HT203225: If you don't see your entire library after you update iTunes on your Mac or PC

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Jaimieeem

Q: Latest update deleted my library and playlists

I updated to the newest version of iTunes and lost all of my music and playlists. I've researched and followed all of the advice here but the one problem is there isn't a folder anywhere in my computer titled "Previous iTunes library" - my question is how do I go about recovering all of my music and playlists without having this folder available?

Posted on Jun 3, 2015 10:04 AM

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Q: Latest update deleted my library and playlists

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  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jun 3, 2015 10:09 AM in response to Jaimieeem
    Level 10 (85,152 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 3, 2015 10:09 AM in response to Jaimieeem

    See Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash.

    Are there any .tmp files in the main iTunes folder?

    Is the media present inside iTunes Media?

    Do you have a backup, or is the media on any device?

    Have you switched profiles on the computer?

     

    tt2

  • by Jaimieeem,

    Jaimieeem Jaimieeem Jun 4, 2015 12:50 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 4, 2015 12:50 AM in response to turingtest2

    Thanks for answering!

     

    The link you gave here is the one I've tried however I stop at the step where I need to use the "Previous iTunes library" folder because I simply don't have one. In the iTunes folder I have the regular "iTunes Library" file and also an XML file called "iTunes Music Library"

     

    When I open up the iTunes file all of my music is still there but it is no longer in my iTunes itself. The media itself is on a backup chip that is always and still is in the side of my computer. I can get to this C:\Users\myname\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\iTunes Music Library.xml  - but all that comes up is code language I don't understand.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jun 4, 2015 3:18 AM in response to Jaimieeem
    Level 10 (85,152 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 4, 2015 3:18 AM in response to Jaimieeem

    The xml file is a structured text description  of the contents of the library meant for third party software to read. Typical locations of the library files are:

     

    C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl  and

    C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml

     

    Your post suggest these might have been placed one level deeper.

     

    Did you use any version of iTunes prior to version 12? If so there really ought to be a Previous iTunes Libraries folder at:

     

    C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\Previous iTunes Libraries



    When you click on an itl file that causes iTunes to open, but not necessarily with that file. Is it possible that your real library is located somewhere other than C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes but whatever actions you taken have caused iTunes to reset to the default path? If so it may bethat you need toshift-start iTunes to connect to the right file.



    Jaimieeem wrote:

     

    When I open up the iTunes file all of my music is still there but it is no longer in my iTunes itself.


    I can't make sense of this. Do you meant that the media is visible in Windows Explorer, but not listed in iTunes when you open it?


    tt2

  • by Jaimieeem,

    Jaimieeem Jaimieeem Jun 4, 2015 9:42 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 4, 2015 9:42 AM in response to turingtest2

    tt2,

     

    yes, I do have both of these:

    C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl  and

    C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml

     

     

    I tried to shift start iTunes twice - once clicking the .itl and once clicking the .xml - but neither worked - they just went to iTunes and the only thing shown on the screen in iTunes was the music I've purchased from Apple.

     

    As for the comment you noted above - I meant to say that I can open "iTunes Media" and all of my music is still there 

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jun 4, 2015 10:18 AM in response to Jaimieeem
    Level 10 (85,152 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 4, 2015 10:18 AM in response to Jaimieeem

    Jaimieeem wrote:

     

    As for the comment you noted above - I meant to say that I can open "iTunes Media" and all of my music is still there 

     

    Great, that is at least some good news.

     

    But no Previous iTunes Libraries folder? How long have you been using iTunes? iTunes 12 has been out since last September I think, if you'd used an version prior to that then you really ought to have that folder. Otherwise what about hidden .tmp files in the iTunes folder? Have you managed to have a look for these? See Windows, show hidden files.

     

    tt2

  • by hanshotfirst1138,

    hanshotfirst1138 hanshotfirst1138 Jun 4, 2015 10:52 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 4, 2015 10:52 AM in response to turingtest2

    It deleted that for me, and also, iTunes itself is no longer displaying any more my music that I loaded from my CDs or my audiobooks. I would really, really, really, really, really like to know what the **** is going on? Where would the "previous libraries" folder be? Why did it not integrate with my new iTunes? WHAT is happening? I can't close iTunes, because now I have re-download ALL of my podcasts AGAIN, except for the ones which are no longer archives, since they appear to be gone for good. WHAT IS HAPPENING?

  • by Jaimieeem,

    Jaimieeem Jaimieeem Jun 4, 2015 10:56 AM in response to Jaimieeem
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 4, 2015 10:56 AM in response to Jaimieeem

    I've been using iTunes on this particular computer since October and just updated it the other day when this happened. I followed the directions for the "Windows, show hidden files" however the "Previous iTunes Libraries" is still missing

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jun 4, 2015 11:04 AM in response to hanshotfirst1138
    Level 10 (85,152 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 4, 2015 11:04 AM in response to hanshotfirst1138

    As above, it would normally be here:

     

    C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\Previous iTunes Libraries

     

    Or inside the active iTunes library folder if you have your library stored in a non-standard location.

