Latest update deleted my library and playlists

You don't import the .tmp file. With iTunes closed you remove the hidden flag, rename the existing iTunes Library.itl file as say iTunes Library (Broken).itl and then rename the .tmp file as iTunes Library.itl. If you're lucky you'll see the expected content when you open iTunes. If not restore the other .itl file, import your media and take a look at Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for the scripts listed near the end that can recover ratings, play counts and playlists from any Apple device you may have.

tt2

I realize this is an old thread but all the songs on my itunes are gone and theres no recent itunes library. But I have a tmp file that is pretty recent with a size that might have all my recent and old songs. However when I tried to import it, it says that it can't be exported. Is there anything I can do to get all my music from itunes back?? Or turn it into an iTunes Library?

See Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash.

Are there any .tmp files in the main iTunes folder?

Is the media present inside iTunes Media?

Do you have a backup, or is the media on any device?

Have you switched profiles on the computer?

tt2

The xml file is a structured text description of the contents of the library meant for third party software to read. Typical locations of the library files are:

C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl and

C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml

Your post suggest these might have been placed one level deeper.

Did you use any version of iTunes prior to version 12? If so there really ought to be a Previous iTunes Libraries folder at:

C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\Previous iTunes Libraries

When you click on an itl file that causes iTunes to open, but not necessarily with that file. Is it possible that your real library is located somewhere other than C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes but whatever actions you taken have caused iTunes to reset to the default path? If so it may bethat you need toshift-start iTunes to connect to the right file.

Jaimieeem wrote:

When I open up the iTunes file all of my music is still there but it is no longer in my iTunes itself.

I can't make sense of this. Do you meant that the media is visible in Windows Explorer, but not listed in iTunes when you open it?

tt2

Jaimieeem wrote:

As for the comment you noted above - I meant to say that I can open "iTunes Media" and all of my music is still there

Great, that is at least some good news.

But no Previous iTunes Libraries folder? How long have you been using iTunes? iTunes 12 has been out since last September I think, if you'd used an version prior to that then you really ought to have that folder. Otherwise what about hidden .tmp files in the iTunes folder? Have you managed to have a look for these? See Windows, show hidden files.

tt2

It deleted that for me, and also, iTunes itself is no longer displaying any more my music that I loaded from my CDs or my audiobooks. I would really, really, really, really, really like to know what the **** is going on? Where would the "previous libraries" folder be? Why did it not integrate with my new iTunes? WHAT is happening? I can't close iTunes, because now I have re-download ALL of my podcasts AGAIN, except for the ones which are no longer archives, since they appear to be gone for good. WHAT IS HAPPENING?

As above, it would normally be here:

C:\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\Previous iTunes Libraries

Or inside the active iTunes library folder if you have your library stored in a non-standard location.

Start with Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash. You can close iTunes and interrupt the downloads it is currently trying to get. You should probably delete the Downloads folder inside the media folder to prevent those downloads resuming the next time iTunes starts.

tt2

Jaimieeem wrote:

I've been using iTunes on this particular computer since October and just updated it the other day when this happened. I followed the directions for the "Windows, show hidden files" however the "Previous iTunes Libraries" is still missing 😟

That explains the lack of a Previous iTunes Libraries folder. The previous libraries are only generated when an update introduces a change to the internal structure of the library. In the past that has often been quite frequent but so far there have been no changes within the four releases of iTunes 12.

Any sign of the hidden .tmp files I asked about?

Do you have an iPod, iPhone or iPad?

Do you have a backup of the iTunes library as it existed on a previous computer?

If none of these are available then use File > Add Folder to Library to add the media folder to the library. This will restore the content, but ratings, play counts, playlists etc. are gone. See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy to avoid problems in future. You could also create the Previous iTunes Libraries folder manually now and take a security copy of the iTunes Library.itl file.

If you have any of the other resources I have mentioned we can talk about how they might be reintegrated to your library.

tt2

Clicking on any previous libraries opens iTunes as it is. Not much help. To say nothing of the podcasts it deleted for no discernible reason.

Double-clicking on an iTunes Library file does not (necessarily) open that particular library ... it is highly counter-intuitive, but doing so will open iTunes using the active library file from the last time it was run. The only way to open a specific library is to hold down SHIFT while starting iTunes, and when you get this prompt:

click on Choose Library... and browse to / select the specific .itl file you want to open.

Normally an iTunes update will not affect your library - in 10 years of using iTunes I've never seen it happen - but it is still advisable to create a backup of your complete library before installing the update. In your case where (unfortunately) you don't have a backup of your library or one of the snapshots that iTunes creates when installing an update that includes a database structure change (last of which was iTunes 12.0), you'll need to hope that there's either a valid iTunes Library.itl file in a location other than the default one where iTunes is expecting to find it, or a recoverable .tmp file that's been left on your system as the result of an iTunes crash or other fatal event.

Nope. It opens the library, but none of the file are properly allocated, and I'll be if I'm going to go through and reorganize each album one at a time.

How many alternative libraries are there in your Previous iTunes Libraries folder?

Are the any .tmp files (possibly hidden) in the main iTunes folder?

Do you have a device from which you could recover playlists, ratings, play counts, etc?

Unless your files are in .wav format they should contain tags that already store all of the organizing information that was in your missing library. Simply importing the media folder into the new empty library should rebuild most of the library. Ratings, play counts, date added, and several other library only properties however would be reset.

tt2