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How do I make my itunes library into a new library? I want to keep all the same songs/movies/settings/etc., just want to have to erase all the stuff on my iphone every time I sync.

How do I make my itunes library into a new library?

iPhone 6, iOS 8.3

Posted on May 28, 2015 7:42 AM

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5 replies

May 28, 2015 9:14 AM in response to Me.from.here.

The library is, or should be, a list of all the content that is in your media folder, together with information such as ratings, play counts, playlists etc. that isn't held in the media files themselves. You could delete the current iTunes Library.itl database and then reimport the content of your media folder, but you lose all of that other information that isn't stored in tags. Why would you want to do this every time you connect your iPhone, and erase the current content on the device only to put it back on again? If your library is larger than your device it is possible to make a number of smart playlists that update as content is played or added to your library so that whenever you sync some content is removed and other items are added.


tt2

May 28, 2015 10:59 AM in response to turingtest2

It's not really what I want, it's what itunes does... I posed the question from apple's point of view, not mine. All i want is to figure out how to stop it. Sometimes reverse-engineering the process provides the best approach as to why a certain tack was taken.


Any thoughts on why itunes keeps changing libraries? Same computer, same installation of itunes, same music files. It doesn't happen every time, but has happened several times since January when the iphone 6 was new. Seems stupid to have to reload everything every month or two.


No need for smart playlists - I manage my music better than itunes ever could, but thanks for the suggestion.

May 28, 2015 11:20 AM in response to Me.from.here.

Me.from.here. wrote:


It's not really what I want, it's what itunes does...


I had wondered if that's what you were driving at. It will be of no comfort if I tell you that your experience is out of the norm, nevertheless that is the case.


First backup your library. Using this method allows you to spot if unexpected changes are made to the library. You would be able to restore a recent backup of your .itl file if there was a hint that iTunes saw itself as "new" with respect to the device.


Syncing with selected playlists, smart or regular allows iTunes to manage updating content smoothly, and may be more reliable than dragging on multiple selections in manually managed mode. Have you found yourself adding media into a new empty/cloudy library at any point? Occasionally anti-virus software has been known to interfere with the way that iTunes updates the database files and this can trash the library. I'd recommend excluding the iTunes library folder from any real-time AV scanner. For reasons unknown the iPhone is limited to holding content from a single library, even in manually managed mode, so this might be a factor in what has happened before.


It is perhaps worth noting that iTunes provides a single rolling backup for each device, until such time as you restore. With this in mind running a backup restore cycle occasionally is one way to ensure that you have more than one potential restore point to use if something goes wrong with the device and it needs to be restored.


tt2

May 28, 2015 3:03 PM in response to turingtest2

It's not my library itself (the actual mp3 files) that changes, it is either a bug in itunes, or the .itl file that gets changed surreptitiously, though there isn't really any hint that has happened until I try to put something on my phone. At that point, I either have to lose it all and put it all back on (a time intensive process - syncing the iphone is not a speedy thing), or not put my new media on the phone.


I keep my mp3s backed up; I don't back up my .itl file; maybe I should back that up, though that won't guarantee avoiding the problem, as I have no idea when the libraries get out of sync (or whatever term is appropriate).


Again, as for playlists, I've never found them useful, unless they are ones I've built for a specific purpose. I'm very particular about my music, (and my digital devices) and want what I want, exactly as I want it. If manually managed music is less reliable, Apple has some work to do, not me.


I haven't ever found myself adding items to an empty library... it's more like the "serial number" (if you will) of the library has changed, and now itunes and the phone don't have the same serial number.

May 28, 2015 3:29 PM in response to Me.from.here.

Yes, each library has something known as the Library Persistent ID. What should happen is that your device should record the Library Persistent ID of the library it has been managed with, and as long as that is the same as the library you connect to then you can go ahead and update content with that library. I'm at a loss as to why the ID in your library or saved in your device might have changed. Have you perhaps hooked the iPhone up to a different computer temporarily to charge it, not that it ought to matter of course.


tt2

How do I make my itunes library into a new library? I want to keep all the same songs/movies/settings/etc., just want to have to erase all the stuff on my iphone every time I sync.

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