How do I transfer my iTunes library back from an external hard drive?

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How do I transfer my iTunes library back from an external hard drive?

Hi. Today, I bought a 1TB external hard drive, and I was very excited to transfer my music over to it. It worked fine for a couple of hours, but then, tragedy struck. Right in the middle of listening to a song, it stopped and Windows told me the device has malfunctioned. I tried everything, and I couldn't get it to work again. Luckily, I hadn't deleted the files from my internal hard drive, but I still have another problem. If I re-import all the music from my folders again, all my data such as playlists, ratings, and artwork is lost. I definitely don't want to do this again, but I don't know what else I can do. I can't set the default iTunes Media folder, because my albums are arranged in an iTunes Media folder to begin with. I can't simply put them all in iTunes Media folders, because I have 60 GB of music, and I want to keep spare copies without overblowing my internal hard drive. What do I do? Thanks.

Windows 7

Posted on Jan 14, 2013 9:59 PM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

278,193 points

Jan 15, 2013 1:45 AM in response to mfromnc

I'm guessing you "consolidated" the library to the new location. If so this technique should let you connect a working of your library from before the migration.

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash

Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.

See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.

When you get it all working make a backup!

...

An alternative approach would be to repair the broken links with my FindTracks script.

tt2

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