Recreating folders in Itunes library

I installed Itunes version 8 this past summer and found that my entire music library had been converted to HTML. I did a search on the web and found out how to get rid of the HTML and get my folders back in my library (ironically it was on the Apple web site). The instrucions were clear and concise and it did exactly what I wanted. I just built a new computer and transferred my music library (in the form of folders)on to my new computer and again it was converted to HTML. I have done a search for that same information to convert my library back to folders and I can't find it. Can anyone help?

Your post makes no sense at all.
entire music library had been converted to HTML
What was converted to html? The iTunes library consists of the iTunes library file, the iTunes folder and the music. It's not one thing than can be converted to html.

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Adding Windows folders to iTunes library

Having some trouble figuring out how to add preexisting mp3's into the iTunes library. The mp3's are ripped from my own CD collection using Windows Media Player. For discussion let's say I have 50 mp3's in a folder I created called iPod1. I go to iTunes and under the File menu click on "Add a folder to library" - no problem iTunes recognizes the folder and adds them to the library. Adding additional songs to the library is where the trouble starts. If I add songs to the the original Windows folder (as I'd prefer to) when I attempt to add the folder with the additional songs to the iTunes library - all of the songs are imported including the originals giving me doubles of the originals. If I choose to create a new folder - let's say iPod2 - the song titles seem to be imported but sometimes iTunes can't find the new folder and they appear in the library with an explanation point in front of them. By reimporting that folder sometimes iTunes can find the song. I prefer not to have my mp3's scattered in a bunch of folders in Windows. Seems like I'm missing something here. Suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Rich
Dell Windows XP

Thanks - that makes sense. Ultimately the goal would be to have all of one's mp3 files in one folder in Windows and all of them in the iTunes library ... right? Right now I only have a portion of them in the library. There are a lot of them so it might be best to start all over - get them all in one folder and "Add that folder" to the library. Then any new files can be added individually (sorted by date as you suggest). I understand that I would lose current playlists etc. All above correct?? Rich
Dell Windows XP

Accidently replaced folders in itunes library

For some reason I had certain songs by certain artists outside of my itunes folder, and not on my itunes player. So I highlighted these songs, which were all in folders with the respective band names on them, and dragged them to my iTunes folder (I know this was not the correct way to do it now). It asked if I wanted to replace and I, thinking it was the song I was replacing and not the whole iTunes folder named for the same band, said yes. I realized what I did, but I can't find the songs that were previously in the folders anywhere and iTunes comes up with a "can't find the file" error whenever I click on those songs that used to be in the replaced folders. Did I just irreplaceably lose thousands of songs in the course of a few dimwitted keystrokes? Is there any type of backup system to retrieve those files? They aren't in the trash and I can't find them anywhere.

Did I just irreplaceably lose thousands of songs in the course of a few dimwitted keystrokes?
Sounds like it.
When it asked to Replace the folder with the new one, it deleted the old ones.
When replacing like this, the files are deleted immediately. They are not moved to the trash.
Is there any type of backup system to retrieve those files?
I'd suggest you restore from your backup but you probably don't have anything on your computer (including the iTunes library) backed up, correct?
There are programs you can use to search your disks for deleted/erased files.
Here's one -> http://www.prosofteng.com/products/datarescueinfo.php

Adding Windows folders to iTunes library - 2 copies of song

Having some trouble figuring out how to import preexisting mp3's into the iTunes library. The mp3's are ripped from my own CD collection using Windows Media Player. For discussion let's say I have 50 mp3's in a folder I created called iPod1. I go to iTunes and under the File menu click on "Add a folder to library" - no problem iTunes recognizes the folder and adds them to the library. Adding additional songs to the library is where the trouble starts. If I add songs to the the original Windows folder (as I'd prefer to) when I attempt to add the folder with the additional songs to the iTunes library - all of the songs are imported including the originals giving me doubles of the originals. Any suggestions appreciated. Rich
Dell Windows XP

Thanks - that makes sense. Ultimately the goal would be to have all of one's mp3 files in one folder in Windows and all of them in the iTunes library ... right? Right now I only have a portion of them in the library. There are a lot of them so it might be best to start all over - get them all in one folder and "Add that folder" to the library. Then any new files can be added individually (sorted by date as you suggest). I understand that I would lose current playlists etc. All above correct?? Rich
Dell Windows XP

