Q: Making iTunes library find missing tracks in multiple, not one by one

Hi ...I am still pluging away with the scrpt

I did get the same error message except the line was 1190 all other parameters were the same..... it did not stop the script but I did not get the end screen which gives me the processed/skipped/missing

Hmm... If it errors out with a line number then the script has stopped working. Have you managed to start two instances in parallel? Do you have the status bar enabled? It may require a temporary tweak to your security settings, but seeing a progress bar allows you to see the script is still chugging away and know how far it has got.

tt2

I do not have a status bar

How do I get it..........it would be very helpful

You should be able to use the EnableLUA script to make the change that allows the progress bar.

tt2

Phew........I have got to the end and now have 65115 trax in playlist Found

How can I check to see if there are any missing files in Found?

I have randomly gone thru 40+ manually and cannot find one....... however with 65k I am not sure if there are still missing files

Select the Found playlist. Click a track and then press CTRL+A to select all, then press delete to delete all of the entries from this list (but not from the library). Go into the Lost playlist, press CTRL+A to select all, and drag this selection to Found as before. Anything that remains in Lost still needs to be fixed or removed from the library.

tt2

I thought I would get the status bar running first as there are now 8000+ trax in the LOST playlist

I ran the Enable UA

Got Msg} the current value of Enable UA is enabled

Next I got} the script was unable to change the state.  You may edit the registry manually or edit permissions of the branch  HKLM\software\Microsoft\windows\current version\policies\system  so the script can edit the Enable UA value

I searched my PC but can find no HKLM

This is a fix you make in the registry editor Regedit which you can launch from the search box in the start menu. HKLM is shorthand for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

tt2

Errrrrr I am not sure what I should do? I have never been in REGEDIT before!

I go into REGEDIT and find Policies>System And then what?

You go into Regedit, and drill down in the left-hand column expanding the triangles against first HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then SOFTWARE, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion, Policies and finally System. Right click on System and click Permissions... if you want to adjust permissions of the key (grant yourself or authenticated users full access), or just try double-clicking the text EnableLUA in the right-hand side which should open with a box in which you can change the value from 1 to 0.

tt2

OK I did the regedit thing on EnableUA ........ should I change this back when I have finished the searches?

I have had a look at some file destinations in INFO They are in various locations, most of which do not exist any longer

Not knowing quite how the Script works, but I have a number of older backup files on other external HDD's should I plug them in and run the Script, as the files may be on them, somewhere?

Personally I run my machine with EnableLUA disabled all the time, which prevents those annoying user access control warnings, but feel free to reset it once you're done with the scripts.

Yes, if some of the broken links point to say a disconnected external drive you can hook it up before you start iTunes. If the drive gains the same drive letter it had before then iTunes should now be able to connect to those files, otherwise use the script and point it at the folder containing the group of files you are tying to fix. Once the links are working right-click on the selection and use Consolidate Files... to make local copies in your media folder so that the track still work when this additional drive is disconnected. Repeat for each additional source. Eventually I'd delete anything that you still cannot fix because you just cannot find it.

tt2

You are icredibly helpful ...... but I am afraid you are dealing with an idiot at this end

When you say use the script and point it at the folder....... where in the Script do I point it [ when I run the Script the third screen asks me is this the address, which in the  previous searches was my main iTunes external drive] I assumed [wrongly I suspect] that when the Script found a track it redirected iTunes to this main drive "G" in this case?

Should keep my main external drive with iTunes files on it plugged in.......... and  then point the third Script screen to a iTunes folder on my older backup external drive?

Confused

If I recall correctly your library is now stored at G:\iTunes with the media stored in G:\iTunes\iTunes Media. You need this G: drive connected whenever you work with the library. Lets say your realise that a bunch of broken tracks are stored on another drive which for the sake of example appears as H: with the tracks stored somewhere inside a folder called MP3s. You would select some tracks that you expect to be able to find in this folder. Run the script. The second dialog box (or perhaps third if you have to dismiss a Windows warning first) asks you to confirm the media folder to check for the missing files. You would edit this to H:\MP3s like this:

Then click OK. The script will search the following potential locations for each track:

• <Media Folder> (i.e. whatever you put in the dialog box above)

• <Media Folder>\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\<Album Artist>

• <Media Folder>\<Album Artist>\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\<Artist>

• <Media Folder>\<Artist>\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\Compilations\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\Compilations\Unknown Album

• <Media Folder>\Unknown Artist\Unknown Album

• <Media Folder>\Various Artists\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\Various Artists\Unknown Album

• <Media Folder>\Music

• <Media Folder>\Music\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\Music\<Album Artist>

• <Media Folder>\Music\<Album Artist>\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\Music\<Artist>

• <Media Folder>\Music\<Artist>\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\Music\Compilations\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\Music\Compilations\Unknown Album

• <Media Folder>\Music\Unknown Artist\Unknown Album

• <Media Folder>\Music\Various Artists\<Album>

• <Media Folder>\Music\Various Artists\Unknown Album

With optimizations when <Album>=<Album Artist>=<Artist>. For all searches outside of the Unknown Artist\Unknown Album folder there is a fuzzy matching mechanism which can cope with, for example, missing disc or track numbers, longer/truncated file & folder names or different invalid filename character substitutions from those that iTunes uses. Media types other than music will be searched for in their usual locations relative to the media folder chosen.

The search locations shown above cope with most of the common patterns people use to organize their music files, but you may still need to fix some files by hand if the tag information bears no relationship to the filepath where the file is actually stored.

When the script has finished reconnecting the tracks it can find iTunes will be connected to the copies inside H:\MP3s. To make your library run properly when this H: drive is disconnected you need to consolidate the tracks into the active media folder. This tells iTunes to make a new copy of the file in the media folder (G:\iTunes\iTunes Media) and switch the link to that new file. Once you have backed up the entire library to a second drive the original copies in H:\MP3s could be discarded.

tt2

Thanks for the detailed info

I have a number of iTune back up folders most in the 250/500 terabyte range!

Can I not just Consolidate these folders with my G:/iTunes/iTunes Media or do I have to run the Script first?

If I Consolidate ........ I assume it will not duplicate trax?