iTunes not locating songs on backup external drive, OS X 10.7.5, 12.1.0.50

Question

Level 1

8 points

iTunes not locating songs on backup external drive, OS X 10.7.5, 12.1.0.50

I backed up my entire library to a hard drive a few months ago. I can see several files there called, 'Previous iTunes Libraries'. When I backed it up it was working. I have just tried to play any of the songs and get an exclamation mark and a message that the song can't be located. I have gone to Prefs/

Advanced/Choose Library and chosen the folder where all the Previous iTunes Libraries are stored on the external drive. I clicked on that and it seemed to go through a process then everything in my Library got the little exclamation mark. I've tried closing the library and clicking on the most recent Previous iTunes Library. It opens to the current one with all the exclamation marks still there and when I click onto a song, the message comes up again. Somewhere along the several times I've tried this I've got a box with the option to consolidate the library and I've checked Yes. No difference. I've had the option to give it the same name as the matching library; I've checked, Yes. No difference. I've tried backing up through my Time Machine but I can't even find the Library as it was there in the Music folder. Most of my songs are from CDs so I understand I can't even reload them from my devices. Help would be appreciated.

iPhoto '11, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Mar 26, 2015 9:08 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Limnos

Level 10

411,169 points

Mar 26, 2015 9:55 PM in response to trave1ler

What exactly do you want to do? Are you trying to restore a library to your computer, or are you trying to now use the backup drive as your master iTunes drive?

Preferences (as they say) deal with media location. Your library is not just media. You tell iTunes how to use a library in a different location by starting iTunes with the option/alt key held down and guiding it to the "iTunes Library.itl" file you wish to to use. The previous iTunes library files are really only for emergency use. They are created when you upgrade iTunes and are there in case the upgrade/update corrupts the old file. There are specific rescue instructions in how to get them to work but you should not be using them unless that is the issue.

Yes, the previous paragraph may have been a bit confusing but unless we know what it is you wish to achieve then it is indeed easy to make a mess of things. 🙂

Reply

Answer 2

trave1ler Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 27, 2015 2:09 AM in response to Limnos

Thanks a bunch. Another, vaguely related, problem arose that needed a phone call so this was sorted at the same time. It seems that the Library had somehow been deleted or just disappeared from the external hard drive. Just so everything's clear, I had moved my Library to the external drive to clear up space from my hard drive.

Reply

Answer 3

Limnos

Level 10

411,169 points

Mar 27, 2015 5:39 AM in response to trave1ler

People often mistake moving just media (as the instructions using preferences tell you to do, and specifically say "move your media" and do not mention "library") with moving a whole library. Moving a whole library is achieved by copying the entire iTunes folder to the other drive, starting iTunes while holding down the option/alt key, and selecting the .itl file in the new location. The .itl file is what iTunes considers the key library file but in realty the library is everything in the iTunes folder. Preferences simply relocate media used with that library file and if you delete the file then all you have left are uncataloged music files.

Reply