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what happened to my playlists? I just loaded version 11.0.4.4 and all my playlists and songs uploaded from CDs to iTunes disapeared!!!!

what happened to my playlists? I just loaded version 11.0.4.4 and all my playlists and songs uploaded from CDs to iTunes disapeared!!!!

Dell Latitude E6500, Windows 7

Posted on Jun 18, 2013 11:03 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 18, 2013 11:20 AM

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. Note that in iTunes 11 an "empty" library may show your past purchases with links to stream or download them.


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 as iTunes Library (Corrupt) 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.


User uploaded file


Alternatively, depending on exactly when and why the library went missing, there may be a more recent .tmp file in the main iTunes folder that can be renamed as iTunes Library.itl to restore the library to a recent state.


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!


Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library, or a backup of it, then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.


tt2

112 replies

Nov 27, 2013 1:28 AM in response to marnieshadow

Is the media still inside the media folder? If so you can roll back to an older working version of the library in the way that I have outlined. Double-clicking one of the files in the Previous iTunes Libraries folder will make iTunes open, but won't change which library file is actually opened. You need to use the rename and copy instructions so that you replace the active iTunes Libray.itl file with a copy of one recovered from the Previous iTunes Libraries folder.


tt2

Nov 27, 2013 7:52 AM in response to railinbuff

You're supposed to copy/paste/rename .itl files in the manner described in my initial post to this thread.

Your media should normally be in <User's Music>\iTunes\iTunes Media\<Etc.> not <User's Music>\iTunes\Previous iTunes Libraries.


Was your library working properly on this computer before you reinstalled iTunes, or is there something you've left out of the picture?


Might be best to follow-up in your thread.


tt2

Nov 28, 2013 1:07 PM in response to turingtest2

Even trickier: updating to 11.1.3.8 seems to have deleted or hidden everything except my music itself. My playlists AND my previous libraries and even my iTunes Media folder are all gone, so I can't follow TuringTest's great instructions.


iTunes is set up to look for my library in <user>/music/iTunes /iTunes Media. But the only content in music/iTunes is now the album folders.


Yet when I do a Windows Explorer search for .itl files, I learn that at least two things still exist:

<user>/music/iTunes /iTunes Library.itl

<user>/music/iTunes /Previous iTunes Libraries <dates>.itl


How can I made my libraries visible again so I can fix things? Displaying hidden files in Windows Explorer doesn't do the trick.


Thanks, everyone (or thanks TuringTest, since you seem to be the god of all things iTunes!).

Nov 28, 2013 1:19 PM in response to mmca9876

Have you inadvertently relocated the iTunes Media folder? What exactly do you see inside C:\Users\<User>\Music? Do you see the .itl files revealed by search? What about the iTunes Media (or iTunes Music) folder?


In the unlikely event that something weird has happened with NTFS security permissions to prevent you from seeing the media this might help: Repair iTunes Security Permissions.


If the media is still on the iPod and it really comes down to it see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device. Once the media has been restored you could pull back a previous library to restore your old playlists, ratings etc. if you use a media only recovery process.


tt2

Nov 28, 2013 2:42 PM in response to mmca9876

The media are still there and apparently all accessible; only the playlists vanished. And it turns out that iTunes Media is still there as C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media; thanks for prompting me to check more closely. But . . .

a) In Windows Explorer, C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media contains only an empty folder called Automatically Add to iTunes and a folder for iPod Games. No Library or Previous Libraries.

b) Nonetheless, the Windows Explorer search function locates files entitled C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\Library and C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\Previous iTunes Libraries\iTunes Library <date>.

c) Meantime, all my media have been relocated from the iTunes Media folder into the parent folder C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\ (which explains why I didn't spot the iTunes Media folder among them).


The security permissions appear to be set correctly, per your post. I also tried using edit, preferences, advanced to change the location of the iTunes media folder to just C:\Users\marie_000\Music\iTunes. No libraries appeared, so I set it back. Any other thoughts?

Nov 28, 2013 3:20 PM in response to mmca9876

Here are typical layouts for the iTunes folders:


User uploaded file


Your Artist folders ought to be inside C:\Users\marie_000\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\ with the other media specific folders inside C:\Users\marie_000\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\ however I don't want to suggest moving them by hand as yet.


First go back to the original post in this thread and try the library copy and renaming techniques to restore one of the dated libraries. Don't include the .itl file extension in the renamed file if you don't already see it otherwise you're creating a file called iTunes Library.itl.itl which won't be picked up. Once the library is listing your media we can discuss how to move it into the correct structure, or repair things if it is full of broken links.


tt2

Nov 28, 2013 4:14 PM in response to turingtest2

Wild but interesting: Turns out I had to right click on the .itl files found during the search, choose properties, choose advanced, then set "allow this file to have contents indexed in addition to file properties." Then I could see my libraries again and revert to an old library following your first post.


So will it work to just hand-move everything into C:\Users\marie_000\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\ or will I need to do something fancier to tidy up?


Thanks!

what happened to my playlists? I just loaded version 11.0.4.4 and all my playlists and songs uploaded from CDs to iTunes disapeared!!!!

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