Why can't itunes locate the music file?

Lately when I put songs or albums that I've downloaded it won't let me drag the songs into itunes or the folder so I have to put each song into it by making it open up into it and when I do that about a minute or two after, itunes says that it is unable to locate the file. I never had this problem before and I have deleted itunes and reinstalled it and it is still continuing to do this.

Help iTunes locate your media folder:
No content shows up in iTunes after updating
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1967

Similar Messages

  • Why can't itunes locate my music files when they are there?

    I think that this happened when I checked off both "keep iTunes media folder organized" and "copy files to iTunes Media Folder when adding to library."I had all of my files located at C:\Users\Beata\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media   and then I noticed that itunes made folders for all of of my music files because I have checked off the keep iTunes media folder organized. Ever since then, itunes can't find all of my files but only some of it and I don't want to go one by one to locate all of the songs. All of my songs are located in the same location which is C:\Users\Beata\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music  I changed it to this location because all of my song files are located there and the place where it was located before, I didn't find the song files on there. I also noticed that itunes would oragize and create folders for my songs in the my music library and I thought that was the reason why itunes couldn't find the files because they were in the wrong location so I moved all of those folders to C:\Users\Beata\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music  So, is it because all of my files are in folders since itunes organized them? All of my files are in album, artist, and song title folders. Where should all of these folders be located at? Also, iTunes creates multiple folders that have the same name and should I just leave the folders be or organize them myself because I have folders that have the same exact name as in the artist and title but it has different song files in the folders. Should I combine the files into the same folder that have the same artist or should I just leave it that way?  Please ,I really need help as I have tried almost everything.

    Help iTunes locate your media folder:
    No content shows up in iTunes after updating
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1967

  • Why can't iTunes find the music from an external hard drive?

    I moved my music to an external hard drive to free up space on my old laptop.  Since I moved to a new laptop, iTunes never seems to find the music.  I have to go through and manually select a song for it to find it one and then it says should it use this to find the rest of the songs.  Then it crashes.  I have reinstalled iTunes tonight with no real improvement.  I want to be able to create a playlist to upload to my new iPad as well as updating music on my iPod but I can't do any of it.  Please, any advice!

    angelafromlanchester wrote:
    I moved my music to an external hard drive to free up space on my old laptop.  Since I moved to a new laptop, iTunes never seems to find the music. 
    Has the new laptop given the external drive a different drive letter?
    The "missing file" error 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, one of its parent folders, or 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 click No when asked to try to locate the track. (Due to a bug in iTunes 12 you currently have to say No twice!) 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, a folder renamed, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions. If the difference between the two paths is an additional Music folder in one path then this is a layout issue. I can explain further if that is the case.
    In some cases iTunes may be able to repair itself if you go through the same steps with Get Info but this time click Locate and browse to the lost track. It may then offer to attempt to automatically fix other broken links.
    If another application like Windows Media Player has moved/renamed the files then the chances are that subtle differences in naming strategies will make it hard to restore the media to the precise path that iTunes is expecting. In such cases, as long as the missing files can be found somewhere, you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes. See this post for an explanation of how it works.
    tt2

  • HT201272 I can see my previously purchase music, it says downloaded but why can't i download the music? The were accidentally deleted from the itune folder?

    I can see my previously purchase music, it says downloaded but why can't i download the music? The were accidentally deleted from the itune folder?

    Do I have to have icloud to download previously purchased music?

