Windows 7 Upgrade, trouble locating original song files.

I just upgraded to Windows 7, I wiped my computer and put all my music files on an external hard drive. I got Windows 7 on fine and then put all my music files back on my computer. Every time I attempt to play a song I can't because "the original file can't be found" and that little exclamation point comes up. I deleted all my song right out of iTunes and then drug all the files into iTunes and that worked for about a day. Now the error message is back. Any advice?

Is your exHD still plugged in? I think the latest version of ituens for windows have the preferecnes setting to NOT copy files to the itunes folder when adding to the itunes library.
The opposite of this screenshot, in other words
http://km.support.apple.com/library/APPLE/APPLECAREALLGEOS/HT1751/HT175101----en.png

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Can't locate original song files from iTunes

I purchased songs from iTunes & cant locate original files on my computer/iPod. Searched harddrive, recycle bin, etc. When you click on song title in library, states cannot locate original files and asks me to locate. Yet when I try to redownload from iTunes, it shows I purchased it but states already downloaded and won't let me download again. I even tried to purchase again and it won't let me. How do I get these back?

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

I tunes can't find original song files of all my songs. How do I fix this?

I tunes can't find original song files of all my songs. How do I fix this?

Itunes stores ripped cds in the 'itunes' folder called 'itunes music' which under normal installation should reside into your 'My music' folder. Your music folders on the DVD then have to be copied into the 'Itunes music' folder for itunes to find it.
The tracks with the exclamation marks have registered with the incorrect location into the library. You can do two things:
Either search in the folder where you copied them from the DVD at the earlier step described above which means that you will have to do this for every single track, or the fastest way, delete all the incorrect entries and re-import by drag and drop into library the folders with the music you want to show in the library.

Cannot locate original music file error message???

cannot locate original music file error message ??? i transferred to a new laptop then some of my music collection seems to get this message .

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

Original song files could not be found or located

Hi,
I just went to play some music in my iTunes library and nothing would play. Many songs have little exclamation marks next to the numbers along the left-hand column. When I click on songs without exclamation points they don't play either. Each time I click on a song a message box pops up saying that iTunes is unable to locate the file. It asks if I want to locate the file. Clicking yes leads me to a little finder window but I can't find the files.
I went to the Finder, Music folder, iTunes folder, iTunes Music folder and there are only a few folders left in there from things I purchased over the last few days. Those songs will play.
The only strange thing I've done in the past few days is to try to figure out how to share files with my wife as two different users on the same computer. I moved some files into the Public folder and the Shared folder, and then changed some permissions from Read Only to Read and Write. Maybe that goofed things up.
Any advice?
Thanks,
Dave

Yes, there are ways to do that...I'm passing on info from one of our seasoned members in the forum.
Courtesy of Zevoneer
The transfer of content from other sources such as songs imported from CD is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, s and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, this is just a small selection of what's available, they are generally quite straightforward. You can also read reviews of some of them here: Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
iRepo Mac and Windows
iPodRip Mac & Windows
YamiPod Mac and Windows
Music Rescue Mac & Windows
iPodCopy Mac and Windows
Senuti Mac
http://playlistmag.com/help/2005/01/2waystreet/
There is also a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive and copying songs back to iTunes on Windows or a Mac. The procedure is a bit involved and won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's available at this link: Two-way Street: Moving Music Off the iPod
http://www.co-bw.com/iPodmoving_musicoff.htm

Original song file can't be found!

iTunes can't seem to find my music. I get a message that says "original file can't be found, do you want to search for it?" I have searched this whole forum for an answer to my problem. it seems that everybody else who has experienced this had recently moved the file - I haven't done anything. Most other people are able to find individual song files. Where are these? All I can find is my song library in the iTunes folder but selecting it doesn't rectify the problem. I have tried resetting the floder location in the preferences menu but that doesn't help either. Has my music been deleted somehow? It is all still listed in the main iTunes window.
Thanks for any advice.
Brad Benson

Yes. This happened after upgrading to itunes 7. But it doesn't happen the same for all. We have five users and libraries-my son lost about half of his music-doesn't matter if it was purchased fron the itunes store, copied fron a CD, or direct from a musician's website. I only lost one song and my husband lost none. When this happened I stopped the others in the house from upgrading. There are numerous posts on the forum on this topic.