How do i delete one of my folders in Itunes Library

Hi im having a problem with my itunes library. I was messing around on Itunes and i found the "Add file to library" button and I clicked it because I wanted to move my music from my file folder to itunes and i went to sync the music and a pop up comes up and says "are you sure you want to remove exsisting music, movies, tv shows, books, and tones from this Iphone and sync with this Itunes library", I don't want to click ok because im scared its going to delete everything.
Bottom line I just want to delete the folder I made thats it nothing more nothing less. Any helpful answers and tips are appreciated. Thanks!
p.s: I have a Windows 8

You should post in the itunes forum as this has nothing to do with the iphone.

I scraped my old computer disc and lost all my data including my itunes library backup. I recreated a new itune library on my new computer but it only contains my purchased music,apps,books and movies. I Can I reverse a sync Ipod to Itunes?

How can I rebuild my itunes library on my new computer that will include all my downloaded CD's. My new library only contains my purchased music,apps.books and movies, (My library on my old computer is scraped)
The library on my ipod is intact. I don't dare to sync with the library on my new computer because I will loose my cd music. Can I do a reverse sync IPOD to Itunes?

Browse the app store. You will need a special purpose app to help you.

External hard drives, media folders and iTunes Library folder

Hello All,
I have an external hard drive with all of my iTunes media files and am wondering if I should also have the iTunes Library folder and related iTunes files on this same drive. Is this the preferred arrangement? It seems that backups would be greatly simplified.
If it is a preferred solution that all these files reside on one drive location, how do I set these files to the external drive?
Thanks in advance for any assistance?
Warren

Warren Willows wrote:
you specifically back up the "iTunes Library" to your thumb drive on an hourly basis
no, i back up my iTunes folder (which is devoid of media content as my music files etc. are on the external).
the +apple of my eye+ is the +*iTunes library file+*
which is the heart (database) of the iTunes library (which is the whole thing: media files, support files, artwork folder)
while your media files are on an external drive which you mirror to a second drive.
exactly.
Do you use Chronosync to mirror your externals?
yes.
Have you consider a NAS?
well, i have a test library on an external USB drive hanging off my TC. it's not a NAS exactly but pretty similar.
i found that a firewire 800 external HD @ 7200 rpm provides superior speed to any networked library which is important (to me) if you e.g. stream HD movies to an TV and don't want to experience a lot of buffering.
JGG

After adding folders to iTunes library, now have duplicates of each song

I store all my music on a separate drive, M:\
I have a specific file structure setup that has worked for me for years, M:\Artist\Album
I recently received an iPod for my birthday, and started using iTunes. After adding my music drive (M:\) for inclusion into the library (without "keep..." and "copy..." selected, as to keep my current file structure intact), when selecting "File->Display Duplicates" just about every song in the library has a duplicate, one in the original folder "M:\Artist\Album", and another in "M:\Playlists\..\Artist\Album". I understand that basically somehow iTunes glitched and started in the "M:\Playlist" directory when adding to the library at some point, however I am at a loss as to how. In my actual folders I only have 1 copy of each song, so basically iTunes is making a symbolic link to each song and adding it into the library as a separate song.
I have over 9000 (must...resist...meme...) songs in my library, and removing and restoring takes quite a while. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to do this at least once now, but any ideas as to why or advice on how to avoid this particular problem in the future?
I am pretty set in my ways of my current file structure, since I don't use iTunes as my primary media software, so I would prefer to not have to resort to succumbing to just letting iTunes handle everything the way it wants (I pretty much hate that).
Thank you for any suggestions you may have.
EDIT: Is there a way to have iTunes rename/move files when adding to its library to specific folders via custom rules based on ID3 information (i.e. WMP rip settings)?
Message was edited by: kaziekama

If you have "Keep..." and "Copy..." unchecked, iTunes will simply reference the existing file, and will not change your file structure, as you correctly note.
I'm fairly sure that some other program is operating on your files. The "Playlists" folder that you mention has nothing to do with iTunes. On my PC, only Windows Media and Roxio use it.
To your question +"Is there a way to have iTunes rename/move files when adding to its library to specific folders via custom rules based on ID3 information (i.e. WMP rip settings)?"+ the answer is no. When iTunes rips a CD, it names the files as track number and title, with no option to do differently. And as far as placing the ripped files, they go in Artist/Album, with no option to do differently. As full-featured ripping programs go, iTunes is not even in the race.

