sfgeek
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Q: What do I do if I accidentally trashed my iTunes library, but didn't empty the trash?

So, my iTunes library is now in the trash.  How do it get it back into my iTunes?  I left it just in case, but I do have a hard drive with everything backed up.  Any help or suggestion is most welcome.  Thanks!

G4 powerbook, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Jan 26, 2014 9:21 AM

by Limnos,Solvedanswer
Limnos Limnos
Level 9 (54,353 points)
Mac OS X
A:

My computer (12 years old) does not have Time Machine and I have never seen a TM backup.  I backup using a cloning tool which makes my backup drive look identical to my main drive so when I need to rescue something like this I simply drag the files I need to the main drive.

 

It also has the advantage that if I were in your position and needed space on the internal drive I could drag everything in the trash to the external drive for temporary holding until I was sure my restore worked.

 

If a Time Machine backup looks similar to mine you can drag the whole iTunes folder on top of the one on your internal drive, replacing the whole folder and be back to where you were the day of the backup.  I just don't know how TM backs up.  I recall some ancient backup utilities made backups that were totally inaccessible except using the utility.

Posted on Jan 28, 2014 7:08 AM

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Q: What do I do if I accidentally trashed my iTunes library, but didn't empty the trash?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Limnos,Helpful

    Limnos Limnos Jan 26, 2014 9:42 AM in response to sfgeek
    Level 9 (54,353 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 26, 2014 9:42 AM in response to sfgeek

    It helps ot know exactly what you dragged to the trash.  The library is actually a whole series of files and folders but some people think it is just a file called library.itl and others think it is just their media folder.  Whatever, if you put things back from where they came it should all work again.

     

    Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391

     

    What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660

     

    More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management

     

    What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html

  • by sfgeek,

    sfgeek sfgeek Jan 26, 2014 2:27 PM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 26, 2014 2:27 PM in response to Limnos

    Cool, thanks.  I will check it all out.  Basically my wife selected all in our iTunes (25,000 songs) and dragged them to the trash thinking they were the songs on her iPhone.  I will check out your suggestions, and if this explains the situation any more, I welcome your further suggestions.

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Jan 26, 2014 2:30 PM in response to sfgeek
    Level 9 (54,353 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 26, 2014 2:30 PM in response to sfgeek

    Did she do this in Finder or in the iTunes Window?

  • by sfgeek,

    sfgeek sfgeek Jan 26, 2014 2:33 PM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 26, 2014 2:33 PM in response to Limnos

    She did it directly from iTunes.  I've been trying to drag the songs out of the trash and put them back in, but now iTunes is coming up with that error message 13041.  I've tried restoring my time machine, etc.  nothing has worked, and now the computer is telling me that the drive has not room, and now my external drive is too full as well.  It's frustrating.

  • by Limnos,Helpful

    Limnos Limnos Jan 26, 2014 2:48 PM in response to sfgeek
    Level 9 (54,353 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 26, 2014 2:48 PM in response to sfgeek

    Do you still have tracks in iTunes?  I use an old iTunes and I have changed how it behaves in this kind of thing relative to non-altered  iTunes.

     

    If there are still tracks in iTunes try playing a track in iTunes. Will it play?  Right click on a track in iTunes > Reveal In finder.  Where is the file in the folder structure on your computer?  In the iTunes folder or in the Trash?  It is possible that dragging the files to the trash from the iTunes window simply put copies of all the files in the trash.  You don't have to worry about them.

     

    If there are no tracks in iTunes then I guess it literally deleted them from iTunes and moved all the media tracks to your trash.  Right now they are still taking up space on your drive until you empty the trash.  I am not sure what the 13041 message means.

     

    I guess two courses of action. One is to empty the Trash and restore the iTunes library from your backup.  The easiest way to do this if you are confident your backup is reasonably up to date and complete is to copy the whole iTunes folder from the backup over the one in your Music folder (empty the Trash first so there's room on your drive).  Start iTunes and it should use the old library.  Everything in a "normal" iTunes is inside that iTunes folder (as per all those links I posted earlier).

     

    If you do not feel comfortable doing this then let me know and we can work on it some more (but I have to help with supper for a while ).  My main concern is if you had a last minute addition to your library post pst backup and it's only in the Trash right now.

     

    By the way, is this really on a G4 as indicated in your profile?

  • by sfgeek,

    sfgeek sfgeek Jan 26, 2014 2:53 PM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 26, 2014 2:53 PM in response to Limnos

    I have been wrestling with the trashing the trash, but my last import was on the 20th and my external has that date backed up.  It's not a G4, it's an iMac... I need to change that.  I've been able to open iTunes and some songs have been transferred back, but then the space issues starts up, and now it won't open.  My computer is so clogged with files right now, I think i just need to delete the trash and deal with it.  I'll let you know.  Thanks for your help.  Good luck with dinner.:)

  • by sfgeek,

    sfgeek sfgeek Jan 28, 2014 6:49 AM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 28, 2014 6:49 AM in response to Limnos

    Hello friend,

     

    Quick question: If I empty my trash can, when restoring iTunes, do I just hit restore on Time machine, or do I have to drag each file into iTunes?  This is quick a challenging process, as I do not want to actually throw away 25,000 songs without a 100% chance of getting them back, I'm sure you've had a similar feeling about something.  Anyway, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out.  I haven't actually done anything yet (just moving the songs back into trash, since they were on the desktop), but any further suggestion is greatly appreciated. 

     

    Cheers!

  • by Limnos,Solvedanswer

    Limnos Limnos Jan 28, 2014 7:08 AM in response to sfgeek
    Level 9 (54,353 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 28, 2014 7:08 AM in response to sfgeek

    My computer (12 years old) does not have Time Machine and I have never seen a TM backup.  I backup using a cloning tool which makes my backup drive look identical to my main drive so when I need to rescue something like this I simply drag the files I need to the main drive.

     

    It also has the advantage that if I were in your position and needed space on the internal drive I could drag everything in the trash to the external drive for temporary holding until I was sure my restore worked.

     

    If a Time Machine backup looks similar to mine you can drag the whole iTunes folder on top of the one on your internal drive, replacing the whole folder and be back to where you were the day of the backup.  I just don't know how TM backs up.  I recall some ancient backup utilities made backups that were totally inaccessible except using the utility.

  • by fattypin,

    fattypin fattypin Jul 1, 2014 2:22 PM in response to sfgeek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 1, 2014 2:22 PM in response to sfgeek

    I know this is a bit late but I did the same with my entire library and didn't realise until about 3 weeks later. Fortunately I had not emptied the trash so they were there untouched...phew!

     

    As the Trash won't let you move files from Trash to iTunes you have to select all and "move" (not copy) by dragging them from trash to a file on the desktop...or connected external hard drive then simply move them from there back to iTunes. Voila!

     

    p.s. If you have a lot of files it takes a very long time!