rebuild tune database?
    Posted: Aug 18, 2008 4:13 AM in response to: Toocan Reply Email
    Hi:
    A related issue.
    I made a copy (backup ?) of the Music folder in Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit OS, to my Desktop. If something corrupts the Music in iTunes, will this be a "good enough" backup to be able to restore the music by moving it back into the Music folder, or will soemthing be missing ?
    Thanx !
    DaleB
    ==============================================================================

    What is it you want to do? If you want to clear your library and start it over with the same media files already on your computer, the way you are doing it is both more work and dangerous (you could lose files accidentally if you hit the wrong button).
    Assuming you backed up your library elsewhere, you will have an "iTunes Music.itl" file, or at least you do with XP. I am not sure if Vista works any differently. This is the file that is the database file that contains all the info about what is in your library, playcounts, ratings, etc. If you don't have that backed up somewhere else with your library, you should do that. If you periodically back up just that file, you can rebuild your library assuming the media files are not lost.
    So to clear our your current library, simply grab the iTunes Music.itl file in your iTunes folder and drag it to the desktop or the trash. Open iTunes and you should now see a blank library. Close iTunes, you will find a new iTunes Music.itl file has been created (representing the new blank library. To restore your old .tl file, simply drag your back up copy and overwrite the newly created blank library iTunes Music.itl file. That's it.
    Alternatively, you can File -> Import the .xml file that is also created and maintained by iTunes in the same folder as the iTunes Music.itl file. But Apple does state the XML file doesn't quite have everything contained in the iTunes Music.itl file, although it isn't clear what exactly is missing, at least not to me.
    Cheers,
    Patrick

  • Rebuilding iTunes Library File

    I have been using iTunes since the beginning and would like some feedback about the itunes Library file.
    I have been using the same iTunes Library file since the beginning of the program and as my library grows and the version upgrades continue to modify the library file, is it time to create a new library file. Everything seems to be working ok except that it does take several seconds for iTunes to modify it's database when I make a change to a playlist or Tag info. I understand smart playlists occupy a lot of time and I do have quite a few of them, but would rebuilding the Library file help that at all.
    Losing all of the playcounts and playlists is not acceptable.
    TIA

    Yes I do back up.
    My iTunes Folder, which includes the Library File, the Music Folder, and the XML file are all stored on an external firewire drive. I have a symbolic link to the external drive located in the Music folder of my boot disk. This works as expected. The reason I do this is so I can take the external drive home from work, copy the symlink to my home Mac, replace the real folder with the symlink, open iTunes and all playlists and playcounts are intact. Basically pick up where I left off. The only downside to this is that I must have the volume available or iTunes will quit because it can't find or create a Library file. I can live with that. Simply rename the symlink temporarily and reopen.
    My main question was referring to the Library file itself. Is it possible that as time went on and new versions of iTunes come out and the database needed updating, can the Library file become fragmented. If I remember correctly, initially Apple had the SoundCheck value stored in the Library file. Now it is stored directly in the mp3 or aac file. Does this now uneeded data still live in the library file?
    I am thinking about making a third backup, create a new library and add all of my music to the empty library to see how if flies. I know playlists and counts will be gone, but may shed some light on how the Library file is managed.
    Comments?
    TIA

  • How do I rebuild Itunes Library.itl?

    I now have 8.0.2.0. When I updated to the previous version, my library didn't show up in Itunes. I hoped that updating again would solve my problem, but it didn't.
    I downloaded the "No content shows up in iTunes after updating" and "How to re-create your iTunes library" help files.
    I must have messed something up because I still can't see my library. When I plug in my ipod, all the songs are there. I have all my ipod music on my L: drive, and it all appears intact.
    So, it looks like I'll have to rebuild the .itl from scratch.
    Thanks in advance for any help!

    In that case the "iTunes Library .itl cannot be read because it was created by a newer version" message may indicate that your iTunes library has been corrupted.  Either restore it from a backup (it is always a good idea to backup your library before installing an iTunes update), or see turingtest2's user tip on Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash.

