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Jan 19, 2015 2:48 PM in response to chlhardyby judysings,Hi Chris,
Welcome to the Support Communities! The resource below will explain how to change the location of your music files, and settings that need to be changed for importing music from CDs.
Locate and organize your iTunes files - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT1391Find and change the iTunes Media folder location
You can change the iTunes Media folder location to share music between accounts on the same computer.
In the Advance pane, you can also:
- Make sure that you back up your media to your media folder. Click the check box next to "Copy files to itunes Media folder when adding to library."
- Reset your media folder to the default location (the iTunes folder). Click the Reset button next to the location box.
- Move your iTunes Media folder to a new location. Click the Change button next to the location box. After you change the location of the folder:
- If you make a new or alternate iTunes library, the library will use the new location.
- Existing files won't be moved unless you choose File > Library > Organize library and choose the option to "Consolidate files."
If you want to move your music to a new computer, see How to move your music to a new computer.
Copying music to and keeping the iTunes Media folder organized
You can select these options on the Advanced pane of iTunes preferences:
- "Keep iTunes Media folder organized." Learn more about how iTunes 9 and later organizes your media.
- "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library." Select this option to store all of your media files in the iTunes Media folder. Since they're all in one location, you can easily transfer or back up your media.
When you import media into iTunes from a CD, it's automatically added to your iTunes Media folder. If you add media to iTunes another way (choosing "Add to library" from the File menu or by dragging an MP3 file into iTunes), it might not be added to your iTunes Media folder.
Locating the file for an item you see in iTunes
If you're not sure where iTunes stores your content, iTunes will show you what it knows about your media in the Get Info window. To access the Get Info window, select a file in iTunes and then choose File > Get Info.

You can also right-click on the content and choose Show in Finder (Mac) or Show in Windows Explorer (Windows).
A remote file, such as one from iTunes in the Cloud, won't show a path, but will show information such as the name of the remote path.

- It's important to back up your media, either to an external hard drive or to CDs/DVDs.
- If you're unable to find content you've downloaded or imported into iTunes, follow these steps.
A note about copyright
iTunes software may be used to reproduce materials. It's licensed to you only for reproduction of non-copyrighted materials, materials in which you own the copyright, or materials you're authorized or legally permitted to reproduce. If you're uncertain about your right to copy any material, you should contact your legal advisor. See the iTunes Store Terms of Service for additional information.
Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.Last Modified:iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/TS1408Best practices to avoid losing your media
The best way to avoid losing your media is to make regular backups of your media files. Learn more about how to create a backup and subsequent incremental backups.
You can change the default iTunes Media location in the Advanced tab of iTunes Preferences. You can also change the preferences to have iTunes copy files to the iTunes Media folder when you add files to your library.
If you've changed either of these preferences, you may need to edit the iTunes Media folder location or enable the option to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library." You should do this before adding your missing files back into iTunes if you want your media files to return to their original location, in the iTunes Media folder.
I hope this information helps ....
- Judy