Itunes can not find original song file

Suddenly my itunes can not find the song's original file.
I see that the file is on the driver but when I double click on Itunes I get this mesage:
"the song could not be used because the original file could not be found.
Any helpers out there?
THKS

I've been experiencing this problem for a while now. It happens with version 7.1 but it started with an earlier version of iTunes 7. I never experienced it before iTunes 7. In my experience the number of files iTunes "thinks" is missing increases with the length of time iTunes has been running between restarts (I usually just put my system to sleep overnight so it can "run" for days on end). When it first started happening I used to go and find the "missing" music file(s) and reconnect it(them). Then, one day, I found a flood of "missing" songs. I decided I had nothing to lose by stopping iTunes and restarting it. When I restarted iTunes none of my songs were missing! This indicated to me that it's the iTunes code that's active after a restart that has a bug that makes it lose track of the music files.
To check, I looked in the Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml file for songs while they were being reported as "missing", and, lo and behold, the song file locations are still there. iTunes must reread the xml file when it starts up and this cures the problem, at least in my case. (Too bad it doesn't use the file while it's running.)
I usually just play my entire library in random order. So, if a song or two disappears, I'm rarely aware of it. All I've been doing lately is stopping and starting iTunes when I feel like getting rid of the "!" scourge.

New upgrade and I can not locate old songs/files

I just downloaded the newest itune upgrade, I had always used the original system from when I first got my iPod 20GB (old school).
Now I can not find any of my songs - the icon dispay on my desk top does not open the file.
I KNEW I should NOT have done this.
ANy suggestions?

when I check guarantee info from apple website, the following information is listed.
i think, it is authorized and under guarantee.
Valid Purchase Date
A validated purchase date lets Apple quickly find your product and provide the help you need.
Telephone Technical Support: Active
Your product is eligible for complimentary telephone technical support during the first 90 days.
Estimated Expiration Date: 04 July 2014
More about complimentary support
Contact Apple Support
Repairs and Service Coverage: Active
Your product is covered for eligible hardware repairs and service under Apple's Limited Warranty.
Estimated Expiration Date: 04 April 2016
Learn about Apple's coverage information for your product.

When my ipod is plugged into my computer music disappears, sometime it tries to upload songs, clears my playlists, and can't locate the songs files. All the same songs are in my Itunes library on my computer. What can i do?

When I plug my Ipod into my computer it shows all my songs on it as reloading onto the device,
and sometimes it can't locate the files or they are just gone. All my songs are in my Itunes library
on my computer, and I do have it in my settings not sync the Ipod with my computer so I can
manage the content myself. It has happened multiple times.
I have cleared my Ipod off as well as my computer, and put all the music back on without seeing
any improvement. And as of today when I tried again it shows some songs on there but with 3 copies
of the same song trying to upload onto my ipod. And have of my playlist where empty. I am getting
frustrated and don't know what to do. Help.

See these previous posts on dotted circles
https://discussions.apple.com/message/20813679#20813679
https://discussions.apple.com/message/20792130#20792130
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5524609?tstart=0
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4643160?start=15&tstart=0

TS1717 Just downloaded iTunes update. When I try to play music window says "can't locate original"

"can't find original" when trying to play music. just updated to iTunes 11.0.4.4 Using windows 7 professional.

Hello, namnibob.
Thank you for the question. This issue sounds like the media is either missing or iTunes is not directed to where your media is located. These articles will help you locate music and download any purchased media from the purchased section of the iTunes Store that you are missing.
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1408
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519
Cheers,
Jason H.