  • How to rebuild iTunes library

    Is there a way to rebuild iTunes's library? Preferably without moving files around, etc. It'd be great if there was something like in Aperture, all you need to do is hold the alt key while you double click on the aperture library. Then it asks you: "Do you want to rebuild, restore, etc your library?"
    Thanks

    that link refers to a dead article?!?
    Might anyone else know how to do this?
    I am haveing weird issues with my library.
    Some TV shows are showing up with a different TV shows artwork.
    Some TV shows don't even appear on my ipad shared library.
    I will assume a rebuild might help this????
    Thanks

  • Rebuild itunes library

    I have an itunes library where the drive letters where content is stored that have changed so I have thousands of bogus entries in my library, I was hoping to rebuild my library essentially from scratch to recognize only current media locations.
    Thanks,
    Lon

    I have an itunes library where the drive letters where content is stored that have changed so I have thousands of bogus entries in my library, I was hoping to rebuild my library essentially from scratch to recognize only current media locations.
    Thanks,
    Lon

  • Computer formatted - want to rebuild iTunes library & get playlists back!

    I had to get my computer formatted a while ago. My files were saved, including the iTunes folder in My Documents. I have downloaded iTunes and added my music to the library, but I have no idea how to get my playlists back. I've worked really hard to put them together. My iPod isn't synced yet, mostly because I don't want to lose my playlists and play counts, but I'm getting new albums and I will need to sync sometime. How can I rebuild my iTunes library, or at least get the playlists back? Please help, I beg you.

    Hi
    This came off these forums and was posted by MacMuse (I think)
    " The manual way around this problem is to use the iPod in its alter ego - that of portable computer disk drive. Successfully tested under iTunes for Windows 4.2 & 4.5; Windows XP. And follow these directions LINE BY LINE or iTunes will erase everything on the iPod.
    - Start with the iPod disconnected from the computer - DON'T CONNECT IPOD YET
    - open iTunes
    - open iTunes Preferences - this blocks iTunes from seeing an iPod connection; leave the preferences window up and running
    - connect the iPod to the computer, wait about 15 seconds before continuing
    - open 'My Computer'
    - Tools menu, Folder Options, View tab, enable 'show hidden files /folders'
    - open iPod icon in My Computer
    - open iPod_Control folder
    - you should see a folder named Music
    - drag this folder to somewhere on your computer hard drive
    - after the copy completes, right-click the new Music folder on your hard drive and select 'Properties'
    - clear the checkmark next to 'Hidden'
    - Close that explorer window
    - eject iPod from System tray "Safely Remove Hardware" icon.
    This icon looks like a small gray rectangle with a green arrow floating above it. It's only there when a removable device (like the iPod in this case) is attached to the computer. Right-click & select 'Safely remove..', then click 'Stop' in the next window, OK in the next window, and then Close to complete the ejection.
    - disconnect the iPod from the computer
    - go back to iTunes, cancel the preferences window
    - File menu \ Add folder to Library \ find that Music folder copied over from the iPod
    Your iTunes library should be back in action!"
    This worked for me when I had to repartition and reformat my hard drive.

  • Had to rebuild iTunes library and it won't accept most of the videos it previously had? Why?

