iTunes Playlist Icon Question

My apologies for not considering what might happen if you made the wrong response to one of the prompts. 😐

In retrospect when I gave you the steps in this post I should have suggested you paste in the path to the Compilations folder since this had been where your previously mislaid tracks had been found. That might have cut down on the false matches.

While we stop and take a breath it might also help if you can provide this information so I have a clearer idea of what has gone wrong:

1. The location of the media folder under Edit > Preferences > Advanced
2. The location of a sample missing track shown under Get Info > File > Location that begins file://localhost/
3. The true path to the file whose details you gave in 2

Note the addition of file://localhost/ (and the flipped direction of slashes in Windows) is normal for a file that isn't quite where iTunes is expecting to find it.

A screenshot of the prompt asking you to relink a file that isn't a valid match would also be helpful.

tt2

Here are the typical layouts for the iTunes Media folder:

Are you saying that the broken tracks are in the Compilation folder when you'd expect them to be in the Artist\Album folder, or the other way around? Do you let iTunes manage the iTunes Media folder? This possibly looks like a case of iTunes mistakenly rearranging media to the default layout when it isn't supposed to, and not correctly updating the database so that it points to the new location of each track. The script I mention in the linked thread ought to be able to repair these tracks for you much more quickly than repairing each track one at a time.

Hopefully once you've fixed the broken links they will stay fixed. See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a recommended backup strategy that can also reveal unexpected changes in the library so you can undo them.

tt2

1. In iTunes use the menu item Edit then Preferences to show the preferences dialog. Click the Advanced tab. Read off the location of the media folder. E.g. mine is D:\iTunes\iTunes Media

2. Select a track that has an exclamation mark, press Ctrl+I on your keyboard:

Click No then the File tab:

For this example the location is file://localhost/D:/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music/Aaron Goldberg/Worlds/07 OAM's Blues.mp3.

3. To make this example to show you I moved the Worlds folder into the Compilations folder, so my lost file is at:

D:\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\Compilations\Worlds\07 OAM's Blues.mp3

When I try the FindTracks script in track by track mode I get this prompt which is indicative of a successful match: The sizes match, and the file path features some of the properties of the file, e.g. album name, track number, and title.

Running it automatically will make that repair without prompting.

tt2

I happen to have two copies of that track in different formats. When I view the search results with details turned on I can see the folders where the files are stored. Can you do the same? Use the menus or the tools just below the search box to change the view.

tt2

Ideally you would do 1. first, because the idea is to backup the state of the library before you do step 2, just in case doing that has some unfortunate side effect that hasn't been predicted.

1. Backup itl (optional)

Windows typically hides file extensions, like the .itl for the iTunes Library file, or .doc/.docx for Word documents. The icons usually make it clear which file is being sought. To make a copy of the iTunes Library file click once with the mouse to select it, then click Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V in succession on your keyboard. Windows will make a new copy of the file called iTunes Library - Copy.

2. Add new files

Open iTunes. Use File > Add Folder to Library, then select the folder C:\Users\Mark\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music. This will scan the iTunes Music folder and add in any files not already connected to the iTunes library. Everything already connected to the library will be left as is.

3. Duplicates

If you're not worried about the lost ratings or playcounts then select one of each pair of duplicates, hit delete on the keyboard to remove from the library, which brings up a dialog like this:

.

After hitting Delete Song(s) there should be a second dialog like this one.

For this one answer Keep File(s) so that you only remove the duplicate database pointer, leaving the file in place connected to the other entry in the database.

tt2

1. Backup: Great. That is what we were after.

2. Add New Files: Great, again exactly as planned.

3. Duplicates: Ready to proceed.

The most efficient way to do this is to use File > Library > Show Duplicate Items from the iTunes menu, then tap Same Album at the top of the display. This should show the duplicates arranged in pairs. If needs be click on the heading of the Name or Album columns so the songs are listed in an order that pairs the duplicates. Use Ctrl+Click to select alternate items from the list like this:

Click Delete on your keyboard, click Delete Songs on the first pop-up dialog, and then click Keep Files on the second dialog. Finally click Done at the top right to show all the other songs again.

tt2

Here is the link to download SyncToy: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15155

I believe we established that you want the 64-bit version, that is the larger file that has a filename ending in x64.exe.

Before you try to backup go to your Music folder, then right click on the iTunes folder inside it and click the word Properties in the context menu. This will bring up a dialog like this:

You'll want a drive large enough to backup the whole library to, with some room for the future growth of your library, and ideally room to backup your other important documents and data. Don't try to use the same space you've been backing up to until now as things are unlikely to be in exactly matching paths and you could end up with another clean-up operation to perform. You can use a flash drive if you can get one that is large enough for a reasonable sum, or a portable external drive if that seems to be a better option.

Here is the link to my page that shows how to set up SyncToy for backing up iTunes when you are ready:

Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy

Feel free to shout out if you need help setting things up.

