Where does iTunes store playlist files?

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Level 1

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Where does iTunes store playlist files?

I recently put all my music onto an external HD, so I had to re-add everything to the iTunes library, and so now all my playlists are gone. I use them a lot on my iPod, and it'll be a major pain to go back and re-make them all. Is there a place iTunes stored the old ones, and is there a way I can reload them? And is there any way to at least re-load my ratings for my songs?

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Jan 16, 2007 4:08 PM

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Answer 1

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StarDeb55

Level 6

19,695 points

Jan 16, 2007 5:26 PM in response to Food?

There are 2 associated database files with your iTunes music folder, the .itl & .xml files. These 2 files are where all the information for your playlists are. It is crucial when you move to an external HD that these 2 files remain in place on your system's HD as that is there home. The only thing you really need to move to the EHD is the iTunes music folder.

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Answer 2

Jan 16, 2007 4:45 PM in response to Food?

The playlist file is stored in the Music folder on your hard-drive. It is created/modified anytime you add/delete music to iTunes. The actual music files are held in another folder inside Music folder. Your playlist file may not be able to find your music files since you moved them. Also, since you moved them to an external drive, I assume you connect the drive to your Macbook anytime you would want to listen to them? The only way for iTunes to recognize your playlists would be to have the external drive connected anytime you have iTunes open. However, that being said, the only way to recreate playlists is to drag them back into iTunes.

iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

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Answer 3

Food? Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 16, 2007 8:33 PM in response to StarDeb55

Yeah, all I moved over was the actual song files themselves (I just copied and pasted all the artist folders onto the external HD). This means the old library file, with the old playlists on it, is still on my hard drive somewhere, right? Where, and what do I do with it?

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Answer 4

Jan 16, 2007 9:01 PM in response to Food?

I've done this countless times moving my music to an external HD. You don't need to drag the files once they're in a new location. All you need to do is go in preferences and change your music location (to wherever your music is at now)and iTunes will keep everything else intact. You don't need to make a new iTunes Library or anything. Hopefully you've kept your old iTunes folder.

Also anytime you start iTunes before you turn on your external HD it'll switch back to the Music folder in your iTunes as a default. Meaning any new music you add will be put there.

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Answer 5

Food? Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 17, 2007 5:38 AM in response to Andrew Zuniga

I have my old iTunes folder, but all the music is on the external HD now. The only thing in the old iTunes Music folder is Garage Band files and an iTunes folder. The folder on the external HD has been set to the default already, so iTunes doesn't switch to the other one anymore.

What will re-loading the old iTunes Library file do? It's in the old iTunes folder.

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Answer 6

Jan 18, 2007 9:46 PM in response to Food?

The old iTunes library (the database file) houses all the playlists, aswell as ratings and playcounts. The .xml file houses play counts and ratings just in case your library crashes.

I reread your post and I'm assuming you dragged all your music files from the external HD to your iTunes? Unfortunately iTunes recognized them as "NEW" files which is why your ratings and play counts are no longer there.

The best way to have done this, without adding anything to the library, is switching the music location in the preferences. Replacing the new library with the old should make everything the way it was before and from there you should switch music location and the files should be the way they were before, as if the moving them never happened

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