    I'm having a strange problem with iTunes -
    My boot hard drive recently crashed and took iTunes and my library with it. Fortunately I had all of the music and video files themselves backed up on another drive. When I reinstalled the OS and iTunes and then attempted to add all of the music and video files back into the new, blank iTunes, it accepted all of my music files but it kept crashing when I tried to add the video files back in.
    The details: using a 24" iMac 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS X version 10.9.4 both before and after the hard drive crash, and iTunes version 11.2.2 was my working copy of iTunes with all of my media files happily loaded in it's library, but the newly installed iTunes was at first 11.3.0 and now 11.3.1. Neither with version 11.3.0 nor 11.3.1 will it load all the video files into the library (haven't tried downgrading to 11.2.2, maybe I should? but we'll get to that in a minute).
    I have about 300 video files of several different file types (.mpg, .mp4, .m4v, .mov) which over the years I had added to iTunes as I acquired them, and at the time of the hard drive failing, they were ALL in my iTunes library and I'd never had iTunes reject any file types. They all played fine as well as being a part of the library. And since I had added them over the years, they were added during quite a few different versions of iTunes as it was upgraded over time.
    So, after I added all the music back into iTunes on the new drive, I attempted to add the videos all at one go, but it crashed after only 5 or so files being incorporated. Thinking it may have been too many at once, I tried adding them in smaller batches, but had the same problem. I took a look at what it had added before crashing each time, and found that every time it would load only mpeg 4 files, either .mp4 or .m4v, and would crash as soon as it encountered an .mpg or .mov. So I added all 50 or so of the mpeg 4's, and then tried adding the .mov and .mpg files individually and found that no matter which one it was, it was apparently the file type it didn't like, not the individual files themselves. Randomly trying about 75 led me to that conclusion, but I didn't try all 250, so I guess it's possible there might be some .mpg's it would take, however I only had about 10 .mov files and it won't take ANY of them. Considering all of these files regardless of their type were part of my old iTunes library for years and worked just fine, I don't understand why it won't take them again. I tried adding them by dragging them to the open iTunes pane, and by using the import command, and neither way works, all that happens is it crashes. Every time.
    I tried converting these files to mpeg 4 types, and when I do that, it will take the converted version. However, a lot of them don't come out right when converting them, either the audio is messed up or the dimensions of the movie are incorrect and stretched or squished. It seems I could fix this problem by making sure every video file I add is an mpeg 4, but since I'm having so much trouble converting them properly and it's terribly time consuming, I was hoping someone would have insight into this strange, strange problem. I tried to see if this was a known issue with iTunes, that it only takes mpeg 4 files now, but I can't find anything about that. Anyone know if that's the case? And therefore hopefully an upcoming patch will fix it? Or is it just a weird, weird problem with me only?
    Very frustrating, hopefully someone can help me out. Even if there's no apparent fix, maybe someone can recommend a good application for converting movie files that is easy enough to use for someone who's not familiar with the process, i.e. maybe it can auto-detect things like the audio quality and dimensions so it comes out right without me having to be a real whiz at it? Thank you all very much in advance for your help!

    OK, so I have now found that this is apparently normal for iTunes, to only accept mpeg 4 movie files, all the searching I did before I must have worded it wrong because I couldn't find anything about this, incredibly. Had been looking for why iTunes won't take all the files it previously did, like if it had been changed, and it hasn't, it's allegedly always taken only mpeg 4 files. Also I had been searching for why iTunes crashes every time I try and add/import anything but mpeg 4 files, and even sometimes with mpeg 4 files. That isn't normal, it's supposed to just do nothing apparently as I've just found out. So for these reasons I didn't find the answer despite my searching all over the web.
    So I guess that answers my own question now, but I'm still perplexed as to why I absolutely, definitely, without any doubt, had several hundred movies of a few different video file types loaded, accessible and playable in my iTunes library that everything here claims iTunes never accepted. It apparently shouldn't have been possible for me to have done this, but for probably 10 years it's been this way.
    Perhaps since I don't remember adding these files to iTunes anymore recently than maybe 6 or 7 years ago, the iTunes back then did accept all kinds of file types? Or could I have somehow had some video codecs or software that expanded the capability of my movie players like Quicktime Player that unwittingly also allowed iTunes to take those files as well? All I know is somehow it worked! So now my question is how did I have it working before, so that maybe I can make it work again.

  • Strategies for rebuilding iTunes library

    I bought a new iMac recently and I'm taking the time do put everything back in from the original files as I had a lot of confusion with duplicates and incorrect titles and the like before. That's actually part of the reason I'm writing. I'd like to know how you all deal with duplicates.
    For example, I have several albums with Michael Jackson's music. That gives me a whopping 15 copies of the same version of Thriller, 30 if you consider the back up and 45 if you count the originals. I don't that song that much.
    Is there an alias we can put into iTunes to stand for these types of duplicate tracks?
    Also, in the iTunes library is the program splitting a song from a CD and giving it it's own folder when the song is, say, a duet? For instance, I found Scream in a separate file under Michael and Janet Jackson but also in the original album folder. Does iTunes copy that song again or is that an example of an alias?
    Final question, I'm making a master file with all of my music videos but I'm putting an alias of each video with the artist in that main artists folder. When I add to my library will iTunes duplicate that video alias?
    I know, I know, I know I'm being anal -- but I'm starting from a clean slate.

