library.xml

If you want to back up your library on a daily basis, it is far better to save the .itl file rather than creating an .xml file. Just look for "iTunes Library.itl" since that file is your library -- back that up religiously, and if you need to recover you simply replace the .itl file with the backed up copy.

Even if you prefer to have an .xml file, iTunes automatically creates one each time you make any changes. Look for "iTunes Library.xml", but the .itl file is much easier (and probably more reliable) since you don't have to "import" it, just replace your corrupted .itl file with the backed up copy.

I have a similar query to this and have asked the question in a separate thread (so apologies if this duplicates).

My iTunes library became severly corrupt and I'm reluctant to mess around with it in anyway since it got fixed.

I have a Sonos wireless speaker system but it doesn't replicate my iTunes library successfully as I have two .xml files - and old one from when my Mac was first purchased (pre-corruption) and a newer one, which appears to be the "latest" xml file (constantly updates when I make any amends to iTunes).

Can I just delete the older view, or could it have any info in it that the "newer" xml file doesn't have?

I suspect that I can just delete it but I'm nervous after suffering severe problems when iTunes became corrupt previously.

Thank you

You can actually delete both .xml files, iTunes will just create a new one with no harm to your library. iTunes doesn't actually use the .xml file, that's for 3rd party apps to utilize library data. So, delete the older one, or both, doesn't matter.

I've deleted them both but unfortunately it doesnt quite reoslve my issue, which is with a wireless speaker system (Sonos).

The Sonos system doesn't accurately replicate iTunes. I thought it was because it was trying to read both xml files - as it was showing various old genres that I had, as well as the new ones. Hence, deleting the xml files and starting again should, in theory, have resolved the issue.

Any other ideas how I can resolve it?

Thank you

I can only suggest exploring things on the Sonos side, i.e. firmware update?

Sonos have suggested that mp3 files (as opposed to AAC files) within iTunes might be the issue, in that the ID3 Tag version needs to be 2.3 (rather than 2.4 or another).

Are there any implications from changing the ID3 tage of a track?

Jerry Dammers wrote:

Are there any implications from changing the ID3 tage of a track?

If you're going from v2.4 to 2.3, then no implications other than things may work better. For whatever reason, v2.4 is known to cause problems in iTunes, so Sonos' suggestion is probably correct.

You can change to 2.3 right from within iTunes, and if you make a smart playlist to gather up all your mp3's you can batch-convert them all to 2.3. Use the smart playlist criteria "Kind Contains mpeg", then select all tracks in the playlist, right-click, select "Convert ID3 Tags", check the "ID3 Tag Version" box and select version 2.3.

Although this should work just fine, you might want to back things up (your native files, and .itl library) before doing this. I would not anticipate any trouble (I've done this myself, but on an earlier version of iTunes) and had no problems.

Thanks...sadly though, it appears that the tracks which are in a "misclassified" Genre on Sonos are not MP3 files in iTunes, so that might not be the issue after all.

I have also noticed that I have a number of other "XML Documents" files. They are not "XML Text" files, which is how the iTunes file is labelled. The XML Documents are named odd things like "Grid", "Black Tie" and "Time Zones'. When I open them they are text only files. It's not immediately obvious what they relate to. Might these be causing confusion for Sonos in reading the .xml library file?

Perhaps the disappearing library problem has nothing to do with Sonos. See this post.

I'd be surprised if the Sonos software attempts to read anything other iTunes Music Library.xml or iTunes Library.xml (the filename depends on where your library is). Indeed it probably has a setting where you may already have entered the path.

tt2

btw, one thing I should point out, is that I'm using my Mac rather than Windows - I inadvertently ended up in this section when I saw the first post.

Aha, likely not AVG then, but if you have some background AV or archiving process that could have a similar effect. Or has the vanishing library problem gone away?

tt2

It's not a vanishing library issue thankfully. The issue I'm having is my Sonos wireless system is not reading the iTunes .xml library properly - so, for example, I have multiple genres on Sonos, whereas it looks fine on my Mac and iOS devices. I create my own Genres and use that as my primary method to navigate iTunes so it's a bit frustrating I can't replicate that on Sonos.

Ah yes, I'd read the original poster's issue and mixed it in with yours. 😕

Another potential issue with mp3 files is multiple tags where there is potential for iTunes to update only one set of data but other software to read a different set of information. In some circumstances iTunes can write data to one tag and then read back unchanged data from the other which can be most confusing as the update appears to take and then the values revert the next time the file is accessed.

Can you describe these "multiple genres" in more detail, what are you seeing?

tt2

Can you describe these "multiple genres" in more detail, what are you seeing?

I create my own Genres for every track in my library - around 15 genres.

Some of them change over time - e.g. "1: 2012" gets replaced by "1: 2013" and becomes "2: 2012", etc.

This all works fine on my Mac and iOS devices - I update/change the Genres and it shows immediately.

However, on Sonos I have "1: 2013" AND "1: 2012" - it's as if it's reading old iTunes libraries as well as my latest version.

Perhaps it maintains its own cache? Is it supposed to read the data from the xml alone or does it read tags from media files too?

tt2