itunes media folder keeps resetting back to default. I can't seem to keep Itunes direct to my media folder that I have on an external drive.

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

Extras and Genius don't update as frequently as the .itl. They'll be regenerated from data in the .itl if they go missing for reasons. The .itl one is they key.

The dated .itl is a recovery file. You can remove date and unnecessary spaces so the files become:

iTunes Library(.itl)

iTunes Library Extras(.itdb)

iTunes Library Genius(.itdb)

Then shift-start-iTunes to select the renamed .itl file.

The .tmp files are redundant and can be deleted. The .~lock... etc file isn't anything I'd expect to see and is probably unnecessary.

You can take a backup copy of the .itl file elsewhere so you can unwind any changes if you wish. Ideally you'll take a backup of the entire library folder before you move anything else around just in case something were to go wrong.

tt2

You could use my ConsolidateByMoving script after the fact, but I still think the best solution is get the library organized in the standard shape on your secondary drive, i.e. an iTunes library folder that contains the iTunes Media folder.

tt2

It is a bug - and we've being putting up with it for a very long time.

I think the reality is that Apple will never fix this issue now.

It is a particularly annoying bug; on the rare occasions that I rip a CD (or re-rip it to improve the Bit Rate) I nearly always forget to change the default folder location before the rip (and doing so, as far as I'm concerned, is the only solution). Consequently, new albums end up in the wrong place and re-ripped albums end up becoming duplicates, rather than replacements. I usually delete the work I've just done, change the setting and then repeat my previous efforts in order that my library remains tidy. It's extremely irritating.

You would think that a business dedicated to productivity would sort this out without hesitation.

Hi Phil,

This detail Music/iTunes/Previous iTunes Libraries/iTunes Media/Music tells me iTunes is using a .itl file in the folder Music/iTunes/Previous iTunes Libraries and is set to use the newer layout which puts music in the media folder into a Music subfolder before making folders for artists and albums. iTunes Music is the older name for the media folder. With this bug in mind I'd recommend giving in an using iTunes Media.

Should you want to tidy things up you could move the active .itl file, which will get an updated Modified Date each time you use the library, along with the supporting library files and the album artwork folder up into Music/iTunes, then shift-start-iTunes to choose the library on that new path. The media folder will then reset to Music/iTunes/iTunes Media. Options after that are either to consolidate to the new media folder and then manually clean up the originals (which will temporarily double up your media storage, assuming you even have room) or use the script I mentioned above to move things. There is a slightly more complicated route that avoids duplication or third party scripts which is outlined in Make a split library portable - Apple Community which I could turn into step-by-step advice if you want it.

BTW I've also got a script called CustomRenamer if you want to retain manual control/impose your own rules for some of the content.

tt2

Hi tt2,

I would have posted this in the other place, as this post is too long for this thread, but it's been so long since I posted in there I am no longer sure how to post to that specific community (Apple's layout does not provide sufficient reassurance on this point and I didn't want it posted in the wrong place).

Personally, I long ago gave up on preventing iTunes from changing the default folder, or even of keeping it to just a couple of different places.

By the time I considered your suggestion, a long time ago, iTunes had already gone past the point of no return as far as I was concerned. Currently, I want my default location to be my Music/iTunes/iTunes Music folder, as it was originally, but now on my D drive because the C drive is far too small on modern PCs. But what I actually have (on the D drive) is:

1. Music/iTunes/Previous iTunes Libraries/iTunes Media/Music - the current iTunes choice, with a lot of active music files in it. Why? Who knows? The oldest folder in there is from 2012 including, but not limited to, the first music I added to iTunes, but which most definitely was not originally put in a folder named Previous iTunes Libraries, or from as recently as 2012
   1. Music/iTunes/Previous iTunes Libraries/Previous iTunes Libraries, - yes, inside the folder above, but containing only old .itl files (the most recent of which, is from December 2022). There were active music files in there, which I relocated to somewhere far more sensible
2. Music/iTunes/iTunes Music - the original folder (originally on the C drive of my old machine), with the majority of my music files
3. Music/iTunes/iTunes Media - containing an empty sub-folder and a .PLIST file from 2012, but with no music files whatsoever
4. Music/Amazon MP3/../ - because that's where Amazon used to download purchases to, which were then automatically added to iTunes, by Amazon
5. Music/Purchased MP3/.../ - because that's a folder I created when I purchased music from other online sources and I followed the example set by Amazon. Contains sub-folders and music files from seven different sources, including direct from the artist
6. Oh - and countless old .itl files, another PLIST file and other assorted iTunes files with no known purpose

One noticeable thing in all this, the oldest file anywhere is only from 2012. The fact that I've been contributing to this community since the beginning of 2008 serves to remind me that my iTunes is from 2007, if not before.

On the upside (of all this mess), at least I know how to find the source file for any piece of the music in my Library.

Hi Steve,

I believe that I've identified the working .itl file, but I don't know why there is an active Extras file as well, last updated this morning, even though I have had iTunes open up to this minute:

I'll give careful thought to how I'm going to proceed as I have little desire to spend ages recovering from a failure. (I've suffered one before, which possibly explains the .itl file from Dec 2022.)

Thanks for your insight.

Phil