THE CONSOLIDATE FILES BOX WON'T STAY CHECKED

Question

gregg1962 Author

Level 1

14 points

THE CONSOLIDATE FILES BOX WON'T STAY CHECKED

After the most recent iTunes update, I double checked to make sure my settings were the same as before the update, and they were not the same. After making sure the option to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" was selected, I went to check the "Consolidate files" box. I did this because I had added songs to my iTunes folder after my update, but before I double checked that everything was the same. I can check the "Consolidate files" box, the hit "OK" just as if everything was fine. But after I close out the "Organize Library" pop-up box and then re-open it, the "Consolidate files" box is unchecked again, even though "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" remains checked. Why is this happening? I restarted my computer, and ran the "repair" option in the control panel, but no luck. I hope I don't need to reinstall iTunes as I will loose stuff. Can I undo the update? Thanks for any suggestions. Gregg

iPod classic 160GB (Late 2009), Windows 7

Posted on Jul 26, 2015 8:24 AM

Reply

Answer 1

hhgttg27

Level 5

5,597 points

Jul 26, 2015 8:33 AM in response to gregg1962

Consolidate Files is a one-off operation that will copy any media outside your iTunes Media folder into the standard locations. It is not a "setting" that controls any other iTunes functions. In normal operations you don't need to touch this; as long as you have these settings enabled in Edit > Preferences > Advanced:

then anything you add to your library will automatically be copied into your iTunes Media folder following the standard naming patterns based on Artist, Album title, Song name, etc.

Reply

Answer 2

gregg1962 Author

Level 1

14 points

Jul 26, 2015 9:42 AM in response to hhgttg27

Thanks for the quick reply 🙂 The thing is that I need to move all my iTunes content to an external hard drive. Thus, I would need this box checked off. Here's the link from Apple: Back up your iTunes library by copying it to an external drive - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 3

hhgttg27

Level 5

5,597 points

Jul 26, 2015 10:33 AM in response to gregg1962

Correct, but that's still a one-off operation. The support article refers to results in creating a "split" library, where your library database, artwork folders and other associated files remain on your system drive, and only media files/folders are moved to the external drive. While this configuration works fine, it is more difficult to backup and to transfer to another computer. You should take a look at turingtest2's user tip on Make a split library portable for a description of how to structure your library so that the whole thing can be placed on an external drive.

Reply

Answer 4

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Jul 26, 2015 1:04 PM in response to gregg1962

To be fair Apple's backup document Back up your iTunes library by copying it to an external drive asks you to consolidate all of your media into the media folder on the assumption that the media folder is in the standard location, and will thus be portable when you have done so. This permits a monolithic copy of your iTunes folder to form a viable backup of the library. What they don't address there is that you might already have followed their advice in this document Move your iTunes Media folder on a Windows PC which encourages the creation of split libraries without commenting on their drawbacks. The backup document also fails to address the problem of how to update the backup once you make changes to your library. Delete the backup and copy everything over again is risky and inefficient. See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a suggested approach.

tt2

Reply