cem_2012
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: New laptop, loaded back-up from external drive, iTunes cannot locate any original files?

Backed-up my entire 'My Music' folder, including iTunes, Amazon MP3, etc to my external hard drive On my new Windows 8 laptop, moved all files into the 'Music' folder and followed Apple's guidance for importing from external drive (Back up your iTunes library by copying it to an external drive - Apple Support).

 

I selected the library from the folder, and all my music, cover art, ratings, playlists, etc are there. It looks just like everything went over. Unfortunately, all files, whether purchased through iTunes, Amazon, or ripped from CD, are stating that the song "[can] not be used because the original file could not be found." Needless to say, I do not want to go through a decade+ of music and CDs to locate each and every file.

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

Windows 8

Posted on Jan 7, 2015 8:06 AM

by turingtest2,Solvedanswer
turingtest2 turingtest2
Level 10 (87,851 points)
Apple TV
A:

OK, I've uploaded a new version which should be able to trap the error and continue to the next track. It should produce a comment telling you what item it failed on and then move on to the next track. Might be useful to know in case it is a class of items that need to be skipped.

 

tt2

Posted on Jan 8, 2015 3:57 AM

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cem_2012

Q: New laptop, loaded back-up from external drive, iTunes cannot locate any original files?

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  • by KiltedTim,

    KiltedTim KiltedTim Jan 7, 2015 8:10 AM in response to cem_2012
    Level 9 (56,366 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 7, 2015 8:10 AM in response to cem_2012

    Sounds like the files are not in exactly the same place that they were on the old machine. You need to re-import the media files to iTunes.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 7, 2015 8:15 AM in response to cem_2012
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 7, 2015 8:15 AM in response to cem_2012

    The "missing file" error 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, one of its parent folders, or 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. In the case of a library moved from one system to another there are also potential permissions issues. See Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows.

     

    Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to Get Info, then click No when asked to try to locate the track. (Due to a bug in iTunes 12 you currently have to say No twice!) 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, a folder renamed, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions. If the difference between the two paths is an additional Music folder in one path then this is a layout issue. I can explain further if that is the case.

     

    In some cases iTunes may be able to repair itself if you go through the same steps with Get Info but this time click Locate and browse to the lost track. It may then offer to attempt to automatically fix other broken links.

     

    If another application like Windows Media Player has moved/renamed the files then the chances are that subtle differences in naming strategies will make it hard to restore the media to the precise path that iTunes is expecting. In such cases, as long as the missing files can be found somewhere, you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes. See this post for an explanation of how it works.

     

    If the library is still functional on the original computer see Make a split library portable for guidance on getting it in the correct shape for transfer.

     

    tt2

  • by cem_2012,

    cem_2012 cem_2012 Jan 7, 2015 8:26 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 7, 2015 8:26 AM in response to turingtest2

    Under Get Info for the last song downloaded before the back-up (purchased through Amazon), the path is:

    "C:/Users/USER/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music/ARTIST NAME/SONG NAME/file"

     

    When I go to "C:\Users\USER\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media" there is only one folder there, titled' 'Automatically Add to iTunes'.

     

    The song itself is found under Music\Amazon MP3 and then artist\song. In the music folder I have three separate folders, one each for Amazon MP3, iTunes, and MP3s (non-Amazon). It looks like all songs in the imported library are pointed to sub-folders within iTunes Media, where I assume they were copied on the old machine; difficult to pull up old laptop since it crashed and I had to go in through non-Windows boot disc to get to my folders to back-up.

  • by turingtest2,Helpful

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 7, 2015 8:41 AM in response to cem_2012
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 7, 2015 8:41 AM in response to cem_2012

    Are you sure about this path?

    C:/Users/USER/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music/ARTIST NAME/SONG NAME/file

     

    A more typical representation would be:

    file://localhost/C:/Users/<User>/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music/<Artist>/<Album>/## <Name>.<Ext>


    It is surprising that you don't have any content inside the iTunes Media folder if iTunes records that as the expected location.


    If you can show me the specific for one particular track and its real location that would help. This came from another thread for example:


    iTunes 'Missing' file location:

    file://localhost/C:Users/Name/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music/Beaumont/This is Beaumont/03 hey Barbara 1.mp3

     

    Location of found file:

    C:\Users\Name\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\Beaumont\This is Beaumont\03 hey Barbara.mp3

     

    If the missing files are located somewhere in C:\Users\<User>\Music\Amazon MP3 then you could try pointing the script at that folder as the "media folder" to search. Under Edit > Preferences > Advanced turn off the options Keep... and Copy... before you start.

