Restoring song ratings after re-importing.

I accidentally deleted hundreds of songs from iTunes. I dragged tham back into iTunes from the Trash but I lost all the ratings and playcounts. I have Time Machine back-up. What files do I restore to restore my ratings? I do have some new content since this happened (mostly podcasts). I'm terrified of causing more damage by trying to fix this. Any advice?

The key to getting your ratings and other playlist-related data back is to have a back-up copy of the iTunes Library files.
If you do, put them into the iTunes folder and, assuming the songs are located in the same place as they were before, you should be all set.
If you don't have a back up copy of those files, your options are more limited. You will want to investigate 3rd party software such as PodPlus which says it can retrieve playlist data from your iPod (assuming you have an iPod with the music on it). Other options can be found here: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/

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Want To Keep Song Ratings After Sync

I performed a format and fresh install of everything on my PC; this included adding all my original music back into my iTunes library. Of course, iTunes still wants to sync but this requires the songs on my iPod to be deleted. That's fine but I have spent a lot of time giving my songs ratings and would like to keep those ratings. Does anyone know how I can keep the song ratings and work around this situation?

You're right, you can't get it off your iPod. You need the itunes library database file from your old PC.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
The ITL file is the important one that holds all the metadata.

How to restore playlists and ratings after hard drive format

Several people have reported problems restoring paylists and ratings after reformating a hard drive. Here is what worked for me and what did not.
I had to reformat my hard drive. Before doing that I exported my playlists from itunes to another hard drive as an xml file. I also copied the folder with all my songs to another drive. (Also of course had it backed up on DVDs.)Then I copied the itunes library files (see url http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732) to anoher drive.
After reformating my hard drive and installing the lastest verion of ITunes, I copied the actual songs back into a subfolder in my music folder. I then told iTunes to import the subfolder with the actual music. That resulted in a restored library that lacked playlists and ratings.
Don't do this
I purchased Anapod ($30.00) because its web page said (http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/):
"Anapod CopyGear is an easy-to-use, compact utility for copying music tracks, playlists, podcasts, photos, and videos from your iPod back to your PC."
Well, I did transfer 104 playlists back to my iTunes library through the Anapod backup function. However, the transfer also put more than 20 gigs of duplicate songs into the library. All of the songs listed in the playlists were duplicated in iTunes. I could find no way in Anapod to simply copy the ratings and the playlists. Anapod documentation was outdated. For example the online help pages said that playlists could not be backed up. This was confusing because I had just done that.
"In a future release we will be adding the ability to backup your iPod playlists. This will allow you to generate backup files of your iPod playlists on the computer. These files will not be usable on your computer though. They can only be used to restore playlists at a later time on your iPod (assuming it still carries all the audio files referred to in that playlist)." This text is from url http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/support/tome/tx2pc.php#5.1.2
I sent requests to Anapod for help today, but they have not been answered yet. Docs truly did not seem to help. Would have been good if there was a pdf file rather than just an online help html file that seemed outdated.
This worked for me:
I ended up having iTunes wipe out the entire library because of all the dups Anapod made. (Made sure that iTunes only wiped out library and did not delete actual songs from hard drive. Then I had iTunes import my subfolder with songs again. That brought me back to where I was before wasting money and much time on Anapod.
After I had my iTunes library up (without ratings and playlists and after finding Anapod did not meet my needs.
1. I imported the xml file to which I had exported playlists before reformating hard drive. That gave me the playlists back although an error message said some items not copied because the music tracks listed in playlists were not in my iTunes library. --Possibly I deleted songs after playlists were downloaded some time ago to iPod. Importing the xml file is probably not necessary because of what I did below.
2. Quit iTunes
3. Because my song ratings were still missing, I then moved the iTunes library files made by the new version of iTunes into a different folder.
4. Then I put my old version 4 library files into the place where the library files should be.
5. Then I crossed my fingers and restarted iTunes. It took awhile to start and said it was updating my library files. Now I have back most or all of my playlists and ratings.
If problems develop, I will probably wipe out iTunes library and use Anapod to move everything from my iPod into a folder and tell iTunes to import that folder. That approach might avoid the dups that Anapod makes when restoring playlists to iTunes.
So my message is keep your actual songs backed up somewhere (such as DVD's and anotehr hard drive) and keep a duplicate copy of your library files somewhere not on your hard drive. With these items you should be able to restore iTunes library to its former status.
Sorry for the length of this message. Hope it helps someone.

