My external drive which foolishly contained the only copy of my iTunes library was destroyed. In addition to not having my library, I can't even play cd's. How do I restore my library and get my purchased material back?
MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4), current version of iTunes
Download past purchases from iTunes in the Cloud - https://support.apple.com/HT201272 - "With iTunes in the Cloud, you can access your past purchases from the iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks Store, and Mac App Store." - enabled with iTunes 10.3 and newer; not all media formats are available in all countries (see: iTunes in the Cloud, iTunes Match, and iTunes Radio availability by country - https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204632); apps, books (not audiobooks), music, t.v. shows, and movies (some - not all studios have permitted this). Downloading previously purchased movies and TV shows requires iTunes 10.6 or later. Discontinued items not available. For items not included in the iCloud list (e.g., ringtones, audiobooks, alert tones, rental movies), or locations or computer systems where iCloud is not (yet?) available, you only get one download per fee paid. Apple recommends, "... back up your iTunes library. " (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519). http://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/terms.html - "Some iTunes Eligible Content that you previously acquired may not be available for subsequent download at any given time, and Apple shall have no liability to you in such event. As you may not be able to subsequently download certain previously-acquired iTunes Eligible Content, once you download an item of iTunes Eligible Content, it is your responsibility not to lose, destroy, or damage it, and you may want to back it up." There is, however, this document about ringtones: Restore missing tones on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 8.1.1 - http://support.apple.com/ht204076
06/2015 Exact instructions by turingtest2 - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7101454
To download all purchases - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4857368?answerId=22016876022#22016876022
The CDs not playing issue is something else and you haven't really provided us with any information to help solve this. CDs should play in iTunes even if you have no other content. Even if you lose your library the second you open iTunes it will create a blank library in the default location and if you insert a CD it should appear.
iTunes library lost. How to restore with purchases?
