I have missing music files on my computer in my iTunes library that I cannot find in the media or music folders. I have these music files on my iPad however - anyone know how I can transfer these to my computer without losing them on my iPad?
Best would be to find out why they are missing. I have used iTunes for 10+ years with hundreds of CD tracks and I very, very rarely get missing tracks. I can attribute all missing tracks to editing I have done.
In the meantime:
Your i-device was not designed for unique storage of your media. It is not a backup device and media transfer was planned with you maintaining a master copy of your media on a computer which is itself independently backed up against loss. To use a device with a a different setup you transfer the old library from a computer or a backup directly to the new setup, not the device to the library. Media syncing is one way, computer to device, updating the device content to the content on the computer, not updating or restoring content on a computer. The exception is iTunes Store purchases which can be transferred to a computer.
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848 - only purchases from iTunes Store
For transferring other items from an i-device to a computer you will have to use third party commercial software. See this document by turingtest2: Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991
Missing music files
