iTunes is duplicating songs in my Library

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Uchiha1911 Author

Level 1

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iTunes is duplicating songs in my Library

Hey there!

Once again, I'm calling in for assistance.
Since the first day I've purchased my MacBook, iTunes has been duplicating songs in my Library when I add them. This, however, doesn't occur with all albums I add to my iTunes Library.

Thing is, I DO want iTunes to copy the music over to the iTunes folder so that it gets organized and that I can put the downloaded music in the recycle bin. Now I manually have to delete all the duplicate songs, which isn't the perfect solution to the problem. It isn't a solution at all, actually.

Thanks for the help!

MacBook Pro 13' 2.4 GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Aug 11, 2010 2:24 AM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Jun 28, 2017 1:33 PM in response to MobileStrike

iTunes may create duplicates if the same content is repeatedly added from outside the media folder when it is set to make copies of anything that is added to the library, or is added from an external drive that hosts the media folder that was offline when iTunes was launched.

Apple's official advice on duplicates is here: Find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. It is a manual process and the article fails to explain some of the potential pitfalls such as lost ratings and playlist membership, or that sometimes the same file can be represented by multiple entries in the library and that deleting one and recycling the file will break any others.

Start in the Songs view. Use View > Show Duplicate Items (pre iTunes 12.4) or File > Library > Show Duplicate Items (post 12.4) and then click Same Album to display exact duplicates as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks, however this works best when performed immediately after the dupes have been created. If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin.

Use my DeDuper script (Windows only) if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background on the script, this post for detailed instructions, and please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping.

(If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed.)

The most recent version of the script can tidy dead links as long as there is at least one live duplicate to merge stats and playlist membership to, and should cope sensibly when the same file has been added via multiple paths.

tt2

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Answer 2

Jun 28, 2017 12:26 PM in response to Uchiha1911

Apple is there a way to fix this horrible annoying glitch? I have 700 songs and now I have to go from folder to folder in the audio music iTunes folder to erase this.... ....... ........... ........... ........ ....... add functionality that removes duplicates from the library .... *** this will take forever... now I have every song playing twice before it gets to the next song. Ty

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Answer 3

Jun 28, 2017 1:21 PM in response to MobileStrike

Hi,

You are not addressing Apple here! Bearing in mind that you are replying to a post that is almost 7 yrs old, I suggest that you start a new post, detailing you problems! with details of your OS and version of iTunes. Someone on this forum may be able to suggest a solution.

JIm

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Answer 4

Aug 11, 2010 2:53 AM in response to Uchiha1911

Where are the original music files stored before you import them into itunes?

Also, what is the location of your itunes library folder? (The default is /users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media).

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Answer 5

Uchiha1911 Author

Level 1

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Aug 11, 2010 3:11 AM in response to tobacco_slammers

They're stored in User/Downloads. The default folder is being used for iTunes storage, which you stated above.

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Answer 6

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Aug 11, 2010 8:48 AM in response to Uchiha1911

There are two options which control how iTunes manages your files. The *Keep iTunes media folder organised* preference tells iTunes to rename files that are inside the iTunes media folder to take account of any changes you make to the tag, e.g. correcting a spelling in an album name. The *Copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library* option tells iTunes to do just that, make a copy of anything that you add to iTunes that isn't already inside the iTunes media folder. When iTunes make the copy it forgets about the original, so it's up to you not to add the same thing twice. Alternatively move the files inside the iTunes before adding and then iTunes will recognise them as part of it's library next time. The easiest way, if you're happy letting iTunes manage your files, is simply to move new stuff into the *Automatically add to iTunes* folder. If you prefer to organise things your way when put the files where you want them and use a tool like iTunes Folder Watch or just drag them in by hand.

tt2

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Answer 7

Aug 11, 2010 10:12 AM in response to Uchiha1911

Ok. I was checking to make sure that you weren't downloading files straight into the iTunes folder then trying to copy them back into it again.

Other than you importing the files twice, I can't see how you are ending up with all these duplicates!

Are all of these files actual duplicates of the same file or are they files with the same name but different attributes?

i.e:
1. The song names are the same but the files are from different albums
2. The files are different formats (one is aac, other is mp3 etc)

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Answer 8

Uchiha1911 Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 12, 2010 12:08 AM in response to turingtest2

turingtest2 wrote:
There are two options which control how iTunes manages your files. The *Keep iTunes media folder organised* preference tells iTunes to rename files that are inside the iTunes media folder to take account of any changes you make to the tag, e.g. correcting a spelling in an album name. *The *Copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library* option tells iTunes to do just that, make a copy of anything that you add to iTunes that isn't already inside the iTunes media folder. When iTunes make the copy it forgets about the original, so it's up to you not to add the same thing twice.* Alternatively move the files inside the iTunes before adding and then iTunes will recognise them as part of it's library next time. The easiest way, if you're happy letting iTunes manage your files, is simply to move new stuff into the *Automatically add to iTunes* folder. If you prefer to organise things your way when put the files where you want them and use a tool like iTunes Folder Watch or just drag them in by hand.

tt2

Your comment about the Copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library cleared something up for me, which raises even more questions. I thought maybe the songs that are copied and the originals are still recognized, which results in duplicate songs inside iTunes. When following your saying, this is not applicable. This would mean that the songs in the iTunes Media folder are twice in iTunes. And no, I'm not adding them twice..

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Answer 9

Uchiha1911 Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 12, 2010 12:09 AM in response to tobacco_slammers

Same format, same album =)

Let's say I'll add album 'X' with songs a, b and c on it.

Sometimes my iTunes library will look like this:

Album 'X'

a
a
b
b
c
c

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Answer 10

Aug 12, 2010 5:16 AM in response to Uchiha1911

could you post a screenshot of an album with the duplicates? Including all the common menu options?

This might make it easier to figure out 😉

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Answer 11

Uchiha1911 Author

Level 1

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Aug 16, 2010 2:02 AM in response to tobacco_slammers

You should be able to see the screenshots right here: http://s870.photobucket.com/albums/ab266/Uchiha1911/

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Answer 12

Aug 16, 2010 3:21 AM in response to Uchiha1911

In the last screenshot, you can see that there are duplicates of the files but you can't view all of the info on these files.

I suspect that you have imported them to your iTunes library and somehow re-imported them again in a different file type.

Cmd click (or right click) on the columns in your library and highlight the "Kind" column to view what the file types are. Also, highlight the "date added" column to see what info is available here.

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Answer 13

Oct 15, 2010 5:39 PM in response to Uchiha1911

I have this happen a lot and it's very frustrating. I get a lot of audiobooks on CD from the public library and load them into my iTunes to listen to.

If the CD is recognized by iTunes I get the pop-up window asking if I want to import the CD. I answer yes and the book is added to my library. Simple.

However, if I don't get the pop-up window and I have to go to File>Add to Library>Select CD, this is when I get duplicates. You can see a narrow bar with blue and white stripes while the files are being processed. Then, up in the iTunes window, you can see it copying each file that it just processed.

Why does it copy in one instance and not the other?

During both these instances, I have checked the box in Preferences that says "Copy files to iTunes Media Folder when adding to library". I don't know yet if this will make a difference if I uncheck it.

Message was edited by: Franulator to update her computer stats

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Answer 14

kelkan

Level 1

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Dec 6, 2010 8:14 PM in response to tobacco_slammers

i have same problem. i just add to one album to library and duplicate them.... annoying

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