Only see folders in itunes library file

My imac's hard drive failed but before that, I made a backup. However, the backup has all the folders but nothing is inside -- none of the music. Could it be somewhere else? Why would it only copy folder playlists?

boscobilly wrote:
I do have this folder (external HD) as my music Library in Spotify. Is that where it's coming from?
Possibly. I don't use Spotify.

I had to recreate my itunes library and now, when i tried to sync my ipod, i got a warning that everything currently on my ipod would be cleared; how do i sync without losing the information currently on my ipod?

Recently I was forced to recreate my entire iTunes library. My computer shut down unexpectedly and when I restarted it, my iTunes library was gone from the iTunes software. After *finally* receiving some information from iTunes support about restoring the library (which meant I had to do exactly what I was afraid I would have to do--basically click-and-drag the entire contents from my hard drive back into the library), I wanted to update my iPod with the songs I'd added since the last updating. And this is where more trouble began.
When I plugged in my iPod to sync it with the library, I got a warning message informing me that the library currently on the iPod would be cleared during the syncing, because the iPod can only be associated with "one" library. Well, I did NOT want to do that because I wanted to retain the playcount and other information about the songs. I was also hoping to keep the playlists currently on the iPod.
So, my first instinct was to contact iTunes support. The only problem there was that going through the Support pages ended up with my needing to call Apple. I'd attempted that when I first lost the library and was told by the Support associate that ALL iTunes help and support must be done online. Ironic, huh? I can't get iTunes support online until I call Apple support to get a direct web address to take me to the express lane help pages. And, unfortunately, I made the mistake of uninstalling and reinstalling my AOL software and lost ALL of my e-mails with the iTunes support addresses in the process.
So basically, I need to know what to do here. Is there a way to keep the current iTunes library on my iPod and still syncing with the recreated library or do I just need to accept the loss of the library currently on my iPod? I may try to call Apple Support and get that iTunes online support address again but I'd really like to get this resolved more quickly. The last time that I called and then I got the iTunes online help address, it ended up taking 2 days to get that help.

Hi. The two user tips both describe a sequence of steps that should get your library from the point where it threatens to wipe data from your device to where it is syncing normally, while recovering as much information as possible. It may still be necessary to wipe and reload the device but this should only take place once all the data that can be recovered has been recovered.
Doing step 1 of 8 and then complaining things aren't the way you want them to be yet strikes me as premature...
Since you appear to have all your media content, and we are discussing an iPod classic, not an iOS device, the main worries are already taken care of. What's left is ratings, playcounts, playlist membership and checked status. Since your device holds only part of your library at best you could only recover the missing data for the content that is on the device using third party tools.
Recreating the previous checked/unchecked status of every track in your library from where you are now may not be that easy. Syncing with selected playlists has many advantages, one of which would have been that you would have a named playlist that could have been retrieved by 3rd party software if you had used this method.
You haven't explained what caused your problem in the first place, but if you have a Previous iTunes Libraries folder holding old copies of your iTunes database (generated with each iTunes update) then it would be possible to restore the most recent of these and then update the library with any changes in your media folder.
BTW Apple doesn't offer free support for this kind of issue with iTunes.
tt2

Copying old iTunes library onto a new hard drive: special question:

How do i do this when the music in my old iTunes library was not all in the itunes media folder (some was in downloads, shared folder, etc). Should I put these folders in the places where they were on my old hard drive (for example the "shared" folder was on the desktop) or should i just put everything into the iTunes media folder. My main goal here is to recreate my old itunes library with the playlists intact while also having all the songs recognized (none of those exclamation points because it cant locate the file). Sorry to repeat myself but I just want to make it clear because i dont want this to mess up. Should i put all my music into the itunes media folder for it to show up in the old library, or should I keep it in the folders it always was in and just place those folders in the same locations on this hard drive? Thanks for any help

