iTunes won't add folder to library

Question

iTunes won't add folder to library

I've recently upgraded my PC from Win Vista to Win 8.1. I had iTunes configured to use the "My Music" folder as the default library location on Win Vista. I then copied the "My Music" folder to a portable hard disk.

...a few days go by while I finish the upgrade to Win8.....

I then installed iTunes 12 on the fresh Win 8.1, then used "Scan for Media". It found a bunch of songs I had purchasds but said they all had to be downloaded again (??). For example I have 10 U2 albums in "My Music" but it only shows the free one from last year and says I have to download all the songs again??

So I held down Alt and used "Add folder to library" and selected the "My Music" folder. Nothing happened. So I tried again, but this time selected Music\U2 folder. Nothing happened. Doesn't matter which of the missing folders I select, none of them will get added.

I did a search of these forums and tried the following:

So I tried the delete iTunes database, restarted iTunes and tried the above again. No difference.

I tried checking [ ] Copy files to iTunes media folder.....No difference.

I tried taking the checkbox out of [ ] Show iTunes in the cloud purchases. No difference.

Now I'm at a loss, pls help,

Tony

Posted on Dec 29, 2014 5:44 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 29, 2014 5:49 PM in response to Tony Severenuk

As an update, I've found that I can use File>Add file to library and it will add individual songs to the library...folders still don't work. I have 6,000 songs in "My Music" but iTunes is only showing 606 songs.

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Answer 2

Jan 1, 2015 7:05 PM in response to Tony Severenuk

Bump....I still have no luck with this...can anyone offer any suggestions?

T.

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Answer 3

hhgttg27

Level 5

5,591 points

Jan 2, 2015 5:14 AM in response to Tony Severenuk

When you copied your library from My Music to the external hard drive did you copy the iTunes database (iTunes Library.itl) as well as the media files? If so, you have two options:

to use the external drive as your library storage, hold down SHIFT while you start iTunes. When you get this prompt:

select Choose Library ... and browse to the iTunes Library.itl file on the external HDD
if you want your library to be on the internal drive, with iTunes not running copy everything on your external HDD to C:\Users\user_name\Music\iTunes. This folder should then contain your iTunes Library.itl file (the iTunes database), the Album Artwork folder and the iTunes Media folder, where the last of these contains subfolders for Music, Podcasts, TV shows, etc.

If your library is in a different structure please report back what you are seeing - there are some alternative approaches which should solve your issue. One point you didn't cover in your post - in iTunes 12, did you try enabling the menu bar with Ctrl-B, choosing File > Add Folder to Library ..., and then selecting the folder on your HDD that contains all your media? If you have these two options selected in Edit > Preferences > Advanced:

then iTunes should copy everything from the external drive to the standard folder structures on your PC (ignore what the image shows for iTunes Media folder location - for a standard installation under Win 8.1 this should be C:\Users\user_name\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media).

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Answer 4

turingtest2

Level 10

272,731 points

Jan 2, 2015 5:36 AM in response to Tony Severenuk

See Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows.

I would suggest you move the iTunes folder to the root of the external drive, E.g. as X:\iTunes where X: is the drive letter, then shift-start-iTunes to connect to the library file X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl. This should restore your pre-OS upgrade library with all ratings, play lists, play counts, etc.

tt2

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Answer 5

Feb 15, 2015 9:12 AM in response to hhgttg27

Enabling the menu bar with Crl+B allowed me to add folders to library. Solved my problem. Thanks.

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Answer 6

May 16, 2015 8:26 PM in response to hhgttg27

This helped out a lot. Ctrl+B and then click on File. It worked. Thanks!

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Answer 7

ca s

Level 1

0 points

Jun 13, 2015 1:30 PM in response to Tony Severenuk

Hi Tony; I finally figured it out. Very stupid of Apple/ i-Tunes to change it. It used to be very direct and required no knowledge base to add a whole folder/album or a file/song. Drop down menu had "Add a Folder", & "Add a File". Very direct, User Friendly and requires no special knowledge. "Add File" is still there. TO ADD A FOLDER: minimize i-Tunes on left with music window open. Minimize you Music folder on right side of screen. You then just Drag the folder from right into the i-Tunes window and the songs will be added.

Example: You have Beatles- Revolver folder containing the whole album in your MUSIC Folder. Just drag that over to i-Tunes and the whole album will be imported. I hope that helps. - Chris

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