    There's nothing you can do about the same track appearing on multiple albums and compilations. Each will have different artwork, track number, release date etc. so they're not really the same tracks. In principle an alternate audio format could be devised which is simply a tag and a link to the audio of another file - but it doesn't exist as yet.
    As to the other organisational issues with iTunes see http://samsoft.org.uk/iTunes/grouping.asp
    I add music videos to their respective albums as if they are a bonus track, i.e. they get the next track number in sequence after the main album, and I also add the legend [Video] to the end of the track name so that it's clear when in the music section of my iPod that I might be about to play a video duplicate of an earlier track. This also helps descriminate between the tracks when using the iTunes *Show Duplicates* and *Show Exact Duplicates* views.
    tt2

  • HT4527 How to transfer iPhone content (playlists, notes, calendar, contacts) to a MBP's iTunes library after a crash where I had to reinstall everything?

    I have a MBP and the hard drive crashed. I had to reinstall everything from zero. I didn't have a back-up of everything. Now my iTunes library does not recognize my iPhone and ask me to erase it to sync it. How can I transfer content from my iPhone to my MPB and rebuild iTunes library from my iPhone?

    I have discovered the solution and it involves an issue I suspected. After the restore of my old Time Machine Lion files to my new MBP running ML, the restore restored my computer back to Lion. After an install of ML, my computer worked perfectly except the fancy Scroll and zoom featured we all love from the trackpad. Ha already installed ML on other partitions and the trackpad worked perfectly on them.  Even the guest login's trackpad worked perfectly but not the main admin account.
    First thought was to create a new admin account and copy everything from the old admin to the new admin and then delete the old admin account. Hated the idea because all files had to be copied rather than moved.
    So what was left to do. I had thought of deleting all the apple preferences from the library and replace them with the contents of the library on another partition in ML. First I deleted old preferences many of which were old Lion preferences. That didn't solve the issue.
    I forgot that Lion and ML HIDE the user library so I was working on the wrong library. Discovered the Terminal command "chflags nohidden ~/Library" and I chose to reveal the user library on a ML partition.
    Solution:
    I booted into another ML partition. I guess that I could have booted into the new admin user account and changed the permissions  to access the old admin users Library But I chose to boot
    from another ML partition: copy ALL the com.apple. XXXXX.plist files and the folder  BY Host. It has special hidden files. Other  way is to copy the Preferences folder we'll say into the Desktop.
    I then proceeded to delete ALL the com.apple…….plist files and the Host folder into the trash. Then I copied all the apple.com…plist files and the Host folder and then rebooted. And now my wonderful Trackpad works as mountain Lion intended it to work.
    I'm leaving this solution because there's someone else in the MacWorld with the same issue.
    Ted