The simple version of above:
iTunes Files to Backup (anytime you make additions or changes to the Music or Library that you want to retain)
1) All music files in their current folder structure (usually located in and under the ‘iTunes Music’ folder)
2) The Library database file: ‘iTunes Library.itl’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
3) The Library XML file: ‘iTunes Music Library.xml’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
4) Any XML playlist files created for Playlist retention
5) The two iTunes.pref files (optional)
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer Inc\iTunes.pref
6) The XML file of Ratings, Play Counts and Last Played attributes saved from the main Library and created by Otto’s SaveRatings script (also optional, but recommended):
“Download this: http://ottodestruct.com/itunes/SaveRatings.zip . It's a program, just run it like any other program. Run it on the machine where you're copying the info from BEFORE you move the files to the new machine. Click the "Save Ratings" button and it'll create a ratings.xml file. Now when you move the files, move the program and this file as well. Then after you make your new iTunes library, run it again and click the "Restore Ratings" button. Voila, all your information is back in the Library. Well, most of it anyway, it's not perfect. It'll tell you what songs it couldn't figure out though, and there's usually not very many.”

I just deleted and restored iTunes because I had 4 or 5 of each song. After all that I STILL HAVE 4 or 5 of every song. HOW DO I FIX THIS?

I just deleted and restored iTunes because I had 4 or 5 of each song. After all that I STILL HAVE 4 or 5 of every song. HOW DO I FIX THIS? Or do I just stop using iTunes?

Since this a potentially drastic approach I will remind you that at this point you ought to have a complete backup of your library in case things get worse rather than better...
Select the Music source, select all (ctrl-a), delete, DO NOT SEND FILES TO THE TRASH!
Repeat with other media sources if you wish.
Import your media, get it organized, backup again.
I can recall if I've sent you in the direction of this information yet...
Here are the typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
In the layout above, with the media folder (everything in the red box) inside the library folder, the library is considered to be portable. A portable library can be moved from one path to another without breaking the links between the library and the media and being self-contained is much easier to backup
... but if you are going to start over I'd recommend you work with iTunes rather than fighting it. If you want your own folder structure for your media (I know I do, but generally recommend people don't because it is less hassle) then turn off the option under Edit > Preferences > Advanced to Keep the iTunes Media folder organized, but place your structure somewhere inside the iTunes media folder. That way you get the advantages mentioned above and are much less likely to create duplicates by accident again in future.
tt2

Importing song ratings without auto-sync or 3rd party software

My iPod Classic contains all my Mac iTunes' library (approx 150GB), and they auto-sync, so ratings, play counts etc are sync'ed seamlessly.
I manage my iPod nano and iPhone manually since their respective capacities are too small for my library.
How do I import song ratings etc back into iTunes without 3rd party software or creating playlists (dedicated to the nano and the phone) and auto-syncing just those playlists?
Many thanks!

Hey! By mistake I found the solution to my exact question i.e. how to have ratings etc synced automatically without the use of playlists or 3rd parties. (Meg's answer actually convinced me to use dedicated playlists, but then, after toying with the devices and iTunes I stumbled on the solution to my original dilemma, which I've seen discussed in many places but not yet answered)
So here it is:
when you connect the device (nano multi-touch or iphone 4, don't know about others) to iTunes, while having "Manually manage music" disabled (with "Enable disk use" enabled or disabled, it doesn't matter), go to Music tab, check "Sync Music", choose "Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres" and that's it. You don't check any actual playlists, artists etc below, you can drag from iTunes and drop your chosen music to the device, play it, rate it, connect to iTunes and sync and you'll see the rating and play counts updated. Simple as that.
Thank you Meg, your answer is actually the best, I guess, since having the dedicated playlists tends to keep things more in order, but - thank you Apple! - you don't always need to be perfectly organized in order to have an up-to-date rating.
Message was edited by: vshome

Somehow, my iTunes music disappeared. I restored it with Time Machine and have all of my music. However, my playlists and song ratings did not restore. Does anyone know if there is anything I can do to restore my playlists and ratings? Thanks.

Somehow, my iTunes music vanished from iTunes. I was able to restore my music from Time Machine, but I lost my playlists and song ratings. Does anyone know how I can restore the playlists and ratings? Thanks in advance for any help.

iTunes as you see it is more than just a file or two. It is all the contents of the iTunes folder including the critical library.itl file. That holds pretty much all the information about what you see when you start iTunes. You need to restore the whole iTunes folder, not just media files.

Importing song ratings from Music Match.

