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Level 4

1,523 points

iTunes missing files (tracks)

I decided to move my iTunes Media folder to an external drive. I followed the article in Macworld Christmas 2011 (p.71), "Move your iTunes Media folder", to the letter.

Unfortunately iTunes did not move my entire library; of over 30,000 files, it left more than 5,000 alone. These tracks were then marked as 'lost'.

When this happens, there's no going back. If you don't mind losing all your ratings etc., you can find which items are missing & drop them on iTunes to start again. But if that isn't an option, you have to locate each track — an estimated 48 hours work in my case.

You can either locate the files in their original locations, & then consolidate the library (which copies them to the new Media folder), or you can move them first & then locate them in their new locations. That's slightly quicker, so that's the route I took.

The problem is that there doesn't seem to be a shortcut to locating the "missing" tracks. They're all in the right places, & nothing has changed, but once iTunes marks them as missing the only way to locate them is individually (under certain circumstances you may be asked if iTunes should look for more files in the same folder, but as many people have remarked, it doesn't actually do so when you click on 'Okay').

I tried looking for scripts that could automate this task. I downloaded three scripts from Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes, namely "Fix Missing Tracks", "List MIAs" & "iTunes Track CPR". The latter was the most promising, since it should in theory look for all selected missing tracks & locate them in the new Media folder, thereby locating them. However, it kept giving the self-contradictory result "Recovered: 0 / Still MIA: 0".

So… any suggestions? Any more up-to-date scripts to address this issue?

iTunes 10.5.2

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8), Logic Studio 8.0.2, Occam's Razor Pro

Posted on Dec 25, 2011 4:05 AM

Best reply

Limnos

Level 10

411,223 points

Posted on Dec 25, 2011 6:03 AM

There is a way of going back and that is to use your backup you make of your hard drive before doing major changes on your computer.

I don't have the MacWorld article. First, there are two processes and you need to decide which you want to do. One is just moving your media folder but leaving all your other iTunes files on your computer. I believe this is usually accomplished by changing the media folder location in preferences and then consolidating the collection. The other (and generally preferred) process is moving your whole iTunes folder and all related files to another drive by copying the whole iTunes folder to the external drive, then starting starting iTunes with the option key held down to show it the new location.

I don't know of any other scripts for sorting out broken links other than the ones you noted.

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16 replies

Limnos

Level 10

411,223 points

Dec 29, 2011 2:06 PM in response to Caramby

Looks good. I made a few modifications:

First, use Time Machine or other means to back up your computer before undertaking any major modifications. Should something go wrong you can always revert to the original configuration and start again.

If your Media folder is not in your iTunes folder, & you would like to move it all to another drive, the safest solution is to choose "Default" for the location of your Media folder your iTunes Advanced Preferences, & then to check "Consolidate Library" via File > Library > Organize Library.

This will copy (not move) all your media files back into your iTunes folder, so you need to be sure you have enough space on your drive for two complete sets of media files.

You can then use the Finder to copy the entire iTunes folder (which now includes your Media folder) to an external drive. Also see: iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751

To start using the external iTunes folder instead of the old one on your internal drive, hold down the "Option" key while launching iTunes. You will be asked to locate an iTunes Library file, so navigate to the one in the iTunes folder on your external drive.

From now on, it will be that external folder being used unless you specify otherwise, or you forget to mount the external drive before starting iTunes. Should you forget to do that iTunes will default to the internal drive and find no files there, giving you an empty library. Don't worry. You will need to start iTunes with the option key held down and again guide it to the library on the external drive.

You can now delete the original Media folder, as well as the iTunes folder on your internal drive — although obviously you should check everything is working before & after each deletion.

iTunes missing files (tracks)