  • Rebuilding an iTunes Library: How to Do It & What to Expect

    When iTunes is performing poorly--sluggishness, weird Podcast updating behavior, etc.--and you have tried everything, the prospect arises of rebuilding the iTunes Library. Instructions are simple. The idea is that the XML Library file will inevitably be "cleaner" than the possibly corrupted ITL file which is the file that iTunes edits in managing your iTunes content, and that after rebuilding your library from the xml file, you will have a fresh, clean ITL file. So, back up your machine. Then, go to your iTunes folder and TRASH the file "iTunes ibrary.itl" in the ~/Music/Tunes Folder. Do not empty the Trash. Also, MOVE the file "iTunes Music Library.xml" to your Desktop. Then start iTunes, select Import in the File Menu and select the iTunes Music Library.xml" that is on your Desktop. It could take hours depending on the size and you can just wait until the automatic rebuild is complete. Incidentally, I strongly recommend that you also disconnect your Mac from the Internet during this entire procedure; more on that later.
    Here is the caveat in rebuilding your Library: Apple purposely does not document the ITL file and will only say that most but not all of the information is written to the XML file, a file that technically only exists so that third party applications might be able to work with the iTunes Library. So what information will be missing after you rebuild you library from the XML file? Here is what I found:
    i. Music library and playlists: Good news, this remains intact. However, if your ITL file was corrupted you will discover some funny business. For example, there may be items such as Podcasts you have converted to Music files that reappear as Podcast files. You may find that there are files that are missing or files that you know you have, but seem to be missing from the new iTunes Library. There are various utilities or iTunes plugins such as those from the Doug's Applescripts site that will automate the discovery of these and other problems. Also, alas, the Date Added for all files will be today's date and time, not the day and time from as long as 10 years ago.
    Your iDeivces (iPods, iPhones, and iPads) will see this rebult library as entirely new. Thus, you will need to decide which Playlists, Artists, etc. to manage/import into each of your iDevices as though they are brand new. Basically, this is a time consuming slog, but you will need to do it. All will be erased and reimported even though they are already on your device. Dumb but there you have it.
    Movies, TV Shows, Audiobooks, Books, and Photos: These will remain intact with the same general caveats and iDeivce reimport issues as with the Music files. Namely, you will need to decide what you want to sync anew.
    Apps: Here is something that is not included n the XML file. Fortunately, the fix is to simply drag the contents of the Mobile Applications folder into iTunes and drop it. The import will be automatic. However, there may be multiple versions of some of your apps. about which iTunes will warn you and ask for a decision. Unfortunately, the file names of the multiple version apps are not given. So, my technique is to keep the newest version and leave the older one where it is, keeping a list of all of the ones you did not import. After you are done with the import you can go to the Apps window in iTunes, find the imported versions of those files, right click the icon, and then select "Show in Finder." You will then know the file name of the kept file and by inference can identify and decide what you want to do with the other version. In may cases it turns out to be a downrev version that can be moved elsewhere. However, it could also be a version for, say, your iPhone, that does not work with your iPad. In this case, import it and keep it. I would suggest keeping all of the seemingly orphaned apps around for awhile just in case you later find you need them.
    Good news: When you connect your iDevice(s) to iTunes you will find that iTunes accepts the apps already installed on them. You need do nothing further in most cases. Wonderful.
    Podcasts: Hopefully you heeded my advice to disconnect from the Internet. Because Podcasts seem to be the most problematic of the Library. If connected to the Internet you may, for example, find that the Podcasts will begin to download episodes willy nilly and contrary to your preferred settings. You don't need this right now! So, that said, the Podcasts will be restored including Podcasts that may not currently have any current episodes in them. However, you may find that you will need to Subscribe to some podcasts even though you already had a subscription. In fact, some this having to Subscribe may persist over a few days. Just go ahead and do it of you want the subscriptions. Also, make sure that the Settings for each Podcast are as you like them. You can then connect your iDevice and set it up just as though it is new and iTunes will tediously build your new Podcast library on your iDevice just as with your Music files. Of course you will need to do this for each of your iDevices.
    One other thing to watch in connection with Podcasts is your Music section. I ended up with almost 3000 podcast episodes that were not current that were listed in my Music section but greyed out and identified as Streaming content. Rooting these out was a simple matter of selecting for "Genre" and deleting all of the genre "Streaming" from the Library. This list had nothing to do with the settings for Podcasts. It may be a bug or just one of the symptoms of corruption of my particular original ITL file. Notably, I was connected to the Internet when I rebuilt my Library and this is one of the reasons I highly recommend disconnecting before the rebuild. However, this gremlin could occur when you do reconnect. I don't know and I am not about to test for it, So watch for this or for other funny business.
    Cloud/iTunes Match stuff: If you had turned on iTunes Match I have no help for you. I have never used it. Intuitively, I suspect this could be an epic mess in the context of rebuilding your Library from the XML file. But maybe not--hopefully not!
    iPads, iPhones and the Library: In my case it appears that much of the problem with my iTunes Library file had to do with anomalies and differences betwen what my iTunes Library thought was on a device and what was actually there. Do not be surprised if you feel that you need to restore one of your iDevices. However, prior to doing so consider making an encrypted backup of your iDevice. Encrypted backups include settings and other information that could take hours to reenter and is not included on regular style backups. After a restore, you can be sure that this restoration will be the canonical status of both what is on your iDevice and what iTunes thinks is on your device. Thus you can work with this and then modify it confidently.
    Epilogue: For me, this procedure restored performance to iTunes that had been getting steadily worse for about two years. The new ITL file was about 1MB smaller than the old one. Incidentally, even though the ITL fle was modified by iTunes with most major iTunes versions, it traced its provenance back to 2004 when I got my first iPod. That is very long time and so the development of errors and weirdness is not terribly surprising.

