Multiple itunes issues since NAS migration - I'm confused :-(

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Multiple itunes issues since NAS migration - I'm confused :-(

Hi, can anyone assist me with an itunes 12.0.1.26 problem I have on my Windows Vista PC. I recently moved my music library to a NAS drive and thought everything was ok until now, when I open itunes there is an icon in the top left corner (under file menu) and this always reverts to 'my computer' & I have to select the NAS option from the drop down - whyOnce I have selected the NAS from the drop down I can see the bulk of my music, however I can also see music (not as much) if I leave the default 'my computer' option, so which is which and how do I make a single source for my music.

If I select the NAS option and try to manage the songs displayed there are some funnies when trying to do things in the itunes GUI, such as:

1. The 'show dupicates' option is greyed out.

2. Yoo cannot delete a song, the option is there under right click but nothing happens.

3. If you select a single song to change something about the track, i.e. genre - then the 'get info' option appears, if you select multiple tracks the option dissapears.Incidentally, to stop itunes defaulting to the default itunes media folder (in C:\Users\Us\Music\iTunes) I have followed a previous thread and locked this file to force itunes to goto the NAS itunes media folder.

Right now it just appears to be a complete mess, I have tried updating itunes but it appears as though there are no further updates for Vista & I have the latestany help appreciated, Mark.

Windows Vista

Posted on Aug 2, 2015 9:29 AM

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Answer 1

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hhgttg27

Level 5

5,591 points

Aug 2, 2015 10:02 AM in response to appletastic45

In general iTunes and NAS devices don't play well together - the latency involved can result in failures to identify and read the iTunes database, if located on the NAS, or delayed writes resulting in inconsistent library content.

From the symptoms you describe, it seems that:

even though you've directed iTunes to use the library database on the NAS device, access to it may be timing out - in this case iTunes will switch to the default library on your system drive
your NAS is running an "iTunes server" emulation so that the library stored on it is showing up via Home Sharing

Possible resolutions:

Restructure your library so that the library database and associated files are stored on your system drive and only media on the NAS - if possible, disable the server emulation on the NAS, and make sure that you're accessing the library folders via a mapped drive in Windows (iTunes doesn't seem happy with using \\server\share references). Take a look at turingtest2's user tip on Make a split library portable - this is primarily aimed at the opposite target (ensuring that library files and media are on the same drive) but describes the overall structure and relationships and the operations you can perform without affecting integrity of your library.
Acquire a suitable external hard drive (preferably USB 3.0) and migrate your library to this (here you will want to follow the guidance in Make a split library portable so that the library is self-contained on the external drive. You can then use the NAS to create and maintain a backup of your library - see Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a recommended method.

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Answer 2

Aug 17, 2015 8:14 AM in response to hhgttg27

thanks this really helped, in fact all I did was disable the iTunes server & DNLA on my NAS and immediately iTunes started working, so I still have the music & library stored on the NAS for now for now and I may adopt some of the other ideas you suggest at a later date should I start to see other issues - now though I am a happy bunny.

thanks, Mark.

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