Songs missing in iTunes but no icon showing missing songs

That message is limited in its helpfulness (I know, I've had the same problem that you are now reporting, except that it involved far more songs). When iTunes offers to find the additional missing songs, it looks in the same folder as the one you navigated to when you found the song you were looking for. So if the songs are not in that same folder, iTunes still won't find them.

When you next see the message, check the + list and see whether you can spot a common theme with the missing songs. Are they all from the same artist, or the same (various artists) compilation album for example? If they are, or if you do see a common factor, that may help you find the song entry in your Library. For example, if all the songs are from the same artist, but from different albums (so in different sub-folders), you can then check them in your Library to see whether they play. As you probably know, if you ask iTunes to play a song, but it cannot find the file for it, it places an exclamation mark next to the song title. If you get to that stage, you can then use iTunes' error message to navigate to the correct folder, based on the usual folder structure that iTunes uses.

You may well know this, but generally, when iTunes downloads songs from the iTunes Store, or copies them from CD, it puts the files for the songs into folders based on the artist name, and then a sub folder for each album, all within the iTunes folder. I realise it may not if you have bought songs from Amazon for example. That will depend upon where you put them.

One thing that might reduce the time taken to find the songs is that if you find another missing song and then ask iTunes to check again, it will check in that folder, not the one it looked in last time. For example:

• you manage to find one song and get it back into your library. Once that's done, you agree to iTunes' suggestion that it look for the other songs, but when it checks that same folder, it finds no additional missing songs
• but the next time you look for a "missing song", because the song is in a different folder to the last one, you look in that different folder, so when iTunes checks that folder for additional songs, it finds one or two more of the missing ones, thus reducing your list by three instead of one. (It's a long shot, but you never know...)

It's irritating, I know. Unfortunately, it's simply what one has to go through sometimes, in order to maintain a library of music, particularly if you have a large library.

Rocketboy57 wrote:

So I sometimes have to overwrite the original metadata in the songs on an album, and of course, that's rife with things than go wrong

Where do you edit the metadata and what precisely do you mean by metadata? Experience tells me that we may have different definitions of metadata, which may lead to misunderstandings that in turn mean that we're talking at cross purposes. So read on and ensure that "we're on the same page".

To me, metadata is found when editing the file in Windows Explorer. But that's the last place you should be editing a song that you have already added to your iTunes Library.

Once a song is listed in iTunes, any changes to the file (of that song) should be made in iTunes. One does this by editing the "tags" for the song (note my distinction between the file and the song: the file is what iTunes looks for and uses when you want to play the song, or copy it to a portable device.)

So if you edit the file in Windows Explorer, then iTunes will lose track of that file and that will be why you're having issues.

You should (and can) edit the tags in your iTunes Library. I realise that this leaves the filename as "The Yes" but it could be left that way (that's funny - the digital files must have been created by someone with no interest whatsoever in Yes). If you really want to rename the file (or the folder with the artist name), then iTunes will lose track of the location of the file and you will have to use iTunes to re-attach each song to its file. I admit, I would probably make those changes in my Library and then go through the process of re-attaching the songs to their files.

When you see the message telling you about the missing songs, there should be a + with the message. Click on the + symbol to see a list of the missing songs.

It does make sense, albeit that you seem to be making additional work for yourself by working on the file outside iTunes. Luckily, your deletion of the song from iTunes first saves you from more hassle. But, apart from moving files from the compilations folder to the correct one, I think everything else can be done in iTunes.

You're right, a lot of albums are incorrectly tagged as compilations. That's down to the record companies. I'm sure you've worked out by now that iTunes thinks of compilations as purely various artist albums, while record companies often treat a collection of songs from various periods of an artist's career as a compilation. Hence the issue. (I'm with Apple on this point.) I usually leave files in the folders they first go into, on the basis that when I need to know where a file is located, I use iTunes to tell me: select the song and click on Edit/Song Info/File/location (shortcut is CTRL+I/File/location). Or even right-click the song/Show in Windows Explorer which opens up the folder with the song's file.

But there's another tip for those occasions when you're importing from CDs: use the Show CD option so that you have the opportunity to change some of the incorrect information before you copy the CD. For example, turning off the incorrect "compilation" flag (3.):

The flag was not on for this album, but that's the field to catch before importing the CD. It should be off for albums such as this artist compilation. The Show CD option can be found in Edit/Preferences/General>When you insert a CD: Show CD.

Hopefully, by now, you have a good idea of why you occasionally have problems, and possibly how to stop them from happening. Other than that, you may, as you suggest, just have to live with it. It's all part of the fun of having a sizeable collection of music. (I speak from fifty-five years of experience.)

Don't forget to spend some time listening to your music!

You're welcome.