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lost itunes media folder?

I tried to move my iTunes library onto an external hard drive to be able to access it there and make more space on my laptop. So I dragged and dropped my itunes library onto the external hard drive with no problem. Then I deleted the old itunes library on the laptop.


When I tried to open my library I could only see my Music but none of my TV shows and Movies. I tried to change the location of the itunes library as well in the advanced pane in preferences but couldn't get it to point to the iTunes library on my hard drive for some reason?? and then when I checked inside the iTunes folder I noticed that the iTunes Media folder was missing...


I resorted to moving the itunes library off the ExtHrdv and putting it back on my laptop with hopes that it would all magically work properly again but it's not. I still can't find see my movies and tv shows. The music is there but nothing else. I think my Media folder has disappeared? But not sure how that happened if I grabbed the whole itunes folder and moved it...the media folder was in the itunes library folder....


I feel i've really jumbled things, but know that my movies can always be downloaded. How do I fix this? How do I get my media folder back? Do I just re-download all the stuff that's missing. Will it be put into an invisible Media folder somewhere? And how do I move it all onto the external hard drive properly?


Thanks

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Sep 3, 2013 5:20 AM

Reply
4 replies

Sep 3, 2013 6:43 AM in response to ffiti

No, what I dragged was the iTunes library in my Music folder. I checked it. So what I don't understand is why I've lost my TV shows and Movies but NOT my music? I have not lost everything which is strange. And my Media folder which reside inside the iTunes library is not there. (I checked this before transfering and it was there).


And am I correct in assuming I can just re-download all my content anyway? I haven't really lost everything seeing as iTunes remembers your purchase history. It will be a bit of a drag to re down load but my question is where will it all go when I redown load.


And then when I've repopulated everything on my laptop, what should I do differently to ensure I've done it correctly?


Thanks

Sep 4, 2013 6:25 PM in response to Canozzie11


No, what I dragged was the iTunes library in my Music folder.


You mean the iTunes folder in your Music folder, right? Let's be clear here.

So what I don't understand is why I've lost my TV shows and Movies but NOT my music? I have not lost everything which is strange. And my Media folder which reside inside the iTunes library is not there. (I checked this before transfering and it was there).

I don't either.

And am I correct in assuming I can just re-download all my content anyway? I haven't really lost everything seeing as iTunes remembers your purchase history. It will be a bit of a drag to re down load but my question is where will it all go when I redown load.

Yes. Of course, nonpurchased content will be a problem for obvious reasons, unless you subscribe to iTunes Match.

And then when I've repopulated everything on my laptop, what should I do differently to ensure I've done it correctly?

You mean in the future, right? I would go through iTunes>Preferences...>Advanced>iTunes Media folder location>Change... and move the iTunes folder that way. That's pretty much foolproof.

lost itunes media folder?

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