cavara12

Q: Can't play music or see artwork after iTunes redirect

I've just finished moving my iTunes folder from one external drive to another.  I then deleted the library on the first drive, but I was not able to delete the Library.itl, Extras.itdb or Genius.itdb.  I recovered them from the trash and saved them.  I was running iTunes (now redirected) during the deletion.  After the deletion, iTunes was still running fine until I closed and reopened it.  The media, playlists and play counts are properly listed but the media wasn't located when clicked and there was no artwork.  The files are all on the new drive, along with the artwork.  I've succeeded in redirecting it such that SOME media now plays and SOME artwork shows, but not most.  Oddly, for the albums that don't show artwork on the main icon, they do show it in the "now playing" bar at the top of the screen.

 

How can I redirect to all the media files and artwork properly?  Nothing essential was deleted I know of.  (Or presumably connecting to the media would accomplish both?)  If it matters, within the iTunes folder I have iTunes Media folder, Album Artwork folder, Previous iTunes Libraries folder, Extras.itdb, Genius.itdb and Library.xml.  Inside the iTunes Media folder, there's the Library itl. file.  I also was prompted to reorganize the folder to maintain the "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" so I did that.

 

UPDATE:  I think I may have worked out why certain media wasn't playing, but the artwork problem remains and is unrelated.  Songs will play, the art will show in the folder as part of the metadata, will show in the top iTunes bar, but not on the main icon in the library.  Any ideas about this?

 

Thanks for any help.  Have done this before without any problems.

MacBook Pro with Retina display

Posted on Sep 29, 2014 9:14 PM

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Q: Can't play music or see artwork after iTunes redirect

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  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Sep 30, 2014 8:23 AM in response to cavara12
    Level 9 (54,277 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 30, 2014 8:23 AM in response to cavara12

    A standard library is everything in the iTunes folder and using default preferences settings.  Moving from one drive to another involves copying the entire iTunes folder to the second drive, then starting iTunes with the option/alt key held down and selecting the new library location.  Does this all apply here?

  • by cavara12,

    cavara12 cavara12 Sep 30, 2014 1:30 PM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 30, 2014 1:30 PM in response to Limnos

    Yes, I did all of that.  Currently I have a copy of the iTunes library on a disk which I want only for Time Machine backups (I'm not interested in partitioning it further) and a copy on a disk to which I transferred it which isn't working.

     

    My thought is to delete iTunes on the new disk and try reimporting it, only this time I'll redirect to the new disk beforehand and use the "consolidate" option in iTunes preferences to transfer everything.  Do you know if that would work?

     

    (The other post of mine deals with the same issue, I just created a shorter one because the site wouldn't let me edit this down earlier).

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Sep 30, 2014 1:35 PM in response to cavara12
    Level 9 (54,277 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 30, 2014 1:35 PM in response to cavara12

    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

     

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

     

    What do you have on the drive?  The whole iTunes folder with all its subfolders and collection of library files, or just media?  All your business about "redirecting" is a method for moving only media and not all the other library files which is what gives it the structure you see in the iTunes application.  We need to know where exactly you are right now.  I have provided those instruction hundreds if not thousands of times to people and the only time they do not work is when somebody has something non-standard with their library or confuses moving media with their "library".  Just as a city library is more than a pile of books in an empty lot, an iTunes library is more than just media files.

  • by cavara12,

    cavara12 cavara12 Sep 30, 2014 1:43 PM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 30, 2014 1:43 PM in response to Limnos

    Thank you for the links.

     

    Everything necessary to run iTunes is on the drive I can't play from.  The library files and the media.  iTunes can "see" the files because it reproduces them, the artwork, the playlists and play counts.  If I manually locate the file in the new drive, it will play, it's just that yes, despite all the relevant files being there, iTunes won't play the media.  This suggests to me I should just retry to transfer; I don't know if you could tell me if what I suggested might work?

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Sep 30, 2014 2:54 PM in response to cavara12
    Level 9 (54,277 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 30, 2014 2:54 PM in response to cavara12

    Somehow it seems the links to the files got broken in your first move.  In theory as long as you have let iTunes "organize" your library in the past you should be able to find one link and iTunes will offer to find others.  If you have not then try re-copying the whole thing intact.  It does work.

  • by cavara12,

    cavara12 cavara12 Sep 30, 2014 3:34 PM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 30, 2014 3:34 PM in response to Limnos

    Seems to have worked, thanks.