k2kitty wrote:
I don’t want to lose music that I legitimately bought from iTunes that is not showing up in my new library.
Then download that additional music from the iTunes Store, into your iTunes Library (on your computer) and then do the Sync setup and allow a Sync. (You will need to sign into your iTunes account in your iTunes Library in order to download the new music.)
The reason for all this is that your iPod can only synchronise with one Library. To Sync with a new Library (which is what you're now doing) iTunes needs to delete the content of your old Library from your iPod. However, if your new Library is made from a backup of your old one, then all your old music is in your new iTunes Library, isn't it?
As for the new music, presumably bought by using the iPod to buy it directly from the iTunes Store, then as mentioned above, download it into your Library.
Finally, Playlists and Play Counts etc:
does your new Library have the Playlists that you have on the iPod? If your backup was only of your music and not the iTunes control files (the .itl file), then any Playlists, Play Counts and ratings given to songs may not be in your Library, or not up to date. In that event, you'll either have to lose them and start again or - spend time re-creating the Playlists and editing song ratings, before you sync your iPod to your new Library.
Your Action Plan:
- in iTunes (on your computer), sign into your iTunes account
- download your newly purchased music from the store, into your iTunes Library
- make sure that all the music on your iPod is now in your new iTunes Library, either from;
- your backup of your old Library
- by downloading the new store purchases from the iTunes Store
- re-downloading any music you purchased (as mp3s etc.) from other sources such as Amazon from your account with that particular store
- re-importing from any CDs that you used
- if any music is missing, you need to re-add it to your Library now
- decide what you're going to do about any missing Playlists etc. as mentioned above - and then do that work
- once your Library has all your music in it, setup the Sync options I outlined in my previous post and allow a Sync to take place
- the music that was on your iPod will be deleted, but it will be replaced by that same music from your new Library
I realise this is a faff, but I think this is what you will have to do in order to ensure you don't lose songs.
There is a method for moving your iTunes Library from one computer to another (or in your case, rebuilding your computer) but for this occasion, you'll have to make do with this revised method. More crucially, always maintain a backup of all your music. An iPod is not a suitable backup. You should backup the entire iTunes Music folder (complete with the iTunes .itl file that's in it) to external storage and keep it up to date. The .itl file tells iTunes what rating you've given to songs, the last time a song was played and the total number of plays - and it keeps your Playlists.