I have music when I open up iTunes that is not in my "iTunes media folder". How do i add these songs into my media folder for windows?

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I have music when I open up iTunes that is not in my "iTunes media folder". How do i add these songs into my media folder for windows?

I guess the problem I have happened because I never had the "Copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library" checked in the advanced settings under preferences. Now that the music is on iTunes when I open up the application on Windows 7, how do I add them my media folder for my computer. I want to do this just to back up all my files without using the cloud.

Windows 7

Posted on Jul 31, 2015 3:27 AM

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Answer 1

hhgttg27

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Jul 31, 2015 4:11 AM in response to aznsynergy

Make sure that the Keep iTunes Media folder organized and Copy files to iTunes Media folder ... options in Edit > Preferences > Advanced are selected. Then select File > Library > Organize Library ...; check the Consolidate files box and, if it is not greyed out, the Reorganize files ... box. Then click OK. iTunes will then copy any media files that included in you library but are not within the standard media folder hierarchy into that structure. Note the "copy" - you'll need to have enough disk space to have (albeit temporarily) two copies of each of the media files involved. Once the consolidation process is complete you can delete the now redundant files outside the iTunes Media folders.

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Answer 2

aznsynergy Author

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Jul 31, 2015 10:13 AM in response to hhgttg27

I tried what you suggested (the "Reorganize files" box was greyed out) but the media files in my iTunes media folder did not update with ALL the songs I have when I open up iTunes. I don't think it actually transferred any music; the file size on the media folder did not change. Also, I definitely do have enough disk space for this process.

I wonder if it's how the folders are arranged? It goes music>iTunes>iTunes Media>Music. Would this be a problem? If not, what do I do from here?

Thanks for your help hhgttg27.

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Answer 3

hhgttg27

Level 5

5,591 points

Jul 31, 2015 10:39 AM in response to aznsynergy

You should confirm the location of some of the songs that you think are located outside your iTunes Media folders. To do so, right-click on a song and select Show in Windows Explorer. It ispossible that your media has already been copied, since the Copy files to iTunes Media folder ... setting doesn't affect all import operations, as follows:

The standard iTunes folder structure should look like this:

The iTunes Media folder setting in Edit > Preferences > Advanced should reference the iTunes Media folder here, not iTunes Media\Music. If you're using iTunes' defaults for Windows 7 then the iTunes folder, with subfolders as illustrated above, will be C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes.

If you're seeing something different, take a look at turingtest2's user tip on Make a split library portable for more information on iTunes' library structure and the actions that will standardize it with affecting data integrity.

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Answer 4

turingtest2

Level 10

272,725 points

Jul 31, 2015 10:50 AM in response to aznsynergy

Not sure how you're planning the backup, but see Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a way that allows for efficient updating of the subsequent changes.

tt2

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Answer 5

aznsynergy Author

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Jul 31, 2015 3:12 PM in response to hhgttg27

hhgttg27,

For some reason not all the replies are showing on this question/forum. I think I am having a very different problem now which is somewhat related to my original. I have iTunes Match and it seems like the files that I have in the cloud are visible in my iTunes. Now originally, I simply clicked on the picture of the cloud to download it and it seemed everything was fine, like it had downloaded to my computer. Now, since I tried all the strategies to consolidate and organize/reorganize files, I have a whole bunch of exclamation points at the beginning of the song that says the original file cannot be found. It gives me two options, locate or cancel. If I click locate, it tries to have me search my computer for the file, which of course I can't find. It might not even be in there as I might have had to reformat or just lost when transferring files. If I click cancel, the song starts playing and shows another picture of a cloud at the right.

Essentially all the files that i did not have in my "Media>Music" folder has an explanation point. It is stored in the cloud, but not on my computer. How do I download the actual song from the cloud so that I can have an actual file to store in my media folder instead of just showing that it is "downloaded" on iTunes. Also, would it be easier if I could skype with you or someone from Apple support to resolve this issue?

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Answer 6

aznsynergy Author

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Jul 31, 2015 3:13 PM in response to turingtest2

turingtest2,

I will definitely try synctoy once I can actually get the files on to my media folder. Thank you.

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Answer 7

aznsynergy Author

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Jul 31, 2015 3:26 PM in response to hhgttg27

Whoa, big update... it seems now when I download any song from the cloud it automatically updates now in my media folder for iTunes. It is probably because I have all those boxes checked in my advanced preferences for iTunes. Now my problem is downloading everything I have all at once, or at least the albums all at once instead of individual songs at a time. How do I download my entire library from the cloud instead of individual songs. That would literally take hours as I am missing 35 gigs from my media library? Thanks for all the help guys!

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