  • How do i make it so iTunes plays the music files from where i have chosen to store them?

    how do i make it so iTunes plays the music files from where i have chosen to store them as opposed to it scattering copies of my files into a myriad different folders based on the albums they came from when i'm not even interested in keeping whole albums?
    I recently converted myself to mac after having been a windows formatted person since the beginning of time. I use last.fm and the client scrobbler only supports iTunes on the mac (scobbling since Nov 06 and i'm now heavily dependant upon it as a means of discovering new music) - if you don't know what that means then take it for granted i have no option other than to use iTunes as my media player whn using the mac. And almost immediately upon using iTunes i was filled with horror.
    My tale of woe as follows: I copy all my mp3 files to folder X on my new mac. I copy my simple playlist in to that same folder X. The simple playlist simply lists all the files in folder X in the order i want to hear them in... simple right? And what happens the moment i start playing my simple list? Well you probably all ready know; itunes throws copies of all those files in to the air, scatters them to the four winds so each of them fall into a little folder of their own representing the album they might once have come from. I don't keep whole albums. For me the 'album experience' is a ruse to trick one into listening to weaker material. I only keep the concentrated goodness. I only put up with albums in a previous lifetime because in the days of vinyl i had no other choice apart from spending hours compiling mix tapes. Now i am liberated from these restrictions and have been for the 15 or so years i've been using a computer to listen to music. Until along comes iTunes forcing me backwards in time, frog marching me back into the past.
    That simple list i mentioned is my one and only playlist. This single playlist has been evolving for 15 years as tracks are added and removed and their position in the list changes because that song sounds amazing when heard after that other song whereas hearing this song after that song would be like pouring custard over your sausages (for me shuffling is an abomination). And so here is how i've managed this list and managed synchronization of said list and listed files with my mp3 player (currently a Zen).
    Adding a new file: After deciding that song is a keeper i will copy it into that simple folder that holds all my music and drop it in to a position on the list i deem most suited for it. Incidentally over this entire 15 year (i'm pretty sure it's been around that long) my media player has been winamp but for the reason previously mentioned i am unable to use winamp in mac world.
    Removing a file: fortunately winamp has an option to simultaneously remove a file from the list and the hard drive. And naturally so because after all if i no longer like a song then i want it expunged completely from life or at least from my hard drive and playlist. In the brave new world of iTunes i have to remove from the list there then delete the file from where iTunes copied it from and then the place iTunes copied it to.
    Editing the list: drag an item in the list to it's preferred location and select to save it as i would for any other file using any other application... well desktop type application as opposed to one that uses a database as its primary means of storage.
    Syncing with the mp3 player: copy drag drop playlist file from the simple folder on the hard drive to the simple folder on the mp3 player as i would for any other file. And then also copy drag drop the most recently created files from simple folder on hard drive to simple folder on player after having ordered them by creation date so as to make it easier to select the most recently created. After a while the mp3 player will fill up with the files no longer on the list so i will delete all files from player then re-copy all flies from simple folder on hard drive to simple folder on mp3 player.
    I do not make changes to the list on the mp3 player so synchronization needs only to go one way: from laptop to player.
    So all very simple. Apart from editing the positions of files in the list everything is managed by copy drag dropping and deleting files using windows explorer.
    But i'm in a mac and circumstances have forced me in to the corner of using iTunes. And this whole iTunes situation is terrifying for me as over the years i've heard horror stories about it deleting all of someone's music files. Perhaps this may have been by using the software incorrectly but even so, the very fact that it appears possible for this to happen simply by using the software incorrectly and the fact that it happens with some degree of frequency given the number of reports of this happening that i have heard of over the years on music discussion forums fills me with dread that i have to now use this software. And given the software's blatant disregard for the user's choice as to where to store his/her files it's no surprise that this happens. The software is pointlessly doing dangerous things with my data. Please make it stop.
    Please can i just at the very least make iTunes play the music from the folder i have chosen to put my files in and not copy those files here there and everywhere without my say so? Thankyou.

    option discovered in preferences. Really this and any feature that moves deletes or edits a users data should as far as possible be OFF BY DEFAULT. It shouldn't by default and without the users specific say do this dangerous and unnecessary thing without even letting the user know what it's doing!!! And then cause me a few hours (as i'm new to mac) searching for the option so as to switch it off. If i hadn't noticed the status cage declaring that it was copying files then i might never have twigged that this insane thing was occurring. And if i hadn't of noticed i would have been left maintaining the contents of the folder i copied the files to, the folder which as far as i was informed and so believed was also the location of the music files i was playing. How does Apple justify this 'genius' piece of software non-design? Surely it will hurt no one if this was off by default for new users - overall at least i dare say it would cause a lot less distress in the future for the unsuspecting public at large. Thanks for the support.