This is a user to user support forum. I don't have a boss here. If you're happy, I'm happy. 🙂

tt2

The mislinked files will have picked up new tag information from the file that they've been connected to. They will show as duplicates if use File > Library > Show Duplicate Items > Same Album. The two different duplicates may have different ratings, play & skip counts, date added values, or playlist membership.

At this point it might be better to make a backup before doing anything else. See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a recommended approach.

Once you have a backup I suggest you import the media folder using File > Add Folder to Library, so that any stray tracks that are in your media folder but not currently connected to the library will be added. You could then use a different script, DeDuper, to clean duplicates. Where there are two files listed with the same properties, but one is missing, it will move ratings play counts etc. to the copy that is retained and the dead link is removed. Where there are two entries pointing to the same track play counts and playlist membership is merged and the new entry then removed while leaving the file in place.

tt2

#1. Select the smaller file if you have a 32-bit system, the larger one if it is a 64-bit system.

#2. You mentioned a Bee Gees track being linked to a Boston track. Have you now got any duplicate tracks if you look at Boston in the Artists view of the library?

#3A. Setting up remote control securely isn't something that can be done via this site. I don't have the facilities that Apple has.

#4. This is a request to provide the details that I described how to provide here. For step 1. you need to make a note of the media folder path shown in the box. You can then click Cancel to close the dialog box. Again in step 2. once you have the information noted down you can cancel the dialog box. For 3. you will need to look for the file using Windows Explorer. Please include the full path to the folder and the filename similar to my example.

tt2

#1. The core of an iTunes library is a file called iTunes Library.itl. This is the database that records what files have been added to the library, and also any information that isn't stored in the tags of each track. The tags include things like track number, name, artist, album and such. What isn't stored in the tags are properties that may change during playback or are only used by the iTunes library, such as rating, play count, date added, playlist membership, etc. You can rebuild some aspects of the library from the tracks alone, but if you want to backup the full state of the library you need the iTunes Library.itl file as well as the media. Any way that you backup is better than nothing, but I recommend SyncToy because it can scan the source and backup copies of a library looking for changes, and tell you what those changes are before it mirrors them to the backup set. This saves redundantly copying files that haven't altered, and gives you a chance to stop and undo anything that looks wrong, like say deleting a whole bunch of tracks that you don't want deleted. It is too late now, but a backup of the .itl file might have made it easier to reverse the mislinked tracks. You may have an old backup of the .itl file from a Previous iTunes upgrade. See Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash for a post that describes the way to use on of these files. (Don't do anything with that link for now, I'm providing it for reference.)

What is the date of the most recent library file in C:\Users\Mark\Music\iTunes\Previous iTunes Libraries?

#2. Please. It might help me understand what happened. It would also be useful to the locations of the duplicates.

#4. Windows Explorer AKA File Explorer on Windows 10 is the tool that you use to browse the folders and files on your computer. For the track you mention the expected path would be:

C:\Users\Mark\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Compilations\International Superhits\05 Basket Case.m4a

From past experience possible alternatives for that track would be

C:\Users\Mark\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Music\Compilations\International Superhits\05 Basket Case.m4a C:\Users\Mark\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Music\Green Day\International Superhits\05 Basket Case.m4a

C:\Users\Mark\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Green Day\International Superhits\05 Basket Case.m4a C:\Users\Mark\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\Compilations\International Superhits\05 Basket Case.m4a

C:\Users\Mark\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\Green Day\International Superhits\05 Basket Case.m4a

but only you can find the true location, either by exploring or searching your computer. You are looking for the file 05 Basket Case.m4a and whatever folder it is stored in so you can create the full path similar to one of the above.

It is worth noting that your library has the old name for the media folder iTunes Music. In a modern library this would be called iTunes Media. You may have both folders inside the iTunes folder. Newer libraries also put the compilations and artist folders inside another subfolder called Music to keep the top level of the media folder tidy. In older versions the artist folders were at the same level as Audiobooks, Movies, Podcasts, TV Shows, etc. I suspect the original issue was cause by iTunes mistakenly reorganizing some of your content into a newer layout, but not updating the saved paths, or vice versa.

Please find 05 Basket Case.m4a and tell me where it is.

tt2

1. This is a direct link to the FindTracks.vbs script.
2. Right-click on the link and use Download..., Save as..., or the equivalent in your browser.
3. Save the file to your desktop or downloads folder.
4. Open iTunes and select the Music source.
5. Double-click the downloaded script to run it.
6. You will get a security warning. The script is safe to run. (Obviously I would say that if I had ill intentions, but hopefully somebody would have noticed by now and the moderators thrown me off the site if that were the case.)
7. The next prompt asks you to confirm that the script is to run automatically or with track by track confirmation. I recommend you start by selecting one or two known broken tracks the first time and use track-by-track to see how it works, then let it run against all your music on a subsequent launch.
8. Next you confirm that it has guessed the path to the media folder correctly.
9. Having done that it will check each track, and for those that currently have a broken path it will attempt to locate the correct track and reconnect it to iTunes.
10. At the end it will report on how many broken links were found, and how many were repaired.

tt2