"I also took a look at your links, I have no idea how to use scripts"
Right from Otto's main page via the second link I gave you...
To use any of them, just download them, rename them to a *.js file, then run them like any other program (double click, select and press enter, type the name from a command prompt, etc). If you have all the defaults in XP or have the Windows Scripting Host installed on other Windows boxes, then the wscript.exe program actually runs the scripts, much like cmd.exe runs batch files. Same idea, anyway. The scripts connect to iTunes as a COM object and use it in that fashion. Works really well and is quite handy for scripting tasks in iTunes. Yeah, it doesn’t actually integrate or anything, but it’s still useful.
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‘Refresh/Rebuild’ Your iTunes Library
If you changed your music locations by hand (not allowing iTunes to manage the move), want to remove duplicate song references, or just have confused iTunes too much, these steps will re-initialize your Library for you. Read it completely through and do the small trial run prior to implementing the whole thing:
First, make sure that iTunes is correctly looking in the right Folder for your song files.
--- Make sure you know the current location of your music files (best to confirm this)
--- In iTunes choose: Edit==>Preferences==>’Advanced/General’ tab
--- Select 'Change' and browse to the music folder in your PC drive (if it isn’t already)
--- Click OK to save that setting
-- In iTunes: Edit==>Preferences==>’Advanced/General’ tab.
---- Make sure that the 'Keep iTunes Music folder organized’ box is
checked (if you want iTunes to organize your folder structure)
---- Also, that the ‘Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library’ box is
unchecked
-- Click ’OK’ to accept and close the Preferences dialogue box.
-- Single click on the "Library" in the Source Pane
-- Single click first track in the Library
-- Select all songs (any one of several ways)
-- Delete – or select ‘Clear’ (yes, delete them all)
There will be 2 dialog boxes that pop up (one at a time). The first one asks ‘Are you sure you want to remove the selected items from the list?’ The second asks if you want the files moved to Recycle Bin or to keep them in the iTunes folder. You DO NOT want to send the files to the recycle bin, so select ‘Keep Files’. This will only delete the song reference links (both valid and broken). It will not delete the actual music files on your hard drive.
IMPORTANT:
Perform a small test of this prior to doing it en mass. If you do not receive both dialogue boxes, then stop and see this link prior to continuing. You will need to reset your iTunes preferences and also retrieve the ‘deletion test’ song files from the Recycle Bin.
Scott P.: My Source List is missing (or, resetting the prefs)
Also note: 'Deleting and Restoring' the song references will reset the Play Count, Ratings, Date Added, Last Played, Ratings, and EQ attributes (there may be a few others). It will remove all song references from any Static Playlists you have. Also, any Smart Playlists that depend on any of the aforementioned attributes will be impacted. This may be a small price to pay to recover your Library -- or not.... You can ‘Export’ your Playlists to an XML file for ‘Importing’ after the refresh. This can restore your static playlists. The export only saves the song info, not the underlying music files. Of course, exporting your playlists is to be done before you delete any song references within iTunes.
Once your song references are removed from iTunes, this is how to get them back:
1 - In iTunes: File==>Add Folder to Library
2 - Browse to your main iTunes folder and select it
3 - For multiple music file locations, repeat 1 & 2
Depending on how small/large your music library is, the speed of your computer and your amount of RAM, this could take a few minutes to a few hours.
Your library should now be back to normal.
