itunes media folder keeps resetting back to default

Click the icon that launches iTunes and immediately press and hold down the shift key, or alt/option on a Mac. Keep holding until presented with the choose or create library option. As noted earlier see Make a split library portable - Apple Community to put your library in a shape which uses the default media path with respect to the library file (i.e. a folder called iTunes Media in the folder with the .itl file) so that this particular bug doesn't impact your library any more.

tt2

I am actually dealing with this on 2 different PCs. One old and one new where I am putting the library on a larger secondary drive. The new computer is the only reason I found out there was a problem, by the way. Anyway, the solutions in this thread have totally failed to work.

I had copied the old files from an second drive to the main drive on the old computer. But, nothing would allow me to permanently change the iTunes media folder. In desperation, I spent last night using the "Create New Library" option after doing the Shift+Click, and then downloaded just the movies to the new drive. That took all night, but it worked--mostly. Movies I obtained on iTunes via promotions are not recognized as being purchased. So, I no longer have them on that computer. I then deleted the old files.

HOWEVER! After hours Google searching last night and today, I pieced together a solution that worked on my new computer.

I had taken the hard drive with the iTunes Media files from the old computer and installed it on the new computer. However, iTunes would not let me change the default download location, or recognize the files were in the new location. So, here is what I did:

1. Launch iTunes by holding down the Shift button and double clicking on the icon.
2. Choose the option "Create New Library". This will create a new Library on whatever drive you choose. AND i Tunes will remember that as your default location.
3. In iTunes, go to File--> Add FOLDER to Library. Choose the pre-existing Library folder.
4. iTunes will link all the old files from whatever folder you have them in to the new iTunes Media location.

IMPORTANT: ITUNES DOES NOT MOVE THE FILES. It simply creates/remembers the pathway to the files. So, if you get rid of that drive, be sure to back up your files and tell iTunes to link the new folders.

IMPORTANT: I am working on PCs, not Macs. I have no idea if this will works for Mac systems, though I suspect it will.

I hope this works for y'all. And, I hope Apple gets off their lazy butts and fixes this bug.

I'm assuming windows 10. With iTunes shut down, I moved all my iTunes files from C: to my new drive, say D:\. Include the iTunes Media and everything else. This will include the iTunes Library.itl (it's hidden in the iTunes folder) file. Press and hold down shift as you launch iTunes, you will be prompted to select the iTunes Library.itl file, click choose library when the option comes up, then browse to and select the file D:\iTunes Library.itl. The media folder should be D:\iTunes\iTunes Media.

It worked for me, your mileage may vary. Hope it works for you.

You're taking the wrong approach. iTunes won't currently save your preferred media folder name and this is a bug that Apple don't seem to be invested in fixing. Since this isn't a battle you can win see Make a split library portable - Apple Community and restructure the library such that the media folder is C:\BillTunes\iTunes Media where iTunes wants it to be, and all your media is inside it.

tt2

Hi there TimAbrahamson,

​Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities. I see you're running into some issues with your iTunes media folder.

If I understand correctly, you're setting the media folder location to the F drive and it seems to work as expected, but then it changes back to a folder on your C drive the next time you start iTunes. Are you using the steps here to set your location? Change where your iTunes files are stored on PC

Is the F drive external? Is it always connected to the PC?

If you quit iTunes and re-launch while holding Shift, this should bring up a list of different iTunes libraries. Do you have more than one available? I'm wondering if you may have one library that defaults to the F drive and one to the C drive.

Also, have you made sure your library on the F drive is consolidated? This is another possible factor to check into, covered here: Back up and restore your iTunes Library

I hope this helps get you started!

Kind regards.

See Make a split library portable - Apple Community. If the library is on the F: drive as well as the media, then if you accidentally launch iTunes when the drive isn't ready it cannot be opened, and the media folder won't reset. Cancel the launch, connect the drive, relaunch, and iTunes will open normally. Keep a backup on another drive.

tt2

The shift key method is not really that useful. On previous versions changing the iTunes Media Folder Location worked as expected, i.e. it remembered the change.

Just try a fresh setup and change the iTunes Media Folder Location to another folder. Save and exit. Relaunch iTunes and check you will find it has reverted to the C:\users\yourname\Music folder.

iTunes64Setup 12.9.3.3 is the last version where this worked. I have been using this method for years as I have several Libraries.

Can Apple please fix this issue as it is really annoying. It was a great feature and now it does not work. I try every new release to see if it has been fixed (it still hasn't) and then have to uninstall it and reinstall 12.9.3.3.

