vilennon

Q: Why did iTunes 11.1 (126) delete all (SEVERAL HUNDRED) Podcasts?

I update to iTunes 11.1 (126), update my iPhone 4 to iOS7, synched my iPhone. iTunes began to load Podcasts onto the limited space of my iPhone until clicked "x" to stop. I had previously set my iPhone to be managed manually so that I can choose what to put in the limited space. I set iTunes to allow me to manually update my iPhone *again*, synched it and went on about my afternoon.

 

When I came back to iTunes I see that it has taken it upon itself to DELETE ALL OF MY PODCASTS! Everything is missing. All of my carefully cultivated selections are simply missing, not even retrievable from the Trash. Even if I had the patience to download and sort out the SEVERAL HUNDRED podcasts again I do not have unlimited bandwidth. I will have to repeat listen to hundreds of podcasts to determine which ones I've already heard. What will this do to the podcasters themselves when they wonder why loyal listeners are dropping off? Should I email each podcaster and say, "I can't take the time sort out your hundreds of episodes AGAIN, so I guess I'll just stop listening." ?

 

Honestly, how could anyone think this kind of faceless automation was a good thing? I have been an Apple user long enough to remember the phrase, "It's not a bug, it's a feature" but I don't know how you can fix this.

iTunes, Mac OS X (10.7.5), iPhone 4

Posted on Sep 18, 2013 6:12 PM

Close

Q: Why did iTunes 11.1 (126) delete all (SEVERAL HUNDRED) Podcasts?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Previous Page 2 of 11 last Next
  • by veeresh kumar,

    veeresh kumar veeresh kumar Sep 19, 2013 2:01 AM in response to vilennon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2013 2:01 AM in response to vilennon

    I have lost my 35 GB collection.. and when I try to visit the podcaston iTunes store, it shows as if I have not subscribed to it at all.. really frustrating. This is not expected from Apple.

  • by mrkorb,

    mrkorb mrkorb Sep 19, 2013 3:55 AM in response to vilennon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2013 3:55 AM in response to vilennon

    The new behaviour of iTunes is apparently to delete the podcast files the moment that particular episode is marked as played, not on refresh of the list (depending on your podcast settings).

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Sep 19, 2013 9:29 AM in response to vilennon
    Level 10 (85,298 points)
    iPod
    Sep 19, 2013 9:29 AM in response to vilennon

    I'm fairly sure the reason for this is a due to a mismatch between options to Keep all episodes in iTunes and Keep all unplayed or some similar option on your device when the new option to Sync podcast subscriptions, settings and stations has been enabled. I lost all played episodes of all podcast series that I synced to my devices.

     

    Series that weren't synced were left untouched. iTunes still records both my default option and series specific options to Keep all episodes. iTunes doesn't manage my media folders. The deleted episodes were not sent to the recycle bin, nor left in their original folders.

     

     

     

    I'll file a bug report later, but in the meantime here is the recovery process, assuming you have a backup of the deleted files...

     

    1. Restore copies of all the deleted podcasts to the Podcasts folders from your backup.

     

    2. Restore a copy of the pre-upgrade library from the Previous iTunes Libraries folder.

     

    3. Rename the current .itl file with the suffix (BAD), then move it into the Previous iTunes Libraries folder.

     

    4. Remove the trailing date from the library file restored in step 2.

     

    5. Start iTunes, go to the Podcasts section.

     

    6. Uncheck the option to Sync podcast subscriptions, settings and stations then click Continue. This should prevent a repeat of the deletions.

     

    SyncPodcasts.png

     

     

    7. On your devices you may also want to change the Episodes to keep to All in Settings > Podcasts and then again with the settings for each subscription in the app.

     

    8. If, like me, you updated a whole bunch of apps before realizing there was a problem, you may find the restored library has multiple broken links to any apps that you updated. Use File > Add Folder to Library and select your Mobile Applications folder. Accept the offer to replace older versions with the files you are adding. iTunes may prompt that certain files cannot be updated because it can't find the file to add. Keep a note of these as it looks like this happens when both the old & new versions would be given the same file name and iTunes unhelpfully erases the file that it is supposed to add. You can delete any remaining broken entries, close iTunes, then reopen and download from iTunes Store > Purchased > Apps > Not on this computer.