     

    Can you put the old boot drive in an enclosure so you can explore it more closely. There may be things you left behind.

     

    tt2

  • by cem_2012,

    cem_2012 cem_2012 Jan 7, 2015 10:00 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 7, 2015 10:00 AM in response to turingtest2

    Was able to copy the path this time; the iTunes Get Info location is showing as:

    file://localhost/C:/Users/<user>/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music/Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars/Uptown Funk/01-UPT~1.MP3


    The file was found (and worked when pointed to) the following:

    C:\Users\<user>\Music\Amazon MP3\Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars\Uptown Funk\01 - Uptown Funk.mp3

        

    Since it previously pointed all files into the iTunes Media library, preferences must've had everything being copied there as well. Didn't know if there's a way to migrate the current folders into there, or something similar. The old drive wouldn't load Windows, so I had to go in with a Linux CD boot disc where I had access to all files/folders. I pulled the entire My Music folder from the prior machine.

     

    Thanks again for your help!

  • by turingtest2,Helpful

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 7, 2015 10:38 AM in response to cem_2012
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 7, 2015 10:38 AM in response to cem_2012

    OK. Press Ctrl+B to reveal the menu bar if is isn't showing. Under Edit > Preferences > Advanced turn off Keep... & Copy... for now. Select some tracks (just a sample to start with) and run the FindTracks script. Point it at C:\Users\<User>\Music\Amazon MP3 when it asks for a media folder to search. It should be able to relink the tracks. Assuming that works select everything and run the script again, then repeat using the other source folder C:\Users\<User>\Music\MP3s.

     

    In the long run I recommend you see Make a split library portable and consolidate your library into the iTunes Media folder, either with iTunes consolidate command, my ConsolidateByMoving script, or with the various folder manipulations. Having everything in the standard layout is so much easier to backup and transfer between systems.

     

    tt2

  • by cem_2012,

    cem_2012 cem_2012 Jan 7, 2015 1:45 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 7, 2015 1:45 PM in response to turingtest2

    Thank you!!! Using FindTracks I was able to get about 20 songs to point in the right place and play again. It takes a few seconds per song to run, but hopefully I can do that a few times for the entire library and retrieve most items. I'd previously followed Apple's suggestion on consolidating files, copying into one location, etc for back-ups, so I'm a little disappointed in the drag-and-drop failure.

     

    Going back to my previous machine, I opened it with the Parted Magic boot disc, found my old Music folder, and it's just <user>\Music\iTunes, so I'm not sure how the iTunes Media folder was created or why it's trying to look there for all items. My prior laptop was running an older version of iTunes.

     

    Guess I'll need to review other options you mentioned for consolidating to prevent this issue from popping up again. Thanks again!

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 7, 2015 2:02 PM in response to cem_2012
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 7, 2015 2:02 PM in response to cem_2012

    You're welcome.

     

    tt2

  • by cem_2012,

    cem_2012 cem_2012 Jan 7, 2015 2:05 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 7, 2015 2:05 PM in response to turingtest2

    The script crashed when I tried to run it for the entire library, so it may take a few hundred times to fix all songs and all three folders, but it's definitely a start.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 7, 2015 2:13 PM in response to cem_2012
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 7, 2015 2:13 PM in response to cem_2012

    Do you have the error message? It ought to be able to run against the whole library without crashing so maybe there is something I need to fix.

     

    tt2

  • by cem_2012,

    cem_2012 cem_2012 Jan 7, 2015 2:15 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 7, 2015 2:15 PM in response to turingtest2

    Can't recall it all; something about line 441. I'm currently running about 1,000 songs through it, so that may take an hour. I'll try to rerun the full library once that completes and see if an error comes up again.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 7, 2015 2:47 PM in response to cem_2012
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 7, 2015 2:47 PM in response to cem_2012

    OK. I'm on a bus at the moment but I will run It against my library when I get home, not that it has any missing tracks.

     

    tt2

  • by cem_2012,

    cem_2012 cem_2012 Jan 7, 2015 4:37 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 7, 2015 4:37 PM in response to turingtest2

    On the 1,000-song run, the error popped up again. Once the error box pops up, I do not receive a confirmation box stating how many were run, worked, etc.

     

    Error1.jpg

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 7, 2015 4:50 PM in response to cem_2012
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 7, 2015 4:50 PM in response to cem_2012

    OK, I'll work on trapping that error. Will probably be tomorrow as it is getting late here.

     

    tt2

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