Thanks

Allan

With iTunes closed open your iTunes folder in the C:\ drive. Copy the iTunes Library.itl file along with the the two .itdb files and the Album Artwork folder into D:, then press and hold down shift as you launch iTunes, click choose library when the option comes up, then browse to and open the file D:\iTunes Library.itl. iTunes is likely to have the wrong media folder selected, so reset your media folder to D:\ConsolMusic once more and check that your music plays. Now close iTunes, rename the folder ConsolMusic as iTunes Media then restart iTunes. You should file the media folder is shown as D:\iTunes Media and that your media still plays. Close iTunes once more, create a folder called D:\iTunes and move the .itl file, .itdb files, and the folders Album Artwork and iTunes Media inside it. Shift-start-iTunes once more and this time choose D:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl. The library should now work as intended.

tt2

As noted earlier see Make a split library portable - Apple Community to put your library in a shape which uses the default media path with respect to the library file (i.e. a folder called iTunes Media in the folder with the .itl file) so that this particular bug doesn't impact your library any more.

Exactly which steps need to be taken to reach the end point depend on the starting conditions. It may be best to copy your library files to D:\iTunes, access them there, reset the media folder to D:\iTunes\iTunes Media, then consolidate, and finally clean up the originals stored elsewhere. It depends if there is temporarily enough space to duplicate the entire media folder.

tt2

If your iTunes Media folder is set to an external (F: in your case), and you start iTunes without the external being accessible, iTunes will automatically revert to the local (C:).

Is there a reason that you're wedded to keeping the media folder as H:Files\Music\ALAC, other than it being the current location for your music? If you want to stop having to reset the media folder each time you run iTunes then this should do it:

With iTunes closed open your iTunes folder H:\Files\Music\iTunes. Copy the iTunes Library.itl file along with the the two .itdb files and the Album Artwork folder into H:\Files\Music, then press and hold down shift as you launch iTunes, click choose library when the option comes up, then browse to and open the file H:\Files\Music\iTunes Library.itl. Reset your media folder to H:\Files\Music\ALAC once more and check that your music plays. Now close iTunes, rename the folder ALAC as iTunes Media then restart iTunes. You should find the media folder is now shown as H:\Files\Music\iTunes Media and that your media still plays. Personally I'd close iTunes and rename H:\Files\Music as H:\Files\iTunes to complete the transition to a standard shape for the library, but that is optional.

tt2

allanwg wrote:

I let them log in to two different PCs and demonstrated the issue. I learnt something new. In 'upgrading' iTunes to 12.10.6.150 (the latest) I found that it sticks on the last folder you gave it in 12.9.3.3.

That is an interesting detail.

tt2

To select a library on a different path click the icon that launches iTunes and immediately press and hold down the shift key (alt/option on a Mac) and keep holding until a dialog box appears asking you to choose or create a library. No dialog? Quit iTunes and try again.

See my post above for details of how to prevent the problem of the media folder changing.

tt2

Hi NPZwar - sorry for the looong reply

I have the same problem in having multiple libraries for various reasons.

It is a real bug and started at 12.10.x.x

I joined this thread a while back and although turingtest2 (thank you) has been really helpful, it isn't a practical solution for many. The simple answer is it just needs a fix. I have experimented with all the itunes files & folders and the last working version is 12.9.3.3.

The problem is that the file "iTunes Library.itl" is not being updated. It might be a permissions thing but either way Apple needs to fix it. I had the thought that we are all on here complaining assuming Apple are reading this. It looks like they are not.

I made a call into the Apple help desk and they have been superb so far. They were oblivious to the problem. That may be because they all work on Macs and most people are happy with using the C drive. Either way the developers should be aware.

I let them log in to two different PCs and demonstrated the issue. I learnt something new. In 'upgrading' iTunes to 12.10.6.150 (the latest) I found that it sticks on the last folder you gave it in 12.9.3.3. I also showed them this forum. They are now investigating.

Great news though - As a workaround until they fix it you can download an older version v12.4.3 from https://support.apple.com/downloads/itunes

It is still available under "Download iTunes 12.4.3 for Windows (64-bit - for older video cards"

You might have to completely uninstall everything Apple as well as itunes as the app from Microsoft seems to dislike being removed by an older version.

They are trying to arrange an actual engineer to call me. Let's see what happens.

I switch between libraries on a regular basis using the hold-down-shift-(option on a Mac)-and-launch-iTunes method. If you copy your active library files into the folder immediately above your desired media folder and shift-start-iTunes it should open correctly. If your media folder isn't called iTunes Media, but the active .itl file is in the parent folder then you should be able to close iTunes, rename the media folder to iTunes Media, and open iTunes once more. It should fix all the links in the library and be able to play everything, and your library will now be in the default layout so the problem is no longer an issue.

tt2