Songs have an exclamation point !

Randomly, songs that were ripped from CDs that I created from Windows Media Player are developing an ! and are not able to be played. They somehow get moved to an "Unknown Artists" folder and itunes can't find them. I just had 148 songs change from being able to be played to having an ! There doesn't seem to be any logic behind it as some songs I have played and some I have not.
Why is this happening??? I can fix it by moving them from the Unknown Artists folder to their appropriate place, but that's not a permanent solution . . . HELP!
HP pavilion a820n Windows XP

well the ! next to a song usually means the file has somehow become corrupted or iTunes is unable to locate. this has happened to quite a few songs on my iPod as well. the only thing you can really do (or as i've found out) is recopy the file onto iTunes (whether it be a file on your hard drive or external media device {cd, flash drive})
as for the unknown artists part of your question, right click on the file in iTunes and select "get info." then go to the tab where it lists artist name, track number, year, etc. my guess is that these files don't have the appropriate information embedded in them for iTunes to recognize. simply enter in the artists' name and it should be adjusted accordingly.
hopefully this helps!

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After downloading itunes on my new computer all of my songs have an exclamation point in front of them and it says the song could not be used because the original file could not be found. How do I fix this?

After downloading itunes on my new computer all of my songs have an exclamation point in front of them and it says the song could not be used because the orginal file could not be found. How do I fix this?

Hey waltee911,
It sounds like you're seeing something similar to this picture:
If that's the case, the following article has troubleshooting steps to solve the issue:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
Sincerely,
Delgadoh

Why do some of my songs have an exclamation point in Itunes? When I try to play it gives an error message that it can be located?

Why do some of my songs have an exclamation point in Itunes? When I try to play it gives an error message that it can be located?

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 .
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How to find files when my purchased and downloaded songs have red exclamation point and say file cannpot be found?

I recently replaced my PC and when I attempted to reinstall Itunes and sync to my Ipod Classic, many purchased songs and downloaded songs now have a red exclamation point to their left and a windo appears saying that the file cannot be found. How do I locate these files? Thanks!

Normally by default iTunes library files are in "My Document/My music/iTunes/Itunes Music" for earlier iTunes version. but the newer iTunes put it in a new folder "iTunes Media" instead of "iTunes Music" You can also search a music file name that you downlloaded and see where that folder is.
If you have transfered the old PC iTunes library files to your new PC, you still need to tell the new iTunes, where they are located. If your old PC iTunes is earlier than iTunes 9, then you got to move it from ../iTunes Music to ../iTunes Media folder. and point iTunes to where all your files are.
See this support link.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364
Good Luck!

HT201272 several of my purchased itunes songs have an exclamation point next to them, they will not play, How can I fix that problem??

Hello, Can someone assist me with trying to figure out how to locate previously purchased songs on my itunes library that are showing up with an exclamation point infront of the titile. I try and play the song and i get a message stating that Itunes cannot locate the original file... HELP:/

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

My entire iTunes library is deleted, all of my songs have the exclamation point next to them, and the original library file is gone, what can I do to get my music back?

So while trying to make extra room on my hard drive, I accidently put my iTunes library in the trash, and emptied it, every song in my library can not be located, and I don't have Time Machine.

Take a look at this link, https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141

When I look at my I tunes library on the computer I have a exclamation point next to a bunch of my songs and apps when I click on them it says that the original file couldnt be found. How do I go about finding out where the original file is and correct th

when I look at my I tunes library on my computer I have an exclamation point next to some of the songs and apps. when I click on this it tells me the original file couldnt be found. How do I go about finding the original file to correct this?

See this article: iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
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HT1589 problems with itunes after updating..can't locate some of my songs..some have an exclamation point beside them how do i get these songs back in my itunes

I'm having problems with itunes after updating. I've lost all my playlists,,finally played around with it and got the songs back but some have an exclamation point beside them and can't be located. they are songs i've purchased. I'm not very computer literate so this is a major problem. I have spent hours with this. I just want all my songs to play even though I'm not happy that I have to recreate my playlists. It would be so much easier if I knew and understood how to correct this. Has anyone else had this problem and if so..is there an easy way to correct it?