     

    Start with  Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash. You can close iTunes and interrupt the downloads it is currently trying to get. You should probably delete the Downloads folder inside the media folder to prevent those downloads resuming the next time iTunes starts.

     

    tt2

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jun 4, 2015 11:21 AM in response to Jaimieeem
    Level 10 (85,152 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 4, 2015 11:21 AM in response to Jaimieeem

    Jaimieeem wrote:

     

    I've been using iTunes on this particular computer since October and just updated it the other day when this happened. I followed the directions for the "Windows, show hidden files" however the "Previous iTunes Libraries" is still missing

     

    That explains the lack of a Previous iTunes Libraries folder. The previous libraries are only generated when an update introduces a change to the internal structure of the library. In the past that has often been quite frequent but so far there have been no changes within the four releases of iTunes 12.

     

    Any sign of the hidden .tmp files I asked about?

     

    Do you have an iPod, iPhone or iPad?

     

    Do you have a backup of the iTunes library as it existed on a previous computer?

     

     

     

    If none of these are available then use File > Add Folder to Library to add the media folder to the library. This will restore the content, but ratings, play counts, playlists etc. are gone. See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy to avoid problems in future. You could also create the Previous iTunes Libraries folder manually now and take a security copy of the iTunes Library.itl file.

     

     

     

    If you have any of the other resources I have mentioned we can talk about how they might be reintegrated to your library.

     

     

     

    tt2

  • by hanshotfirst1138,

    hanshotfirst1138 hanshotfirst1138 Jun 5, 2015 6:58 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 5, 2015 6:58 PM in response to turingtest2

    Clicking on any previous libraries opens iTunes as it is. Not much help. To say nothing of the podcasts it deleted for no discernible reason.

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Jun 5, 2015 9:21 PM in response to hanshotfirst1138
    Level 5 (5,407 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 5, 2015 9:21 PM in response to hanshotfirst1138

    Double-clicking on an iTunes Library file does not (necessarily) open that particular library ... it is highly counter-intuitive, but doing so will open iTunes using the active library file from the last time it was run.  The only way to open a specific library is to hold down SHIFT while starting iTunes, and when you get this prompt:

    Shift-Start Dialog.jpg

    click on Choose Library... and browse to / select the specific .itl file you want to open.

     

    Normally an iTunes update will not affect your library - in 10 years of using iTunes I've never seen it happen - but it is still advisable to create a backup of your complete library before installing the update.  In your case where (unfortunately) you don't have a backup of your library or one of the snapshots that iTunes creates when installing an update that includes a database structure change (last of which was iTunes 12.0), you'll need to hope that there's either a valid iTunes Library.itl file in a location other than the default one where iTunes is expecting to find it, or a recoverable .tmp file that's been left on your system as the result of an iTunes crash or other fatal event.

  • by hanshotfirst1138,

    hanshotfirst1138 hanshotfirst1138 Jun 6, 2015 12:25 PM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 6, 2015 12:25 PM in response to hhgttg27

    Nope.  It opens the library, but none of the file are properly allocated, and I'll be if I'm going to go through and reorganize each album one at a time.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jun 6, 2015 12:33 PM in response to hanshotfirst1138
    Level 10 (85,152 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 6, 2015 12:33 PM in response to hanshotfirst1138

    How many alternative libraries are there in your Previous iTunes Libraries folder?

    Are the any .tmp files (possibly hidden) in the main iTunes folder?

    Do you have a device from which you could recover playlists, ratings, play counts, etc?

     

    Unless your files are in .wav format they should contain tags that already store all of the organizing information that was in your missing library. Simply importing the media folder into the new empty library should rebuild most of the library. Ratings, play counts, date added, and several other library only properties however would be reset.

     

    tt2

  • by hanshotfirst1138,

    hanshotfirst1138 hanshotfirst1138 Jun 6, 2015 2:21 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 6, 2015 2:21 PM in response to turingtest2

    When I had iTunes locate a file, it also located a number of others. The self-loaded audiobooks proved a little bit more problematic, and I'm still have issues with the podcasts, but it's an improvement over nothing. Unforunately, the iPhone can only sync with one library at at time, leading to another problem. Hopefully, I can make this one permanent while retaining the update. There seem to be a few stray songs, including one of my favorites , so I think there's still more to do, and unfortunately, it's hard to tell what's missing. Some album artwork is missing too, so that needs to be put back, apparently by hand, as it were.

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