2,000 tracks missing after installing itunes to a new computer

Sheri136 wrote:

The itunes on my old computer is completely intact. <...>The majority of the music on my itunes account was loaded onto itunes from my cd collection.

In that case, you need to follow my suggestion of copying the entire Music folder on you old computer and adding it to the new computer.

However, before you do that I suggest that you back up any music that is in the new iTunes Library. In theory it should all be in the Music folder on the new computer. The normal path is:

• single artist albums - Music/<artist name>/<album title>/<song>
• compilation albums - Music/Compilations/<album title>/<song>

(in both cases, song is the filename, which is usually the song title followed by the file extension (i.e. mp3 or m4a etc.)

Importantly, you need to ensure that all the music from your old computer is copied over from the old computer and that the .itl file is copied as well. Miy .itl file is (for some stranger reason) in the Previous iTunes Libraries folder. The .itl file tells iTunes where everything is located, so whe peing the new librayr, if it picks up the old itl file and all the paths are the same, it should work . The all you would need to do is tidy up.

Alternatively, see this tip from fellow user turningtest2: Make a split library portable - Apple Community

tt2 might well add to this post if he thinks my advice is lacking (in which case, I will survive...).

The other link I would have posted is Move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Community. It is similar advice to that you've already been given. Copy everything that is part of your iTunes library from the old computer to the new computer, then all the tracks, ratings, playlists, etc. should be there. There are some fine details, particularly if content is scattered around rather than in the standard location, but that is the gist of it.

tt2

Sheri136 wrote:

NOW POLLING FRIENDS AND RELATIVES TO DUMP ITUNES.

Okay, but if you dump iTunes, what then? I guarantee that you'll have the same issue if you use a different programme, because you haven't understood why the issue occured in the first place. You state as much in your post.

Without sufficient information from you (yet) I'll take a guess that the 375 songs that are on your new computer are probably purchases from the iTunes Store that have appeared in your new library (because you've signed into your iTunes account) and that the remaining songs were not purchased from the iTunes Store. Would that be anywhere near correct?

If it is, then what you haven't done is copy the songs purchased elsewhere from your old computer to the new one.

There is the possibility that the iTunes Store has not downloaded all your purchases, but we'll need clarification from you about the difference between the music that you do have in your library and the music that's missing.

Tried backing it up from ipod but that does nothing.

You cannot copy music from your iPod into an iTunes Library. What you need to do now is copy the music from your old computer and add it to the new one, then tell iTunes where to look for it.

In fact, one option is to copy the entire Music folder, which is hopefully where all your music is located, which also contains files used to manage your library, such as the Play Counts and Ratings for each song, as well as any Playlists in your old library. That would replicate the old computer's library on the new computer.

If you no longer have access to your old computer (or a backup of the music that was on it), you will have to resort third-party apps to recover the music from the iPod instead. If you're in this situation, I can point you to article that will help. Please ask.

By the way, a polite request; please refrain from unnecessary use of all-capitals as it makes your post more difficult to read. It (and the wording used) often indicates that the writer is in a bad mood and probably not receptive to new ideas, which means that the writer's issue is never resolved.

I think the first thing to do is confirm whether the music that goes missing is in fact in your new iTunes Library on your new computer because you mentioned that iTunes on your old computer is intact, implying that it isn't intact on the new computer. If it isn't, that will be why the songs "go missing" from your iPod.

Identify some songs that have already gone missing from your iPod. Look for them in your iTunes Library on the new computer and try to play them. Do they play? If they don't play, do you see an exclamation mark next to the title and do you get a message telling you that the song can't be played because the original file cannot be found?