Unexplained duplicate WAV files

Katrina, thanks for the 2nd or 3rd time. Having brought some ripped vinyl tracks into iTunes I must still have the input set to WAV to accommodate the ripping software. Now I know what's causing the problem I can sort it. Thanks once again.

Sorry but I clicked "Question answered" too soon. Couple of points in response:

1. I've checked Edit/Preferences/General and the import is definitely set to MP3 not WAV.
2. You refer to right-clicking and selecting "create WAV". I have only ever seen "Create MP3 version" as an option in iTv9 (and now v10) on my machine. So this is not something I am doing with keystrokes or mouseclicks.

I have recently downloaded tracks which were ripped from vinyl->WAV (not ->MP3!) into a library on the same drive as the iTunes library and Music folder and some have been pulled into the library using "Add ...". However this surely can't cause downloaded MP3s to be duplicated as WAV copies.

Any clarification would be really ⚠ helpful. Thanks.

OK. Not sure the thing is sorted completely but I'll look at your comment about "in combination" settings. However what's puzzling me is that I have had between 1 and 3 unexplained WAV copies "made" of files that definitely came in as MP3s and which I have not knowingly converted into WAVs. Fortunately iTunes + library are on an external HD so the unwanted WAVs aren't too much of a problem, but only for so long. Thanks again for the help.

Can I trouble you with one final question? I think I know the answer but, as the saying goes, assumption is the mother/father of all foul-ups.

I'm coming to the conclusion one way of dealing with this is just to delete iTunes (but copy the library somewhere safe!) and then re-load as a new user. I assume that resets everything in iTunes to 'factory settings' which means MP3 imports and no reason to create rogue WAV duplicates unless I instruct it to.

Sorry if this appears obvious but I need to know this will work because I suspect I'll have to do a lot more typing (to add artist/album and other details back in) than you will in answering this question. Thanks (once) again.

Yes I noticed that, however most of my music is downloaded via Amazon so comes in as MP3s.

I have spent an "enjoyable" evening converting all the WAVs to MP3s and deleting them, so I should now have a WAV-free library. Next off, I'm going to import something and play it, checking at each step whether a WAV copy has appeared in the library. Not sure that will get me to the root of the problem but it might isolate when it occurs. Thanks again for your help ... and your patience.

If I find the cause I'll post another message.

Now you've got me thinking - good spot. Yes, MediaPlayer IS set to WAV, though all these problems appear to have started some considerable time after I last used it to pull a CD onto my system.

For now I think I'll carry on as before but keep checking certain folders to see if the problem is continuing.

One other question. If I ℹ create a folder with the artist's name within the library folder, then (ii) create a sub-folder with album name, then (iii)copy tracks into it, will iTunes allow me to add the folder to the library even though it has been created manually, not by the app.? Thanks in anticipation (again!).

Thanks for all the suggestions and help you have provided on this topic. I think it’s time to call a halt but I have a final request for help which comes in 3 parts (sorry this is quite long). With this information I hope I can sort out the current mess that is my file management situation without losing content, though I don’t feel I’ve got to the bottom of the duplicate WAV issue yet.

1. I have purged the iTunes Library of WAV files (uniques or duplicates) however I have a suspicion some of the entries in the database are still pointing at files in another folder called Amazon MP3, which is where my downloads go. What I am planning to do is: (1) ensure the Edit/Preferences/Advanced settings are pointing at iTunes/Music/Library; (2) ensure the Copy files to iTunes Music box is ticked.

Amazon MP3 contains a mix of WAV and MP3 files. If I then run the Add Folder command, what happens if iTunes tries to copy a file from Amazon MP3 to iTunes/Music/Library and find it is already in the Library? Is it ignored (which is fine by me) or is there a risk an MP3 file in the Library will be over-written with a WAV track added in from the Amazon MP3 folder?

2. The Amazon MP3 folder is not located in the iTunes/Music folder structure. Is it better (or does it make no difference?) if I move it so it is a sub-folder within the iTunes folder structure before I do the actions above? I’m assuming the answer is there will be no difference except the structure of my music files will be better organised.

Belatedly I think I may have finally identified something that might have caused unplanned WAV copies to be produced. I have previously laboured under the assumption that if I was downloading from Amazon (say) then the setting in Edit/Preferences/Advanced needed to point to that as the library location. The more I’ve read the more I suspect this is wrong. And it makes me wonder what happens if I then instruct iTunes to Add Folder if this setting is pointing at a location that’s not in the iTunes folder.

3. As a result of a problem you pointed out earlier in this thread, when an unwanted WAV file is created (for whatever reason) iTunes can’t identify the artist or album details so it ends up in a folder called ‘Unknown album’. I’ve still got a lot of these!

In the last reply you mention creating folders and sub-folders and naming them. When I go into iTunes Library to try and re-name an ‘Unknown album’ folder I can’t do it. Is this because I am trying to over-write the file-pointing function embedded in iTunes and it stops me doing this so I don’t break the link between the Library database entry and the source file? If so, can I switch it off? I think earlier versions of iTunes had an option called ‘Manage Files Manually’ or similar but I don’t know if it still exists or where I can get to it. I guess an easier solution is probably just to add the text to the listing in the iTunes Database and not worry about the labelling in the folder structure.
From the reading I’ve done today two messages are clear: first, iTunes can manage everything for you so it’s best not to meddle (too late in my case); and second, read the manual first (too late again).

Anyway, thanks again for any light you can shine on these issues.

Thanks. Just to let you know I have just downloaded another MP3 using all the old "bad habits" I mentioned in the previous email. Initially (unsurprisingly given what I now know) it didn't appear in the library but once I added the folder there was no problem. Still pretty clueless about the WAV duplicates but I'll follow the instructions on your last post, clean up my files (and my act) and hopefully all will be well. Thanks once again for a final time.