     

     

     

    If you don't have the episodes to restore then at least visit iTunes|Edit > Preferences > Store and Uncheck the option to Sync podcast subscriptions, settings and stations before attempting to redownload any older episodes.

     

    tt2

  • by Rey Mo,

    Rey Mo Rey Mo Sep 19, 2013 10:31 AM in response to ElisaSD
    Level 4 (3,844 points)
    Sep 19, 2013 10:31 AM in response to ElisaSD

    "It realy does work--try it rather than telling me that what you did, didn't work." -ElisaSD

     

    I hadn't tried it because I had manually checked the folders in the instructions and they were indeed empty. But just for gits and shiggles (because you were so adamant), I tried it and of course it didn't work - as I already knew, the files weren't there to be imported.

     

    Just because you had a certain problem with a certain solution doesn't mean it works for everyone. I appreciate that you shared that potential fix in the first place, but your follow-up responses come across as condescending.

     

    Not only did iTunes 11.1 delete my previously played podcasts, but I restored them from a backup last night and AGAIN iTunes deleted them today. Again, totally deleted. Not secretly in a folder to be added to library or sitting in the trash - they are totally gone.

     

    And for the record, Podcasts are set to "Keep: All".

  • by Francis Landaiche,

    Francis Landaiche Francis Landaiche Sep 19, 2013 12:19 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2013 12:19 PM in response to turingtest2

    I've been able to back up and restore some of the podcasts I'd lost, and turingtest2's suggestions do work if you have the previous libraries available. At the least, unchecking the sync option does appear to work in terms of once you rebuild your podcast library.

  • by David Besack,

    David Besack David Besack Sep 19, 2013 12:34 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 2 (370 points)
    Sep 19, 2013 12:34 PM in response to turingtest2

    UNchecking sync and using a previous library seemed to work for me.  At least, no more deletions.  Now however iTunes has decided that alphabetical order for your podcasts is no longer an option... strange.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Sep 19, 2013 1:26 PM in response to David Besack
    Level 10 (85,298 points)
    iPod
    Sep 19, 2013 1:26 PM in response to David Besack

    Yeah, I tend to use the list view which is OK but the order of the left hand column in "My Podcasts" currently eludes me. It's also got doubled listings for series I'd previously managed to merge together. Grrr...

     

    tt2

  • by August Berkshire,

    August Berkshire August Berkshire Sep 19, 2013 1:47 PM in response to vilennon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2013 1:47 PM in response to vilennon

    I must have synched my iPod Classic just before I upgraded to iTunes 11 (and not since) because it still has a lot of my missing podcasts (which I synch to it). Since the iTunes upgrade I have lost a lost of podcast files.  Unfortunately, I keep my iTunes library on an external drive (due to size), which I do not back up with Time Machine. So, as far as I know, the only place these missing files exist is on my iPod Classic, which I dare not synch again for fear of losing them comepletely. Any way for me to get these files off my iPod and back into my iTunes library?

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Sep 19, 2013 3:12 PM in response to August Berkshire
    Level 10 (85,298 points)
    iPod
    Sep 19, 2013 3:12 PM in response to August Berkshire
  • by bardockkun,

    bardockkun bardockkun Sep 19, 2013 4:26 PM in response to vilennon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2013 4:26 PM in response to vilennon

    Still don't have my few 100 eps. of Doug Loves Movies back. I'm just going to flat out say I want to punch someone square in the jaw repeatedly for this lazy update.

  • by Steven Kendel,

    Steven Kendel Steven Kendel Sep 19, 2013 8:15 PM in response to vilennon
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 19, 2013 8:15 PM in response to vilennon

    I can honestly say that I am another person who has lost a LOT of podcasts due to 11.1. Before I even searched on here, I knew to go look in the folder where they were stored. They just are NOT there at all!!! There is no way to get them back because I never backed them up. That whole iTunes music folder is just WAY too big for me to back up. I don't have that kinda cash for that kinda drive. I guess that is another problem due to blow up in my face if Google Music ever gets shut down. That is the only place I have all my music synced to. This really *****!

