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can i or should i delete files from automatically add to itunes folder?

can i or should i delete files from automatically add to itunes folder? Will my music still play

Windows 7

Posted on Apr 23, 2015 8:05 AM

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Posted on Apr 23, 2015 8:15 AM

When you move or copy files to the Automatically Add to iTunes folder iTunes should (as the name suggests) add them to your library and then delete them - this will happen immediately if iTunes is running, otherwise when you next start iTunes. If there are any issues (corrupt files, incompatible formats, etc.) iTunes will move the files concerned to a Not Added subfolder. If you've used this method to add media to your library, the media is listed and will play within iTunes, yet the files are still within Automatically Add to iTunes then you may have an issue with Windows permissions that is either preventing the media files from being moved into your iTunes Media folders or from being deleted from Automatically Add to iTunes.


Assuming that the media has been added to your library, right-click on one item, select Get Info and then the File tab - what is shown as the location? If you're using iTunes' default settings this will be (for music):


C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\artist_name\album_title\file_name


If this is the case then you can delete any duplicates of this file within the Automatically Add to iTunes folder - though you should still determine and resolve any issue that is causing iTunes to fail in deleting these after adding them to the library.

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Question marked as Best reply

Apr 23, 2015 8:15 AM in response to njsimmons

When you move or copy files to the Automatically Add to iTunes folder iTunes should (as the name suggests) add them to your library and then delete them - this will happen immediately if iTunes is running, otherwise when you next start iTunes. If there are any issues (corrupt files, incompatible formats, etc.) iTunes will move the files concerned to a Not Added subfolder. If you've used this method to add media to your library, the media is listed and will play within iTunes, yet the files are still within Automatically Add to iTunes then you may have an issue with Windows permissions that is either preventing the media files from being moved into your iTunes Media folders or from being deleted from Automatically Add to iTunes.


Assuming that the media has been added to your library, right-click on one item, select Get Info and then the File tab - what is shown as the location? If you're using iTunes' default settings this will be (for music):


C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\artist_name\album_title\file_name


If this is the case then you can delete any duplicates of this file within the Automatically Add to iTunes folder - though you should still determine and resolve any issue that is causing iTunes to fail in deleting these after adding them to the library.

Apr 23, 2015 12:08 PM in response to hhgttg27

Thanks so much, you have given me great information. I can tell you I have almost 13,000 songs and all of the files still appear in my Automatically add to ITunes folder. I tried deleting 1 file and then tried to play in iTunes and of course, it said file could not be found. It appears that my yet
the files are still within Automatically Add to iTunes and I Do have an issue with Windows permissions that is either preventing the media files from being moved into your iTunes Media folders or from being deleted from Automatically Add to iTunes. I am on Windows 7, can you give me any pointers on what permissions I should be checking in Windows. Again thanks so much, you are awesome!

Apr 23, 2015 1:23 PM in response to njsimmons

What are your settings for these three options in Edit > Preferences > Advanced?

User uploaded file


If you're using iTunes' default settings then (1) should be C:\Users\username\iTunes\iTunes Media, and the two check boxes work together in determining how iTunes handles new additions to your library. Knowing these settings will help to find and rectify any permissions errors, though you can also take a look at turingtest2's user tip on Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows.


There's definitely something strange going on that may not wholly be explained by permissions:


  • iTunes normal behavior when it can't write anything to its specified media folders is to create and use a new set of folders on the Windows desktop, not to leave media in the Automatically Add to iTunes folder
  • with 13,000 songs in the Automatically Add to iTunes folder I'd expect iTunes to be continually trying to add these to its library every time it starts up - are you seeing anything like this?


There is (at least) one other possibility, which is that you have more than one the Automatically Add to iTunes folder on your system - one that has the normal iTunes behavior (this will be located within the iTunes Media folder specified in Edit > Preferences > Advanced) and a second one, in a different location, that happens to have your media files in it. Definitely worth checking as well as the points noted above.

Apr 24, 2015 6:05 AM in response to turingtest2

Again, thanks so much for your great advice. I did not have duplicate Automatically add to ITunes folders but there are folders that may have been confusing. My HP Laptop has a My Music folder in addition to a Music folder. I now have it working properly (I hope) but I have one more question. My ITunes shows it has 68.61GB of data but the Music folder shows 104GB of data, does this make sense? I did run a duplicate file scan and it identified dups and when I deleted one of the dups, iTunes would not play song saying file could not be found. I moved the file back into the music folder and deleted the other dup and same thing happened. Any ideas? Thanks again, you are so helpful!

Apr 24, 2015 6:48 AM in response to njsimmons

Windows creates some of the confusion by giving the same folder different names in different contexts, and sometimes also supporting what would previously have been valid alternate paths. In my case the music folder might be called Music, My Music or Steve's Music. In Windows 7 the same folder can also be accessed via C:\Users\Steve or C:\Documents and Settings\Steve, the latter providing some backwards compatibility for software developed for Windows XP.


An iTunes library can contain other media types, movies, TV shows, podcasts, audiobooks etc, plus some database files and an artwork cache. All of this will be included when looking at the size of the iTunes folder inside User's Music, but only the music is accounted for in the iTunes Music source.


Have you tried running the permissions fix yet?

Under Edit > Preferences > Advanced what value do you have for path to the media folder?

Select a single track in the library and press Ctrl+I to get info. What is the location shown on the file tab?


Perhaps we will see some discrepancy between the two paths.


tt2

can i or should i delete files from automatically add to itunes folder?

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