Apple Music on Windows is only syncing my purchased songs, not my entire library

I'm assuming the songs that don't sync still play in the library? Did you try anything similar to Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows - Apple Community, i.e. explicitly reapply the default security permissions for all files within the media folder?

I haven't had a chance to test it, but at least one person has suggested that the latest Microsoft Store version of iTunes for Windows may not revert properly when the other apps are removed. Removing that and reinstalling iTunes from this link might help there: https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/win64.

The extra Music folder inside the media folder is standard. If you copy something into the media folder, or it starts off inside it but the Keep organized option is on, then iTunes/Music will use their layout rules. iTunes 9 introduced iTunes Media Organization which added a subfolder for Music in the media folder into which artist folders would be put, to match the existing high level folders for other media types. Now that Apple Music is focused only on Music this extra layer is unnecessary, but Apple didn't think to change the default library layout to exclude it, or provide a way to remove it. (You can still add it though if it is missing, at least in the Mac version.)

If you were running iTunes I could offer a script that could potentially fix any broken links, but Apple Music is lacking support for such niceties.

Is there any redirection going on with your Music folder? Not buried in OneDrive or something? The right hand screenshot above doesn't show the full path, but what is shown appears to agree in all the visible components. In principle iTunes/Apple Music won't reimport a track when there is already one in the library with the same absolute file path.

tt2

iTunes should work if you uninstall Apple Music/Devices/TV. Installing any of these apps actively limits iTunes to audiobooks and podcasts. Apple Music is effectively beta software that breaks its competition.

tt2

See iTunes Original File Could Not Be Found - Apple Community for my boilerplate on fixing broken links. The script referenced there should be able to do that, assuming that is the underlying issue.

tt2

Hi,

That is disappointing. I'd hoped to be making progress. Another approach that would potentially work would be to reimport the media folder, which should add in any tracks at paths not already present in the library, then dedupe to remove dead links while preserving good ones. I have another script called DeDuper that I would normally suggest for this, which can resolve duplicates while merging ratings, play counts, playlists membership and sometimes the earliest data added value. This script however would need rewriting a little to take account of your peculiar library which returns folders but not full paths in the case of your broken tracks.

The other thought I had since my script is failing to reconnect things is to make another script that could itemize every file path in your media folder along with the file's size creating a .csv file that I could examine here along with an up to date copy of your .itl file with a view to working out where the FindTracks script is falling down.

While considering options when did this issue first arise? Perhaps there is a not too ancient copy of your library in the Previous iTunes Libraries folder that if accessed by shift-starting-iTunes would hold the correct paths to these tracks. If so it may be possible to use ExportImport (edited so that it only exports the location property) to export the details from the old library, then reconnect to the current one, and import the data to fix the library. Or if that Previous Library is really recent you could just use that instead.

tt2

The system32 folder is an odd place to send you. I wonder if it is worth following the steps in this tip: Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows - Apple Community. I'll have to put my thinking cap on again to see if I can think of anything else to help FindTracks work as it should. I suppose it is possible a permissions issue might affect that too, but it isn't a scenario I've explored.

I'll check some of your compilation/various artist albums and see if I can create analogues to test at my end.

tt2

Apologies for the late reply. Been focused elsewhere.

The unknown album detail suggests the files that are being fixed are missing tags, or the tags are missing details, and that you have the "Keep media folder organized" flag enabled. Turn this off before attempting any more repairs. That way any data that is present in the file path can potentially be restored.

I can't recall if I've asked already, but do you have an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription, or have you used one in the past?

Turning off the advanced preference to generate an iTunes Library XML file might speed up the script operation a bit. The less like the standard layout your library is the more work the script is doing to look at potential alternative folders for each track.

Your symptoms are unlike those I've run into before, which are usually caused by people manually moving content around after connecting it to iTunes. Have you tried to use any other software to make changes to your library, e.g. tag editing, normalization, etc.?

tt2

Hi,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to this. I've written a new script called PathsToCSV that will list the paths to all of the music files in your media folder along with their sizes so I can compare this with data in your library. Would you mind running it and then sending me the output file (placed in your media folder) along with a current copy of your iTunes Library.itl file? Hopefully that will give me enough information to work out where FindTracks is going wrong.

tt2

Your unhidden purchases will show up on the device if you are signed into your Apple ID. They are not being synced either from the sound of things. Manually manage and Sync music are logical opposites. You should select one option, or the other, but not both. Of course your selection should stick, so that is a mystery. I've not tried to work with Apple Devices as iTunes is frankly better software, but have you made any further selections as to what should be synced, e.g. all music, selected playlists, artists, albums, etc. I'm using the Apple Music subscription service these days but I would always use a few selected playlists to choose what is supposed to sync to each device.

tt2

Curious. Did you get this message from iTunes, or something else?

That one means that at least one of Apple Music/Devices/TV is still installed. Something else might mean that iTunes needs to be reinstalled, as well as those being removed, in order to revert.

tt2

Hi,

I'm not interested in the compensation part, only the mystery of how your library is broken and how it might be fixed. Would you be kind enough to send me your .itl file to inspect? Hopefully I can then come back with some specific questions about a few tracks so I can pinpoint what changes need to be made to the script to make it work better with your tracks. You can find a contact address for me in my profile here.

tt2