Songs cannot be used because original files could not be found.

I had my laptop stolen with my original iTunes Music libary. The library was backed up on office server. When I copied bqackup to new laptop iTune file, the song list shows but all songs will not play with message:
"the song "XXX" could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?"
Unfortunately, the originals are on stolen laptop? Is there anything I can do!

happyhannah wrote:
I right-clicked on the song to 'get info' and found out that the path is 'file://localhost/users/Hannah/desktop/iTunes' etc. I remembered that I had moved the iTunes library to the desktop as not to forget to back it up.
Hmm, if the active iTunes library knows where to look for files but they have been misplaced then putting them back where it expects to find them should work. However you should only be moving the media folder not the library files, or if moving both you should shift-start iTunes and choose a new library.
Now, I have deleted the iTunes library from the (default) Music folder and have put it on the desktop with the hope that this is now where iTunes will find the original library. However, it's still not working!!! Please help!!! I really cannot lose my whole iTunes library
As long as you have the media files and a copy of the library files from your old system it really should be possible to coax them back into working order.
Are you currently connected to a library which lists your media? If so what is the path given for a sample missing file and where is the actual copy of that file now?
tt2

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The song could not be used because original file could not be found

I just loaded iTunes on my new laptop running Windows 8. I then synced my iPod Nano hoping existing songs would be imported. Songs seemed to come across but when I try to play on my computer I get message - "The song could not be used because original file could not be found." Can anybody help?

Solution may be found if you search in the "More Like This" section over in the right column.

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I can not play a large percentage of my music due to "could not be used because original file could not be found" How do I locate these files again? Thanks

So I have not been able to play a large number of my songs duw to a message that reads "could not be used because original file could not be found". Does anyone know how to locate these files so that itunes will play them again? Thanks

by following this document here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93313
and then doing something else at the end.
I followed the instructions from 1-6:
Then rather than importing the XML file I open iTunes, selected "Add to Library" from the File menu then navigated to the itunes library on my external disc then let it do its work.
I guess something got fragged when I changed computer but it's all ok now.
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"song could not be used because original file could not be found..."

My entire music library files cannot be found. When I click on a song I get a popup that says "song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" I can't find the files anywhere, can't open any from my Windows Media player, from Quicktime or anywhere and can't find them on my hard drive. I have about 2300 songs downloaded from my CD collection and a handful of songs purchased on itunes. I have searched for all "mp3" files, no luck, searched by "title/artist", no luck. Yikes!!

I've occasionally had an artist or LP go missing from my library, but to have the entire library disappear is incredible!
Depending upon which version of itunes you are using, you should find your music here: (if it still exists)
User (insert name here)>Music>itunes music>(Folders for each artist)
or
User (insert name here)>Music>itunes media (I think)>music> (Folders for each artist)
If you find your music folder in either of these places, close the windows, open itunes, from the file menu, select "Add to Library" and navigate to the music folder and select it. Itunes should recreate your library.

My songs disappeared- get message "could not be used because original file could not be found?

how can I access my songs?

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

Song could not be played because original file could not be found

Song could not be played because original file could not be found."
how do I fix/replace a damaged library without reloading all of my 3000+ songs?

Hello bartap,
I would be concerned too if I was not able to locate my music in iTunes. I recommend reviewing the following articles to locate you music files on your computer:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1408
Where are my iTunes files located?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

Song could not be used bc original file could not be found?

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Well usually when this happens you have eaither changed the files location, changed the files or folders name, or somehow deleted the file.
You have to put it back EXACTLY where it was and with its name

How can I bulk delete songs from the playlist, if original file could not be found.

I deleted the original files from the Library iTines. The songs are still in the playlist. How can I bulk delete songs from the playlist, if original file could not be found. Thank.

Take a look at my FindTracks script. Download it and test it out on a few tracks first. Use the No option first time around to manually confirm each path that it wants to fix so you can see how it works. When you're happy it does what you want select a larger group of tracks to process automatically.
tt2

Error " song can't be used because original file can not be found"

Our computer was about to crash, so we backed up our iTunes library to disc like it suggested. However, once we imported the library back to the new computer, iTunes will no longer play the songs without the disc in! It says the "original file can not be found" unless the disc is in. How do we get the "originals" off the disc and back onto the computer so I don't have to carry the disc everywhere?? I can't seem to find any help on any of the help sights about this problem. I tried using iTunes Folder Watch like another post suggested and it didn't work. I still need the disc to play the songs.

