"Ripped" music and playlists gone, again!

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Level 1

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"Ripped" music and playlists gone, again!

After my iPad Air 2 took a "swim" a couple of days ago, I was glad to have purchased iCare, allowing the device to be replaced for a reasonable cost. Having previously experienced a total loss of all owned "ripped" music from cd's, and playlists, as a result of the iOS 8.4 upgrade, I have declined subsequent software upgrades in an attempt to avoid more time-consuming restores of my music collection. With a complete back-up of the iPad including all purchased Apps, we expected an easy restore on the replacement. Unfortunately, this hasn't been the case, possibly because we were required to upgrade to the latest iOS and iTunes versions not only on the iPad, but also on the Windows computer used for the back-up. Quite frankly, when a company such as Apple thinks they have the right to mess with other non-Apple devices, that tries our patience. After the restore, very little on the device looks the same. Numerous purchased courses are gone. The new device has no record of a link to our public library, and all "Overdrive" downloads are missing. So is all music except that purchased from iTunes. So, I'm back to "Square One", again. No doubt, other applications I haven't tried since the restore have also failed. The longer I own the iPad, the more I realize I need to find other technologies to provide dependable alternatives for the functions I purchased the iPad for. First will be another option to store/play my music collection. I have no interest in streaming. But, since Apple has proven (twice, now) that they can't be trusted with my music collection, I haven't made a single iTunes purchase since the iOS 8.4 fiasco three months ago. For now, I'm back to purchasing CD's and using component stereo equipment while deciding who deserves to provide my music needs. It certainly isn't Apple.

iPad Air, iOS 9.0.2

Posted on Oct 3, 2015 9:35 AM

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Answer 1

King_Penguin

Level 10

334,144 points

Oct 3, 2015 10:25 AM in response to Kalee.a

Did you have the music in the iTunes library that you restored from ? The contents of the Music app (and Videos app) is not included in a backup, nor are any iTunes store downloads (apps, audiobooks, music etc), an iTunes restore will look to pick them up from that iTunes library. Copy your music back from your backup of your library (assuming that you've been backing up your library) and sync it to your iPad

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Answer 2

Kalee.a Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 3, 2015 8:12 PM in response to King_Penguin

We had a current and complete backup (the water damage affected the device screen, not the memory). All music was confirmed as being in the iTunes library when we started the restore. But, the iTunes upgrade for the laptop (forced on us by Apple in order to proceed) stripped all "ripped" CD's and playlists from the laptop that stored our back-up. This is the same thing that occurred when we upgraded to iOS 8.4. Why doing so affected not only the iPad, but also the laptop, we have no idea. No one from Apple was able to help us -- not at the Genius Bar or on the phone with Apple Support. We tried every suggestion provided by members of the Apple Support Community the first time this happened. Nothing worked. My husband (20 plus years of IT support experience) searched the entire hard drive -- nothing. Our only solution is to re-rip each CD individually, again. Considering how many Apple users experienced the same thing with the upgrade that added Apple Music, we wonder if Apple is trying to entice us to use Apple Music rather than a compiled collection of CD's purchased over 25 years, plus more recent iTunes purchases. Thanks for your response, King Penquin. Unfortunately, our "stripped" back-up was successful only in restoring our iTunes purchases.

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Answer 3

elcpu

Level 7

31,481 points

Oct 3, 2015 8:59 PM in response to Kalee.a

Well.... you got several things going on here and they are not all the same. Backups will not / may not contain music already in your PC. They are not supposed to since the music does not need to be backed up, it is already in your PC.

First, I want to tell you that I have a very large CD collection myself (between my wife and I about 1,500 CDs) and many or most of them are ripped to our computers. Restoring your iPad or upgrading your iTunes on your PC should not under any circumstance delete music already on your PC. I suspect that the actual mp3s are still there. If they are not this is the first time I have ever heard of this!!!

Go to your Windows File Manager, expand Libraries > Music > My Music > iTunes > iTunes Media > Music > do you now see your albums/CDs there? Look at Screenshot #1 below. Do you see that?

Besides CDs ripped with iTunes I also have a large collection ripped with Windows Media Player. Do you? Again do as above but this time go to My Music > XXXX' Music (the Xs should be your name) > and you should then see all the CDs ripped by WMP listed as albums. See screenshot # 2 below. Do you see that?

If not try this. In WFM select OS (C:) and then on the upper right corner in the search bar type ".mp3" without the quotes (make sure to include the dot). Wait a while for the search to finish and you should see every song that is now stored in you PC. There should be thousands. See Screenshot #3 below. Do you see that?

If no to any of the above, do you ever backup your PC to an external HD drive or to a large flash drive? If so the music will be there. If not, doing so is a must. You should always have an external backup of your hard drive in case your PC goes on the blink and the hard drives are usually the first to go...

If you do not see any music on your PC and you do not have an external backup, you are the first person ever to have your music ERASED from your PC when doing an iTunes update.

As an aside regarding your other content you need to open iTunes, log on to your account, then open preferences (click on the little box on the upper left corner), select Store, under Purchases select Never Require and then under Automatic Downloads select Apps, Books, etc (any content you have obtained from iTunes). That should take care of having all content on your PC and available to restore in the future (not your CD library as that is already on your PC as I mentioned in my long reply above). Good luck...

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