  • Pointing iTunes at the music files on a new hard drive

    I've upgraded to a new, bigger external Hard Drive for Leopard and placed iTunes' Music folder onto it.
    Now possibly I've done things in the wrong order but I'm left with iTunes not 'knowing' where the source files are for all my tunes - I'm having to go through the tracks manually double-clicking on them and being prompted to locate the mp3 file.
    This wouldn't be so bad if iTunes said "+Hey Hurt off the Johnny Cash Album American IV is in here, I can match that up with those other Johnny Cash tunes that are unallocated - ****, I can see all of this dudes music in these folders+"...
    Ho no, I have to 'find' every single track.
    Is there any way I can 'show' iTunes where the music is living now, I don't want to do a raw re-import and lose all my playcounts and ratings.
    cheers

    Hi there,
    Open up iTunes while holding down the option key. That gives you a menu asking whether you want to create a new library or choose an existing one. You'll need to create a new one on your external disk, since that builds the basic files that are needed.
    Finally, you'll need to add all the songs on your external with one huge:
    File > Add to Library
    That should get everything hunky-dory. Next time you start iTunes, it will remember the last library you opened so you shouldn't need to press the Option key in future.
    Hope that helps.
    Pete

  • My playlist appears in itunes, but the music files have mysteriously disappeared in my iTunes Media file. Is there a way to recover them? Tried searching and cannot find them.

    My playlist appears in itunes, but the music files have mysteriously disappeared from my iTunes Media file. Is there a way to recover them? Tried searching and cannot find them.

    This page might help: http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowArticle.aspx?sid=44083
    Older Zens don't support AAC, which is the format iTunes uses for songs.
    You can convert from AAC to MP3, which every media player under the sun will play.  Here's a tutorial: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12519_7-10096807-49.html

  • What is a "browser redirect" ? Why can't I access the music store?

    Hi,
    I just posted a message about not being able to access the music store. I said reconnect when I mean redirect.
    Does anyone know what's going on and why I can't I access the music store? I was able to get on 3 days ago. Thanks to all who can tell me something.
    This is REALLY starting to irritate me.
    Saradonna

    I am also becoming very frustrated. I am new to this forum but after spending the better part of my day off trying to figure out how to make this work I have hit the wall. It strikes me that this should be much easier to access considering that we are looking to spend money. Does apple not want my money? I have tried everything that was recommended in all the sites I have been directed to, to no avail. I am not a computer whiz, so I need specific and simple answers as to how to fix this. I have never been able to access the music store, and each time I try I get the white screen, and a perpetual connection bar. I then have to close iTunes, and reboot my computer to be able to access it again. HELP ME PLEASE!!!
    hp   Windows XP   service pack 2

  • HT1203 I moved my Itunes media folder to my public folder in my home folder so that my wife can share my music when she logs on to my computer. Since then aperture has been unable to locate the music files and I cannot add any of my itunes files to a slid

    I moved my itunes media folder to my public folder in my home folder so that my wife can share my music when she logs on as a user. Since doing this Aperture cannot locate any itunes music files and so I cannot add any music to a slideshow. All of my existing slideshows no longer play music. Can anyone help?
    Thanks

    Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
    In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow?  In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
    Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

  • Why can I not sync the music that I didn't purchase on iTunes with my new computer?!

    I upgraded my computer, so I had to reinstall iTunes... I don't understand why I cannot just simply sync the music off of my iPod Touch that I didn't buy with iTunes to my library... The only music that is syncing is the music that I bought through iTunes... WHY CAN"T IT JUST BE SIMPLE?! (I don't have a backup of it..)

