This has been happening for several releases (including the current release 12.12.7.1) .
Obviously it breaks the feature.
Windows
There is a bug in recent builds of iTunes that, at least for some users, seems to stop the media folder preference from being saved properly. See Make a split library portable - Apple Community and put your library in a shape that isn't affected by the issue, and is easier to backup and move around in future.
tt2
There is a bug in recent builds of iTunes that, at least for some users, seems to stop the media folder preference from being saved properly. See Make a split library portable - Apple Community and put your library in a shape that isn't affected by the issue, and is easier to backup and move around in future.
tt2
I think the current iteration of the bug goes back to about iTunes 12.9.4. If Apple were going to pick up on it and fix it they really should have done so by now. I'm offering you a workaround that you can use today rather than wait. You don't have to change the layout of files within your media folder if you're looking after them manually, but adapting the library so that the .itl file is in the folder directly above the media folder, with the media folder named as iTunes Media should mean that you no longer need to manually reset the media folder to your preferred path each time you launch iTunes.
tt2
OK, so iTunes isn't guaranteed to play nicely with NAS either. I've heard sad tales of it losing files when rearranging them. Hopefully you have backups. Your best bet at this stage might be to uninstall your current version of iTunes and then install 12.9.3 (which IIRC is OK on this front, it was 12.9.4 that introduced the issue, again). Once you're accessed all of your libraries with 12.9.3 and correctly set their media folders you may be able to reinstall a more recent version of iTunes, but it isn't something I've tested.
If 12.9.3 won't open the libraries because they were created with a later version of iTunes there might be a workaround involving XML exports and imports, but that would reset your date added information.
Links to relevant builds should be found in the comments at the bottom of Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates - Apple Community
tt2
Hello smallest,
Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Communities. So, it sounds as though you're following the correct options as outlined here: Change where iTunes files are stored on PC. If that's the case, and it continues to change on its own, you might try contacting Apple Support to help identify the cause and work towards a solution. You can reach them at Get Support.
Best regards.
I corrected my first post. I think 12.9.4 reintroduced the bug, it was also in some builds way back when. Perhaps it has come and gone in some intermediate builds since 12.9.4, my libraries are all portable so it doesn't affect me personally. I don't know exactly what preference isn't getting updated, or where it is stored, I only know that I've seen plenty of people report it since 12.9.4 came out. It doesn't necessarily manifest itself with an existing library, unless perhaps something happens to cause iTunes to forget the existing setting, after which you cannot choose the folder you want and have it stick.
FWIW I have vague recollections that at one point it was easy to switch between multiple portable libraries, or multiple libraries each sharing a single media folder, but when switching from one type of library to the other you might need to update the media folder afterwards. iTunes has always been a bit of a logic puzzle.
tt2
I have many libraries, each one in folder with a distinct name, (E.g. iTunes, iTunes Classical, iTunes Match (although it is Apple Music now), iTunes Test, iTunes Deduper Test, etc.). In each library folder there is a media folder called iTunes Media. I can switch between the libraries by holding down shift as I launch iTunes. When I click choose library I'm presented with the folder the most recently active library is in. If I was only switching between two libraries I'd put a shortcut to the .itl file of the pop library in the classical folder, and a shortcut to the classical .itl in the pop folder to save having to browse.
I dearly wish Apple would simply fix the issue, but I have no way to get them to do so. In the meantime I will offer my best advice for managing libraries with things the way that they are.
tt2
This won't work for me because the media folder is shared by multiple library files. It can't be in a subfolder of the library file or trouble will occur when multiple iTunes instances try to use that folder.
I have:
/MusicNAS
.../iTunes 1
.../iTunes 1/iTunes1.ITL
.../iTunes 2
.../iTunes 2/iTunes2.ITL
.../Media
And each library file points to the Media folder. If the library files were in the same folder, they would step on each other.
Hi tt2,
You keep pushing this 'portable' solution, but that doesn't work if you're trying to maintain two, distinct iTunes libraries (eg, one for pop music and one for classical)
Please can you make that clear, because your advice only works for a *single* iTunes library solution
I already have the folder layout I need. It's been working for years.
This iTunes' bug has broken this.
This bug showed up (for me, at least) sometime in the last few months.
12.9.3 was from January of 2019. I would have noticed if this hadn't been working for three years.
iTunes resets Media Folder Location every restart