The solution you linked to looks good, but I'm a bit
confused about if it'll work for my situation - I'll
be putting Vista on a new drive (completely clean
install, not an upgrade), which means that iTunes
will be cleanly installed as well. The way I'm
reading it, it seems the solution there needs an
iTunes install that already interacts with the old
library.
Right, and the way you do this is to hold down the shift key while starting iTunes. (Note: this does not mean holding down the shift key while you click on the icon. It means holding it down immediately after that while the program is starting up.) This will bring up a dialog asking what iTunes library you want to use. Point to the old library, and you're in business.
Let me know if this will work: I drag and drop my
whole music folder to the new drive, then in iTunes I
go to File --> Import and import the itl or xml file.
I've heard this might not work because the xml file
has pathways that refer to a specific drive letter
which will be different.
That's correct. You can edit the XML to fix the pathnames, but I wouldn't recommend that unless editing XML is something you do regularly.

My macbook pro logic board died. I had all my music on an external drive. How do I get my iTunes library, playlists etc. from my dead computer onto my new one?

My logic board died on my old macbook pro. I have a new one, but I want to get my iTunes library off my old hard drive and put it on my new one. I had set up my old MBP to store all my iTunes music on an external drive, so I have the music. The iTunes program was on the old MBP hard drive.How do I essentially recreate my previous iTunes library, playlists, etc on my new laptop?

You will need the iTunes Library.itl file which generally lives in ~/Music/iTunes/. You can recover this from the backups you were making before the HDD died. Otherwise, you cannot recreate the library.

Using External Hard Drive as storage for iTunes Library - Problems

I currently use an external hard drive to store my iTunes music, does anyone know why when I copy folders to iTunes library, duplicates appear - sometimes 2 or 3 copies of same song, same artist, album everything. A trud copy. Also, when you are setting up your music folder on the External Hard drive, would you copy from C: the entire iTunes tree - ie. iTunes/iTunes music/iTunes library or just have one folder called iTunes library? Also, when specifying location for finding music in preferences, again would you use entire tree of just iTunes music library.

See Dave Sawyer's post here - it's the easiest way
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1866272&tstart=0
Also, make sure Windows assigns a drive letter that won't change
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844

How do I remove music from itunes library but keep them in a separate folder on my mac?

I also wouldn't mind understanding which specific folders the itunes library imports my music from. Does it search my whole computer and automatically add any music files or does it search only a specific folder? Is there a way to tell it which folder to use? Basically I'd like to keep two folders, one that itunes imports and one that is just on my computer and doesn't go to itunes. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

You can't. The reason is because the actual photos are all in the camera roll. The albums only contain links to these photos, not duplicate photos. (Albums work like music playlists. Music playlists also don't contain duplicate songs either; they only contain links to the songs in your music library.)

Itunes library is greyed out

Hi,
I hope someone can help as this has been driving me crazy the last few days.
I imported some cd's into my itunes library & connected my ipod classic to my laptop (Win 7) expecting it to sync the music, it didn't. The music I imported is visible in my itunes library but is greyed out.
I keep my music on my external (G) drive & itunes points to my G drive correctly i.e. Edit>Preferences>G:>itunes music folder. I'm runnning itunes ver 2.0.1 (this updates automatically). My G drive itunes folder contains all my music folders plus: itunes Library (database file) & Library XML doc file. My C drive itunes folder contains: Album Artwork Folder, itunes Media Folder, itunes Library Extras Folder, itunes Library Genius Folder, itunes Library File & itunes Music Library XML doc file.
I've not experienced any problems before but it appears to have happened since the update.
Thanks.
Gary.

I'd try repairing permissions on your main drive. My guess is you'll see a long list of differing iTunes permissions. Also if you have a TM backup of that library from 6 months ago when you put it away you should be able to restore the itl file from that. But I'd try the permission repair first. If that works & iTunes lights up, make sure that it is pointing to the media file in the external drive and that "keep iTunes Media folder organized" & "copy files to iTunes..." are checked. All of these settings are in advanced preferences.
Then run TM (or super duper or something) and back everything up (including the external drive).

Recreating folders in Itunes library

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