iTunes Library cannot be saved (Error -54)

By the way, All, the next day the iTunes error message was back, so...Repair Permissions fix was only temporary.

Just got this error after updating to 11.0.2

Did permision repair as first step. Didn't notice itunes library come up. Considered all the copy and import options. Restarted itunes, issue seems to be fixed.

Still would like to make a suggestion about the advice to copy and reimport. I'd rename libray, add 'old' or some such thing to end of name. Then import it.

What I really want to advise agains is the suggestion to copy library over itself. If something goes wrong in that process it could be very very bad.

Good luck.

This worked great for me when I got this error today. Except instead of importing the library, I just renamed the new file "iTunes Library.xml" and relaunched iTunes. Resolved my issues just fine and all music, files, playlists, etc were still there as they should be.

Thank you!

I had the same problem. Repairing permissions didn't seem to help, but resetting the home folder permissions did. See here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3209690

Hi,

Repair permissions solved the issue for me.

Thanks !

This solved the problem! Thanks Annalea.

I ran the repair permissions, it fixed the problem for a few minutes but then it started happening again.

Annalea! That did the trick. The issue materialized after the latest iTunes update, and it may also be affecting a friend's iPhone apps, so we'll see about that, too. 🙂

Great job. Simple solution.

Thank you! Perfect solution.

Ran repair permissions in disk utility. Problem solved.

Annaleas Solutions fixed this error ofr me as well. Thanks!

For me the solution was to quit iTunes, go to my iTunes folder and delete the invisible file named "sentinel". In order to view and trash the invisible file in Finder, you'll need to use the Terminal or, very easily, temporarily change the Finder's settings to display hidden files with a utility such as TinkerTool (free).

There's some debate as to the reason for this file's existence but it seems to be used as some sort of integrity check of the iTunes library. After deleting it, iTunes recreates another copy.

Mac OS 10.8, iTunes 11.0.4

Hi Ms. Annalea. I've been having problems with my itunes library. it says that it cannot be saved. I tried a lot of solutions but didn't work. It's hard to make a playlist over and over again. Can you please tell where can i find the path that you mentioned in this thread? (Applications>Disk Utility>Repair Permissions). Im using wondows 7 ultimate edition. hope you can help me. Thank you very much.

Hi DanJohn,

That path is Mac-specific. Dredging up my former Windows-based life, I think you could do the same with the Disk Tools (I think that's where they kept the defragger, right?) . . . but I got out of Windows shortly after Win7, so I wasn't as familiar with it, and it's been about four very eventful years.

And, as always, Google knows. Search for: Repair Permissions Windows 7, or something similar.

Best of luck!

A thumbsup to Annalea for the solution. It worked perfectly for me!