I am new to iTunes.
I am trying to switch from Music Match to iTunes in preparation for buying my 1st iPod (Nano). It seems that my song ratings from MMJB do not transfer into iTunes. Should these ratings transfer and I am just doing something wrong?
If not, any suggestions on how to best accomplish this task? I am thinking grouping songs by rating in MMJB, either in playlists or by moving each rating to a different folder on disk; then importing into iTunes songs of each rating separately. Hopefully in iTunes there is a way to rate a group of songs all together, rather than having to mark each one individually.

The playlist idea is probably the best one. Export your playlists (5 of them, one for each rating), import them, select all the playlist contents in iTunes, right click the selection, set the rating to whatever.

I have 2 iphone 3gs so i plugged 1 of them into my laptop and i downloaded i tunes everything was ok i downloaded songs so after few days i got the other i phone and i did the same thing but every thing (pictures,contacts)of the1 phone was restored to2

i have 2 iphone 3gs so i plugged 1 of them into my laptop and i downloaded i tunes everything was ok i downloaded songs so after few days i got the other i phone and i did the same thing but every thing (pictures,contacts)of the1 phone was restored to the second i phone and all the pictures of the 2 phone had gone and it only had pictures and contacts of the 1 phone anybody plz help i am in egypt and there is noo apple stores in egypt so plz help

plzzzzz help quick

Imported song into After Effects CS6 and won't fully render.

I imported a song into After Effects CS6 to use audio waveforms. I click RAM preview but it won't render or play past 18 seconds. What am I doing wrong and how do I render the entire audio track so it will actually play all the way through with the effects on it.

Ram preview length is determined by the amount of available ram. It is also usually limited to the work area. Either lower the resolution of the comp window or extend the work area.
Please read the FAQ section at the top of the forum. You'll have your answer there.

Songs skip after importing them

I recently purchased an iMac. I used to have a PC but decided to change to a mac. As such I moved my iTunes library to an external hard drive. I have then connected this to my new iMac and loaded the songs into iTunes. Unfortunately some of the songs skip after seconds and go to the next track. I have tried playing the track in QuickTime and the song sounds distorted at the point it would skip in iTunes then starts playing again as normal. If there is a fix I would be very grateful to find out what it is as I fear that a lot of my library is now corrupt somehow. Also if there is an easy way to find which songs are corrupt without playing them all would be good.

We are experiencing the same problem. The CD you are importing is it a "live" CD or a "studio" recording CD. Ours is a live concert CD

Import song ratings

i have a ipod classic 80g and a ipod mini 20g (i think). both of these have different music since neither can hold everything in my itunes library, i use the song rating function often as a way of organizing things. however, i have not been succesful at finding a way to update my song ratings in itunes from my ipods. i do not know if turning autosync on would work or not since neither ipod contains the entire library. any help would be extremely helpful

Song ratings only update from the device back to iTunes if your automatically syncing your library. I'm fairly certain that iTunes itself won't sync the ratings if you switch from manual to automatic. There are programs that claim to be able to sync ratings back to iTunes but I don't have one to recommend to you offhand.
tt2

Grey songs appear after managing music, and seemed to be unplayable/lost. Videos lost as well. How do i retrieve them?

After doing some actions with my iPod Touch 4G, ALL my music AND video library turned grey, or rather, after pressing the Music app, I received the message, along the lines of "There is no music." This is on my Mac laptop with an older version of itunes, my main music is however backed up on my desktop Mac.
Actions and settings that i took which may have caused the grey-out or loss of my music and videos.
1. Manually manage music and videos.
2. Unchecked and rechecked a song, out of sheer interest (this may be the problem) whilst on my laptop
3. Managing files inside the iPod, using another desktop application whilst the iPod was in my laptop.
The situation
All music appeared grey in my iPod
Majority of VIDEOS LOST.
Retrieved most of MY music from my Home Mac via iTunes auto-sync
Friend's music is LOST (greyed out and unplayable in iTunes)
My attempts to retrieve lost music and videos:
1. Removed my iPod from laptop and attached my iPod to my desktop Mac, and it automatically synced, retrieving the music i had. The music my friend had recently lent me, that is, put in my iPod via his iTunes on PC APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN LOST. My music is in black font on the iPod, but the music my friend had gave me is in light grey/gray font.
Where did this video and music go? Did i delete the music and videos?

