How can I restore ratings and playlists?

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Level 1

65 points

How can I restore ratings and playlists?

How can I restore ratings and playlists? I upgraded to Yosemite and moved my iTunes to an external HD. The iTunes folder was drag-and-dropped onto iTunes. Everything imported fine except I lost the rating and playlists.

I have the old iTunes/library/files saved through Time Machine backups, but I don't have a way to reboot in Mavericks to access that older information that I know of.

Redoing the ratings is going to take a lot of manual labor if I have to go through and do it again from scratch.

Any ideas?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on May 27, 2015 5:15 PM

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Answer 1

Limnos

Level 10

411,121 points

May 27, 2015 7:37 PM in response to Wilky

You are not sufficiently specific in saying you "moved my iTunes" ("iTunes" is the application itself which you probably did not move). Did you move the entire library or did you move only media files? Ratings and playlists are only stored in the iTunes Library.itl file. You made a new one using the process you followed. You should have copied the old one to the iTunes folder on the new computer, or you need to start iTunes using the library file on the external drive by holding down the option key while starting the iTunes application. Which you need to do depends upon what you mean when you say you moved iTunes.

06/2014 ChrisCA post: Restore iTunes library from Time Machine backup - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6374283?answerId=26104480022#26104480022 Useful tips where restoring to a new drive: http://pondini.org/TM/B6.html and https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6811322?answerId=27599985022#27599985022

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Answer 2

Wilky Author

Level 1

65 points

May 27, 2015 8:01 PM in response to Limnos

Thanks for the assistance.

After rereading my post, I understand why there may be some confusion. My apologies, let me specify: I moved the iTunes folder, which contained the iTunes Media folder and the iTunes Library.itl which you referenced.

I tried holding the option key and selecting the library file on the external drive, but to no avail–there was no change, it looked exactly the same.

I tried copying the iTunes Library, iTunes Library Extras, and iTunes Library Genius to my internal Music/iTunes folder, then holding down the option key and launching iTunes. There was no rating carryover. When I clicked on Playlist, for a brief second I saw some familiar titles, but then there was a flicker and I was presented with the generic list of playlist for a new user.

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Answer 3

Limnos

Level 10

411,121 points

May 27, 2015 8:18 PM in response to Wilky

Standard procedure for starting iTunes from a moved library file is to hold down the option key while starting, etc. If you are seeing a blank library then it seems possible you are not selecting the correct library file you last used. What was the exact sequence of events? You mentioned upgrading and then moving the library. Did your library make it through the upgrade process intact (it should but a few report loss)?

You should be able to access your Time Machine backups using your new computer. Look at the links I provided for iTunes specific instructions.

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Answer 4

Wilky Author

Level 1

65 points

May 27, 2015 8:20 PM in response to Limnos

I just realized that when I went to Time Machine to retrieve the iTunes Library files, I was choosing "Latest", which of course occurred recently today and therefore has files that are not from far enough in the past. I went back to a few days ago, copied those files, put them in the iTunes folder that is resident on my internal drive, used the option key, and BULLSEYE! I'm back in business-both the ratings and playlists are restored as once before.

Thank you so much! That was looking like a lot of hard work down the drain, but not anymore.

Thank you again.

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Answer 5

Limnos

Level 10

411,121 points

May 28, 2015 6:02 AM in response to Wilky

Ah, you did not mention in your second post you had recovered the library file using Time Machine. I thought we were working with a version still on the computer somewhere.😉

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