    Because the Nano was previous synced to another comuter/iTunes library.
    See the following:
    Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive: Apple Support Communities

  • Can't import iTunes Library.xml to rebuild library in iTunes 7.5 - why?

    Hi,
    I did an "erase & install" with Leopard because I got kernel panics with 10.4.11, and whenever I try to import my old iTunes Library.xml (which weighs more than 45 Mo) to rebuild my library in iTunes 7.5 as indicated in the kb, I get a new kernel panic before it can complete the process, usually between the 10th and 15th minute. This happens even with extensions removed, and with permissions repaired.
    However, I noticed that when I interrupt the process, the partial file I get is functional and I get access to a random portion of my library...
    Does anybody have a tip?
    My library is really important for me, especially the playlists, which I have saved separately one by one. Does anyone know if they would work if reimported with a library rebuilt from scratch by dragging and dropping my music files in iTunes?
    Thanks for your help, I know it's a lot to ask...
    Ben

    You should be able to create a new Library file by doing the drag and drop of your music files as you describe. I would do them about 50 albums at a time to start with.
    You might want to start by quitting iTunes and going to the /Your Home/Music/iTunes Music folder and moving the "iTunes Library" itl and "iTunes Music Library.xml" to your Desktop. Then launch iTunes to create new blank ones. Set your iTunes preferences and so forth before you begin. Do a few and make sure you are getting the results you are expecting. In other words do you want iTunes to move your music files to the default location, etc.
    You may need to recreate your playlists when done if you do not have the individual xml files to re-import.

  • ITunes Library corrupted in weird way, how do I correct or rebuild?

    For the record, I'm running iTunes 8.2. I have 27K+ tracks total. All of my CD rips are ripped twice, one for Lossless for home use and the second as 256K AAC for iPod/iPhone use. My tracks sit on my home Leopard Server, but the iTunes library is on a local machine (Mac Mini 2009).
    Several point releases ago (probably in iTunes 6 or 7), iTunes had a problem where certain tracks got ripped from CDs as protected tracks (.m4b). I didn't realize it until l started doing an inventory of my library (purchased from iTunes Store). Over time, I had deleted many of the protected tracks (reripping them to .m4a format) but many of them were still files (.m4b) on the server. I ended up manually deleting all of those files recently. Best I can tell, all the tracked that search as "protected" in my library are songs purchased from the iTunes Store but not yet converted to unprotected AAC. (about 70 tracks).
    But those "phantom" protected tracks still show up in weird ways. First, they were incorporated into playlists over time so I have that editing to do. But they also still show up in Smart Playlists, as if they are still listed in the library somewhere. Also, they show up in shared library functions, like if one of my laptops is sharing the main library, or even with third party apps like Simplify Media.
    My theory is that the iTunes Music Library still lists these files but its only used for stuff like Smart Playlists and sharing. If this is the case, how do I excise the bad data from the library? If I do a rebuild (dragging the XML file to the desktop), will the references to the bad data just end up in a new XML file (this seems to be the case in every major iTunes update in recent months). If I rebuild without it and do a reimport of the files, what happens to my iPods, two iPhones and all their data/apps?
    Thanks

    The iMac 500 doesn't have a DVD drive, and I don't have a firewire cable to hook it up to the 800 in Target Disk mode.
    Anyway, I am wondering if it has something to do with my network layout? The iMac 800 is on a different router than the iMac 500. This doesn't interfere with normal network operations - but does iTunes intentionally block this to prevent sharing outside one's own network? If so, isn't there something that can be installed on one or both of the computers to get around that?

  • Is there a way to rebuild the ITunes Library XML file from my IPod?

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    stickmanpar wrote:
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