Why can't I see my music?

I have the same problem; I followed the directions in the article but there's nothing there now

Is your exHD connected BEFORE you start itunes, as it mentions in the note?


+Note: If you move your library to an external drive, you'll need to power up and connect the drive before starting iTunes. If you don't, iTunes will prompt you to either locate the library or to create a new library (which will result in an empty library). No matter what, it's always a good idea to have a backup of the media you have in iTunes.+

Yes it was. If I go into the exHD, the files are there, but I start iTunes, there is nothing

Make sure Windows Explorer is set to SHOW (not hide) file extensions.
Search the PC's drive and the exHD for all files that have an extension of ITL.


You are looking for a file named
iTunes Library.itl
iTunes by default uses one on the C: drive in your user\music\itunes folder. Clearly that is not the one you want it to use, since it is empty.

Okay, I found it on the C drive, now what?

That's it? You only found one? Sadly I think that is the one that is blank.
I was hoping you'd find several and one of them would be good.


I don't know what happened. Those directions in that article shouldn't erase the database file, unless you did not notice the warning about it in step 11:
+Note: Don't remove the iTunes library files that may be in the same location as the iTunes Media folder. For more information about the iTunes library files, see What are the iTunes library files?+



If it's not in the recycle bin and you don't have another copy, it's gone. THe only thing you can do now is re-add all your music, rebuild playlists and re-do the ratings. Bummer1