Roberta hello,
The remedy is very easy...
Open the iTunes folder and select the iTunes Library file and type command -D
this will make another copy for safe keeping, if anything goes wrong you can always return this copy ... leave the duplicate file where it is.
Start iTunes in the normal way and open the preferences > advanced > general tab... set NOT to copy files when adding to library and DO keep iTunes Music folder organized.... OK your changes.
From the file menu select 'add to library' and choose the iTunes Music folder.
After iTunes has checked and made any adjustments needed have a look and see if any problems still exist ... come and let me know Roberta ... TP
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Songs cannot be found because original files could not be found, but...

I've just imported over 2,000 songs to iTunes and had my preferences set (Edit/Preferences/Advanced tab/General tab) to copy each file to my iTunes music folder when copying to iTunes library (I thought--at least the box is checked). However, when I moved several hundred of the files from their original location on my hard drive, the link was broken to iTunes. Each time I try to open or play one of these tracks, I get the error message that the file cannot be used because the original file cannot be found. Itunes is looking for the original files in folder(s) outside of my iTunes folder, instead of in the itunes folder. Or so I think; I'm still pretty new at this.
1. What did I do wrong?
2. Is there an easier way to fix this than to delete all 2,000 songs and re-import them?
3. Is it really necessary to re-establish links one song at a time, instead of a group of songs at a time? (UGH!)
4. I want to delete these songs from the other folder once they're copied into my iTunes folder AND FUNCTIONING in both iTunes and on my iPod. Can I do that?
5. What does the exclamation point icon mean that's appeared next to some of my songs (and Why can't I find any info about it in the iTunes help file or on apple.com)? In some cases it correlates to broken links, but some disappear when I open the song.
6. What does the check box mean that's next to each song (and why can't I find an info about it in the iTunes help file or on apple.com)? (GRR!)
7. A friend suggested I drag and drop files from my iPod disk space directly into iTunes, but I have USB1 ports/drivers which are excruciatingly slow. Is her idea better than copying the files from iPod to an intermediary folder on my desktop? I've already copied everything onto my computer, and having the iPod plugged in seems to slow everything down.
I've spent two days trying to fix this and the longer I look for answers on iTunes help and on apple.com, without finding a single one, the more questions I have. Please help!

happyhannah wrote:
I right-clicked on the song to 'get info' and found out that the path is 'file://localhost/users/Hannah/desktop/iTunes' etc. I remembered that I had moved the iTunes library to the desktop as not to forget to back it up.
Hmm, if the active iTunes library knows where to look for files but they have been misplaced then putting them back where it expects to find them should work. However you should only be moving the media folder not the library files, or if moving both you should shift-start iTunes and choose a new library.
Now, I have deleted the iTunes library from the (default) Music folder and have put it on the desktop with the hope that this is now where iTunes will find the original library. However, it's still not working!!! Please help!!! I really cannot lose my whole iTunes library
As long as you have the media files and a copy of the library files from your old system it really should be possible to coax them back into working order.
Are you currently connected to a library which lists your media? If so what is the path given for a sample missing file and where is the actual copy of that file now?
tt2

Post-Match: "song could not be used bec original file could not be found"

I have subscribed to iTunes Match, completed the Match process and transfered my music to iCloud, I then deleted the local music files. My music played fine until today in which each song has the exclamation point before it indicated the music file does not exist and I cannot play the song. I am still subscribed to Match, I updated it and it confirmed that my 5000+ songs are in the cloud. Why won't they play????

Well usually when this happens you have eaither changed the files location, changed the files or folders name, or somehow deleted the file.
You have to put it back EXACTLY where it was and with its name

Many of my songs have a "!" next to them and it says the song could not be used bc original file could not be found, what am I doing wrong?

Help

Your iTunes may have lost track of your music file location, you may find many of the songs in Itunes music library to precede with an ! symbol.
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I cannot play music from my library on either my external drive or my laptop - keep getting same message "___ song (all of them) could not be used because the original file could not be found. I have tried changing the path in prefernces many times.

I cannot play music from my libray on either my external drive or my laptop. I keep getting the same message - "___ song (all of them) could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" I have changed the path several times under preferences and it still won't recognize any songs from either my laptop hard drive or my external drive. I can't play any music at all.

I think I've fixed this on my machine. If you look in the ITunes folder there is a subfolder called Previous iTunes Libraries. In my case for some reason this contained the one which had always worked and a new one was in the main folder. I closed iTunes, deleted the new one, and moved the old one back to the main folder, then opened iTunes. It then rebuilt the library and it plays correctly. Hope it works for you.

TS3694 Error: The Song " " could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it? Cannot find song.

When I try to pay a song from my itunes page a message pops up that says, The Song " " could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it? When I click of locate it cannot be found. This problem just started after I plugged in my new iPod Touch. After unplugging the ipod none of the songs in my iTunes library will plat. HELP PLEASE.

i've gotten that message after i delete a file so i think that is what is happening to you

Songs cannot be used because original files could not be found.

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