Not sure how this is an ipod touch question.
Perhaps you should post in the itunes forum.

I was reviewing my list of songs in my library "on my I-Pod". I noticed that a few of the songs on the list have an Exclamation Point in front of the track, and the track won't play. How do I get rid of the Exclamation Point so that the track will play.

I was reviewing my list of songs in my library "on my I-Pod". I noticed that a few of those tracks on the list have an Exclamation Point in front of the track and will not play. How do I get rid of the Exclamation Point so that the track will play.

Hello enrique a.
Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel on this one, take a look at an article such as this one to help you take care of these exclamations. Basically, it means iTunes is unable to locate the file on your computer anymore.
http://ipod.about.com/od/itunesproblems/qt/Fixing-The-Itunes-Exclamation-Point.h tm
B-rock

TS3212 over 100 of my songs stored in my library have an exclamation point next to them. When I click on the song it says that the song will not be downloaded to my phone because the original song cannot be found, and would I like to locate it? I need h

Over 100 of my songs in my itunes library have an exclamation point next to them. When I attempt to sync them with my phone it says that the song cannot be synced because it cannot locate the original song? Do I want to locate it? Can anyone help me figure out where my music is on my computer and where to locate it and how to send it back to itunes?

See this article: iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
B-rock

I purchased songs and they now have and exclamation point next to them and says it can't find the file.

Many, many songs won't play that I have previously purchased from Itunes...They have an exclamation point and says the file is corrupt or has been moved, Ican locate the files, but they won't play...Will Itunes let me redownload at no charge or am I expected to pay again. Why is this happening?

I'm not sure if your account actually has to be connected to iCloud, but you can redownload previous purchases through it.
This page details how to do that.
If it turns out an iCloud account is required and yours isn't one, I'm sure you could connect your account to iCloud now and it'd work just fine. I know I had a few songs appear on my purchase list from long before I connected mine.

HT1199 My iTunes music list all have the exclamation point. I do not know how to find the files to restore the music. Any advice?

All the songs in my iTunes have the exclamation point. I do not know how to find location of the music...any suggestions?

Ok, your music could be in one of a coupel formats, MP3 or, more likely, Apples AAC format, which has a m4a prefix. Open Finder. Hold Command and press F, this will open a search window in the top of Finder. Type mp3 here, let it search. If it finds your music files, double tap on one and "open Enclosing Folder" That should show you where they are at. If nothing is found, try searching m4a instead. One of the two should show you where your music is.

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Ok, I had a glitch, forced to restart, and lost my train of thought.
Reinstalling iTunes should fix the major issue that might have gone wrong, perhaps your explaination points will disappear and everything will be peachy again.
But if they don't, you can open the XML file in iTunes Folder using a Text edit program to see what the common pathname is to the iTunes Music folder or where your content is located.
If you moved the itunes folder, it needs to go back.
I can't download iTunes to my Vista virtual machine to test it out right now because iTunes is down, so I can't verify the pathname, perhaps your issue and the iTunes being down are related somehow?
You don't want to import all your music again, but it's a option, but you lose all your playlists, that's what I'm trying to recover.
If oyu don't have a whole lot of playlists, then simply select all the explaimation point music and delete, select File from the menu and import your itunes folder again.

I downloaded the new version of iTunes and now over 100 songs have an exclamation mark beside them and won't play. The message says: "The song ... could not be used because the original file could not be found." How do I get these songs back?

I downloaded the new version of iTunes and now over 100 songs have an exclamation mark beside them and won't play. The message says: "The song ... could not be used because the original file could not be found." How do I get these songs back?

Presuming they're on your computer, right click on them and then follow the prompts to locate hte file on your computer.

Songs have an exclamation point !

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