Photos/videos in the Camera Roll are not synced. Photos/videos in the Camera Roll are not touched with the iTunes sync process. Photos/videos in the Camera Roll can be imported by your computer which is not handled by iTunes. Most importing software includes an option to delete the photos/videos from the Camera Roll after the import process is complete. If is my understanding that some Windows import software supports importing photos from the Camera Roll, but not videos. Regardless, the import software should not delete the photos/videos from the Camera Roll unless you set the app to do so.
Photos/videos in the Camera Roll are included with your iPhone's backup. If you synced your iPhone with iTunes before the videos on the Camera Roll went missing and you haven't synced your iPhone with iTunes since they went missing, you can try restoring the iPhone with iTunes from the iPhone's backup. Don't sync the iPhone with iTunes again and decline the prompt to update the iPhone's backup after selecting Restore.

Syncing ipod with itunes will it tranfer over song ratings?

I just imported my itunes libary from one computer to another and lost my song ratigns and play count. If I sync my ipod with my itunes libary on my new computer will it transfer over the song ratings from the ipod to the computer, or will the computer overide the ratings on my ipod and make everything "unrated"?

Perhaps a corrupted iPod? Why not try a restore (warning: will erase and then resync everything) and see if that clears it up?
Patrick

Can I restore MY RATINGS from the library.xml file alone?

That's the question - Can I restore MY RATINGS from the library.xml file alone?
Some facts to consider before replying:
1. I do not have the ITL file, so that solution is out.
2. My ipod was restored so NO ratings there either.
3. So far I have only seen programs to use BEFORE losing your itunes library. IF YOU KNOW a third party's program can help me AFTER THE FACT then tell me about it.
4. I HAVE searched these forums for previous threads. (a) searching engine needs big help and (b) among the 2 dozen finds, no solution for "only XML" found. If you got THAT threads url, post it!
So, using an old library.xml file, is there a way to get this info into itunes.
thanks
Gc
p4 3Ghz box Windows XP Pro only the ipod can lock it up
p4 3Ghz box Windows XP Pro if you can give me $10K in replacement software, I'll be glad to switch to MAC

there is mention of a hta
script, SaveRatings.hta , that saves and restores
the xml data.
The save button worked just fine. ..........
Turns out the restore button works just fine too when I dont toss in my homemade ratings.xml before clicking restore;-)
more explained at http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=587586&tstart=0
anyway Otto's saveratings is a excellent tool to have on your drive. Unless you like re-rating 1400 or 1500 rated songs...........
Gc
p4 3Ghz box Windows XP Pro only the ipod can lock it up

New iPod will not sync song ratings with iTunes

A few months ago I bought an iPhone (my first Apple MP3 player) and loaded it up with some music and everything worked fine between it and iTunes. I would rate some songs on the iPhone and synced it up with iTunes and it transferred those song ratings over with no problems.
I later got rid of the iPhone and bought an iPod 4GB Nano and loaded it up with music but when I rated some songs and synced it up with iTunes it would not transfer the ratings over. It would transfer over the ratings fine from iTunes to the iPod but not the other way around. I removed and reinstalled iTunes and deleted the iTunes folder within the My Music folder on my computer and reloaded iTunes and imported all my music again. Restored and reset my iPod and tried again, it still will not transfer over the song ratings from iPod to iTunes.
So I figured I got a screwed up iPod (it was a refurb) and decided to go ahead and upgrade. Bought a brand new iPod 8GB Nano and the same thing is happening again. Although it's not absolutely critical to be able to rate songs it helps in getting my music library sorted in deciding what to keep or not.
Any idea what to do short of reinstalling Vista or moving my music library over to another computer to sync with?

Hi, I just sorted out this problem for my ipod touch. Jose9550 and Chris in CA did not explain very well how it is to be sorted - their posts helped me but iI sort of discovered it by accident. My main problem was that the ipod did not update itunes with my track ratings made direct with the touch screen whilst listening to tracks.
Here is how I found out how to sort it:
Step 1: Click on the option in the summary screen to manually manage the music on you Ipod. Back up any tracks/playlists that you don't want to lose.
Step 2: Create a few playlists with music that you want on Ipod
Step 3: Click on your Ipod name in Itunes side bar and then select the Music tab on the main panel on the right. Now click on the check box "Sync Music". This will bring up a prompt that all your music /playlists currently on the Ipod may be erased. Accept this message and then click on check box "Selected playlists". Now pick the playlists/playfolders you want synced. Click apply.
Step 4: Go into the menu bar in itunes and select Edit>Preferences>Devices> and uncheck box beside "Disable Automatic syncing for IPhones and IPods"
Now any changes made to the playlists/tracks etc on the desktop or IPod will be transferred in both directions.
Regards,
Cocktailmonster

Restoring song ratings after re-importing.

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