iTunes not locating files

If you copied the files to the same logical path on External B as they had on External A then it should just be a case of renaming the volumes so that your new drive has the same name as the old drive.

If that hasn't helped read on...

The "missing file" issue with exclamation marks happens if the file is no longer where iTunes or Music expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, one of its parent folders, the drive it lives on has had a name change, or you've moved a non-portable library to a different path (see Make a split library portable for details). It is also possible that iTunes or Music have changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout, or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place, or that you've been too aggressive when deleting duplicates at some point.

Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Cmd-I to get Song Info, then click No when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the file tab for the location the library thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drives. Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, a folder renamed, or a drive label has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions. If the difference between the two paths is an additional Music folder in one path then this is a layout issue. I can explain further if that is the case. If everything is where it is supposed to be try Repair security permissions for iTunes for Mac - Apple Community.

In some cases the library may be able to repair itself if you go through the same steps with Get Info, or when playing a track, but this time click Locate and browse to the lost track. It may then offer to attempt to automatically fix other broken links. Although it says something like "use the same location" I think it expects to find the tracks in the same artist & album layout they were in previously, with one systematic change to the path.

If you want me to try to provide specific advice please post back the following details:

1. The location of the media folder under iTunes|Music > Preferences > Advanced
2. The location of a sample missing track shown under Song Info > File > Location that begins file://
3. The true path to the file whose details you gave in 2

See also FixLinks - an AppleScript to repair broken links in Music - Apple Community.

tt2

Changing the media folder location doesn't change where the library files are stored. Moving the content manually only works in certain specific circumstances. All covered in Make a split library portable. It may be easier to unwind what you've done so far to get your library working properly again, copy the library files to the new drive, reset the media folder, and then consolidate to the new path.

tt2

Starting with a working instance of the library and both external drives connected.

1. Close Music
2. Copy the folder ~/Music/Music folder from internal storage to <External B> as <External B>/Music
3. Press and hold down option as you launch Music and keep holding until prompted to choose or create a library
4. Click Choose, then browse to and open <External B>/Music/Music Library(.musiclibrary)
5. Check the content plays without issue (stop here and ask for advice if it doesn't)
6. Use Music > Preferences > Files > Reset to reset the media folder to <External B>/Music/Media
7. Use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate Files

Once consolidation is complete the library inside <External B>/Music should work on another Mac running Catalina or higher using the option-start-Music method. It may be the case that if you access the library on Big Sur it won't open on Catalina again. Not something I've tested, but sometimes a newer version makes internal changes to the database that are not backwards compatible. You might take a copy of <External B>/Music/Music Library(.musiclibrary) before you open it in Big Sur as a precaution.

tt2

Step 2 is copying the active library database from your internal drive to <External B>. The normal location is ~/Music/Music where ~ is your user's home folder. You can check the last modified date of Music Library(.musiclibrary) inside that folder to confirm it is the active library file updated the last time you used Music.

Using this approach makes a separate library on <External B> that is independent of the current computer or the other external drive. Because you start with a copy of the database and consolidate (copy) files all of the original data stays in place. Letting Music copy the files means everything ends up where the library wants it to live rather than in some arrangement based on the history of your iTunes library over the years. You should option-start-Music again to switch back to the original library before removing <External B>.

tt2

As given step 6 should be:

Use Music > Preferences > Files > Reset to reset the media folder to <External B>/Music/Media

At this stage you will accessed a copy of the library on External B so that the library on External A isn't affected by the steps you're taking. The library file will be <External B>/Music/Music Library.musiclibrary and the reset button should change the media folder to <External B>/Music/Media.

Step 7 brings in copies of what is elsewhere, again leaving the original library as is. Once consolidation is complete the library on <External B> can operate independently of <External A> and should function correctly if moved to another computer.

tt2

DrNancyP wrote:

Thanks so much

I’ve started the process and so far so good!

it’s now consolidating 🤞🏻

assuming that works ok once that’s done can I just physically copy and paste the media folder and lib file from external B to another external to create a further backup?

You'd copy the entire Music folder, which has the Media folder inside it, so there is only one thing to copy.

also moving forward will the external A library always be stored on the internal? Or is it possible to keep it with the media files on external A ? I’m just thinking about how best to organise things to make back ups easy moving forward?

You can clone the now portable Music library on External B back to External A, and then remove the traces of the old library. Or the other way around if space is tight.

I assume if I move the library file and then choose that file when opening up itunes that would then continue saving to the new location?

Yes, each library should use its own selected media folder.

hoping this will have worked! Once the consolidation has finished I’ll have a full test and see if the files are there :)

Best of luck.

tt2

You can see https://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=mxlistmias for a script you can use to confirm there are no dead links in the library. If you've also consolidated the library to the media folder on external B then you've know it is self-contained and independent of the content on external A. That done you can delete the old version of the library on external A and copy over the Music folder from external B to external A so you have two separate working copies of the library.

tt2