    Jayden0201 wrote:
    I upgraded my computer, so I had to reinstall iTunes... I don't understand why I cannot just simply sync the music off of my iPod Touch that I didn't buy with iTunes to my library... The only music that is syncing is the music that I bought through iTunes... WHY CAN"T IT JUST BE SIMPLE?!
    To help prevent piracy.
    You don't have the old computer or a backup of it?
    See this -> https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991

  • HT1296 Why can't I put the music, that is on my ipod, on to my computer itunes?

    I got a new computer because my old one went out of commision. All I want to do is put the music and apps that are on my ipod onto my itunes on my new computer. My computer doesn't recognize it as a media player or Ipod. It recognizes it as a Digital Camera. So I can't acsess any of my music or apps to place them on my computer or itunes. I can't veiw it at all. It acs as if none of it is even on there. When I try and sync my ipod to my computer it says: Syncing ipod to itunes will add the music from itunes onto my ipod but erase everything existing on the ipod. Would you like to sync? NO. I just want to add my music to my computer and add more. Is there any way to do that without completely erasing everything that's currently on my ipod? Have over 100 songs and about 50 apps. Any help is MUCHO apreciated.

    See this support article:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848
    You can also download at least some of your content (audiobooks being a notable exception) again from the iTunes Store:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519
    For additional instructions, particularly for content not purchased from the iTunes Store, check out this user tip from TuringTest:
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991
    and this page on "How-to Geek":
    http://www.howtogeek.com/104298/sync-your-ios-device-with-a-new-computer-without -losing-data/
    Regards.
    Forum Tip: Since you're new here, you've probably not discovered the Search feature available on every Communities page, but next time, it might save you time (and everyone else from having to answer the same question multiple times) if you search a couple of ways for a topic, both in the relevant forums and in the Apple Knowledge Base, before you post a question.

  • Why can i not tranfer the music on my ipod, not all pruchased on itunes, to my computer?, Why can i not tranfer the music on my ipod, not all pruchased on itunes, to my computer?

    I cant transfer all the music on my ipod to my computer. Very annoyed

    See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
    tt2

  • HT1751 Why can't iTunes handle a music library on an external drive?

    I put all my music files on an external drive and imported them into iTunes. So far so good. The first time you run iTunes while the drive is disconnected - all your songs suddenly have that dreaded exclamation point next to them. Yes, while the drive is connected, I can still go to any song and double-click it to play; but the vast majority of songs stays "exclamated" and greyed-out. Shuffle ignores them. Even if I use some method to re-recognize all my songs, next time I open iTunes without first attaching the drive, it'll all go down the drain again.
    Apple - this MacBook air is great but it only comes with 256 GB of built-in storage. I HAVE to use an external drive in order to have my music library. Why can't the MacBook recognize the drive, remember it, and know when it's connected and when it isn't?

    If you mistakenly open iTunes with the drive disconnected, close iTunes, connect the drive, open iTunes, then visit iTunes > Preferences > Advanced and reset the media folder to the external drive.
    Better yet is to move the iTunes library folder into the root of the external drive as <Device>/iTunes, then connect to it by holding down option as you start iTunes. Once iTunes "knows" your library is on the external drive it will complain of a missing library when you try to start with the drive disconnected. Cancel the warning, connect the drive, start iTunes.
    For maximum portability you should set the media folder to <Device>/iTunes/iTunes Media and consolidate the media to that folder. You should then backup the drive to another for security.
    tt2

  • I plugged my iPhone 4s into a 2nd computer I own. Why can't iTunes transfer my music to my iPhone?

    Plugged it into my MacBook, updated the iTunes software.  But I can't transfer any of the music without syncing!  I tried to drag files to the iPhone but it doesn't let me.
    Please Help!!

    Oh, and the computer is authorized.

  • Why can't I convert a music file to a podcast?

    Just updated to iTunes 11.  When I try to convert a music file into a podcast (it is a 3 hour file) it changes it right back to music?  Is this a bug and is there another way to do it?
    Thanks!

    For the time being it worked making it an audiobook, though now I can't use the new Podcast app for it....lame!

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