ITunes upgrade cannot locate most music files

After downloading and installing the latest version of iTunes (9.0.2.25), most music files in my library cannot be found when I try to play them from my laptop library. I can fix these individually if I am willing to navigate to each of the thousands of songs, redefining the path for iTunes, but there must be a simpler way. Otherwise I never want to update to a new version of iTunes again.
Thanks for any suggestions.

Unfortunately I upgraded today my itunes to version 9 and now wish I hadn't! I have the same problem as the previous post where all my music library cannot be found...even my purchased items! I have read the previous posts and I am shocked and disgusted that this is allowed to continue. The amount of money Apple is making and it can get away with providing such extremely shoddy service is nothing but outrageous! Does anyone know if they have responded in any way to the problems that we are all having? If not, for all UK people, I think it's time for Watchdog!!!

I'm having trouble locating my bookmark files in a Time Machine backup.

In approx Oct 2011 I completed a backup before having some work done on my MacBook. I wish to reinstall the Bookmarks from this backup but I am unable to locate them. I have been looking for Profiles under the Library ( per the suggestion at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Backing%20up%20your%20information#w_locate-your-profile-folder) but there is no Firefox folder although there is a Mozilla folder. My MacBook has OS X Lion 10.7.3 installed.
I would appreciate any suggestions.

Hi cor-el and thanks,
I have followed the helpful instructions you gave me but without success (although you have brought my attention to hidden files). My problem seems to be (as mentioned in my first post) that I cannot locate a 'Firefox' folder on my backup disk although I can see a "Mozilla' folder. If I use any of the 'go to' shortcuts it takes me to the Firefox folder on my MacBook (hard drive) and not the locations on my passport drive (where I expect to find my old Bookmarks). Could it be that the "Firefox' folder on my passport is 'hidden' and if so, how can I 'find' it without the search function looking on my hard-drive? Is there a preference to 'unhide' folders?
Would appreciate hearing more from you. Your instructions are clear and very helpful. Sorry I didn't follow this up sooner. Kind regards,

Trouble locating files after upgrading to Mountain Lion

Just upgraded from Leopard to Mountain Lion. I backed up everything from Leopard once, then backed it all up again once Mountain Lion was installed. Now, I'm having trouble locating all my file folders... everything seems to be lumped into "All My Files". How do I restore everything to their normal spots... so I can see all the normal folders?

When you say you backed up and then backed up again, what does that mean?
Hopefully you knew that Time Machine will make changes going from Snow Leopard to Lion and above and you would have two sets (keep the old)
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Library completely messed up - song files overwritten by other songs

I am completely devastated. All of a sudden most of my song files are corrupt. When I click on a song to play it, it plays a different track in my library (as if the song is named incorrectly, which it isn't). Choosing to show the song file in the finder works fine, it shows the original file with the correct naming and correct file size.
But it isn't that song. It's a completely different song which starts wherever in the original song file. When the original song time ends the completely different song continues in the next original song file.
The original song files seem to randomly have been overwritten by other tracks in my library.
Same thing happens if I play the song in a different media player. Copying the file and adding it to a different computer/iTunes turns out the same way... although now it only includes the time and song title of the original track, artist and all other info is gone.
Should I go and kill myself? Or is there the slightest chance of a solution to this mess?
How could this happen? It's so weird.
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The disk seems to be running without problems or errors.

Thanks for your efforts in helping me out.
It is not a smart playlist. Standard.
Here are some screen shots to display the error.
1. File location when browsing for it in the finder - only two songs from the album available.
2. Songs in Music library - clicking upper left and searching upper right.
3. Regular playlist including all album tracks - playing one of the songs from the album.
4. File location (same as in 1.)- after choosing File -> Show in Finder

Location lobs demonstration files in $ORACLE_HOME

Pardon me if this is naïve,
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Windows 7 Upgrade, trouble locating original song files.

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