  • by Lost in Asia,

    Lost in Asia Lost in Asia Sep 19, 2013 8:21 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 3 (607 points)
    Apple Music
    Sep 19, 2013 8:21 PM in response to turingtest2

    Re: the order of the left hand column in "My Podcasts": I'm not sure where that order comes from, but it is possible to manually drag them into your chosen order (alphabetical in my case). That order does seem to "stick" (although newly added podcasts may need to be moved), and fortunately, the same order seems to sync across to the iOS Podcasts app. So far, at least, I've only had to do this once, even if that one time was a headache.

  • by Kai Winters,

    Kai Winters Kai Winters Sep 19, 2013 9:04 PM in response to vilennon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2013 9:04 PM in response to vilennon

    I'll joyfully "pile on" and "beat a dead horse" here.

    I too lost all of my podcasts...had to manually re subscribe to them via the store.

    Thanks icrappytunes for screwing up a reasonably nice bit of software.

     

    I'm also very unhappy with the literally hundreds and hundreds of podcast episodes that are now on my itunes in the "list" tab?...Why oh Why did the idiots at Apple do this? I've already listened to the podcast or don't want to and want to delete them from itunes permanently but now we can't. They sit there in some stupid "cloud verse".

     

    I've also had to learn how to place podcasts in a "playlist" to listen to. Normally I could easily drag the podcasts I wanted to listen to to the "podcasts" playlist I created in itunes. That easy to use feature is gone...but it is located in the "my stations" section on the iphone...you have to go into "list" in itunes, right click on the podcast and click on "add to playlist" then choose the playlist you have created. Once sync'd you can find the play list in the "my stations".

    What a pain in the arse to go through to add podcasts to a playlist.

     

    For all the whoop I am not impressed.

    itunes was the only thing keeping me using an iphone. There is no better system out there, that I can find, for managing/down loading, etc. podcasts...BUT now that Apple has fubarred itunes/podcasts it is time to see what else I can use and sell my iphone for a Samsung Note, which I prefer for reading as I use a Galaxy 5 Player as my ereader.

  • by Lost in Asia,

    Lost in Asia Lost in Asia Sep 19, 2013 9:57 PM in response to Kai Winters
    Level 3 (607 points)
    Apple Music
    Sep 19, 2013 9:57 PM in response to Kai Winters

    On placing podcasts in a playlist: do you use smart playlists? One of my main ones is simply "Media Kind is Podcast" and "Plays is 0". That usually works better for me than drag and drop does.

     

    And just avoid the List pane now in the Podcasts part of iTunes. That thing is a nightmare. (OK, if you're stubborn: go into List view and Command-Click on one of the arrows: that will open or collapse all the podcasts, so at least that way you can limit how much you see the zombie-episode-cloud army, even if you know they're still lurking under those arrows.)

  • by Terrorsteel,

    Terrorsteel Terrorsteel Sep 20, 2013 7:49 AM in response to vilennon
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 20, 2013 7:49 AM in response to vilennon

    I'm mad. I sent an angry email already to Apple. Never before have I been so upset with them. I don't know how much I've lost, but my current guess is 100GB of postcast data. Not all my data has been wiped, but this is obviously a huge chunk. I hope they understand the fury I feel right now. But I didn't come in here JUST to rant..

     

    Firstly, I seem to have lost podcasts that have been both watched and unwatched.

    Secondly, I assume (because I can't tell for sure) that the podcasts that were deleted were ones that it sees copies on the server. So, I think I can redownload them all. (After about a week..)

     

    Of course, I have redownloaded podcasts several times only to have them deleted again. This is happening even with podcast syncing turned off in the preferences. And I have my settings on "Keep: All" and have (via the list view and contextual menu) set my files to "Do Not Auto Delete". They still disappear from my hard drive.

     

    I'm with the person who wants to punch someone, although I'm of the mind to pull a Khan and crush someone's skull with my bare hands. Deleting my data is akin to smashing a newly discovered dinosaur's complete skeleton in front of an archeologist and going "Oops." This is something that actually makes me question if I want to use future Apple products and software if this kind of mass disaster happens again.

Previous Page 2 of 11 last Next