Missing iTunes files

Question

Missing iTunes files

suddenly, my iTunes library can't locate approximately 270 song files. They are there. In the same place I imported them to initially. Same location. They have not moved. And in my iTunes preferences, my library location has not changed from where it's been for several years. Yet, iTunes tells me the files are missing. I click on locate...choose the library location where I ALWAYS have imported my files...find the very file iTunes suddenly can't locate...and click "open". Then the file plays fine. Why? What on earth is Apple's problem? And the prompt asks if I'd like to use that location to locate the other 268 or 9 missing songs and I click yes, since several songs on the same album "can't be located." When I do, it says none of the missing files can be located. I then click on a song FROM THE SAME LOCATION...and choose "Locate"...navigate to the very same folder...and click "open." Then the song plays fine.

SERIOUSLY??? I have to do this 268 more time...MANUALLY??? You haven't figured this out yet?

There has GOT to be a faster way to do this. Of course, if you haven't fixed this bug...maybe I'm expecting too much...

Edit: When I click "Get Info" for a missing song and go to "File", this is what I see. What file location is that? It's not my trash, I checked the contents already. That's a very bizarre file location. What gives with iTunes purging music I've purchased? I see "date modified" is 2/2/22. I assume that's the date it was banished to this mystery location? WTF?

Mac mini

Posted on Feb 10, 2023 11:50 PM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

277,723 points

Feb 12, 2023 08:49 AM in response to Randy Willcox

The "missing file" issue with exclamation marks happens if the file is no longer where iTunes or Music expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, one of its parent folders, the drive it lives on has had a name change, or you've moved a non-portable library to a different path (see Make a split library portable for details). It is also possible that iTunes or Music have changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout, or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place, or that you've been too aggressive when deleting duplicates at some point.

Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Cmd-I to get Song Info, then click No when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the file tab for the location the library thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drives. Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, a folder renamed, or a drive label has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions. If the difference between the two paths is an additional Music folder in one path then this is a layout issue. I can explain further if that is the case. If everything is where it is supposed to be try Repair security permissions for iTunes for Mac - Apple Community.

In some cases the library may be able to repair itself if you go through the same steps with Get Info, or when playing a track, but this time click Locate and browse to the lost track. It may then offer to attempt to automatically fix other broken links. Although it says something like "use the same location" I think it expects to find the tracks in the same artist & album layout they were in previously, with one systematic change to the path.

If you want me to try to provide specific advice please post back the following details:

The location of the media folder under iTunes|Music > Preferences > Advanced
The location of a sample missing track shown under Song Info > File > Location that begins file://
The true path to the file whose details you gave in 2

See also FixLinks - an AppleScript to repair broken links in Music - Apple Community.

tt2

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Answer 2

Feb 15, 2023 06:24 AM in response to turingtest2

It's almost like you (either human or bot) read the subject line and then copy and pasted the very instructions Apple lists under the FAQ section, which, had they been relevant, wouldn't have required my posting a submission in the first place.

The file hasn't moved. Same place it's always been since import. iTunes just suddenly thinks roughly 270 songs are now in the mysterious ".Trashes" folder of the external hard drive. But no. The files are all, still...in exactly the same place they've always been. But since iTunes wants to find it someplace else all of a sudden...in fact...in a folder I couldn't put files in at all to begin with, clearly something has told iTunes to look elsewhere for the files.

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

277,723 points

Feb 15, 2023 10:18 AM in response to Randy Willcox

I can't help with the how or why of this happening, but the FixLinks script, with the appropriate edits if you're running iTunes, should be able to recognize when the path is broken, and reconnect to right path located in the usual place in your media folder.

See FixLinks - an AppleScript to repair broken links in Music - Apple Community.

Try it. If there is something non-standard about the layout of your files we can tweak the script to account for that.

tt2

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Answer 4

Feb 11, 2023 12:21 AM in response to Randy Willcox

Update:

I've managed to locate the ".Trashes" folder on the HD where the library is stored. It's empty. So the actual files are still where they always were, but iTunes has randomly decided that the file location it should be searching for these songs is a hidden trash folder on my external HD instead of the library location I have set in preferences where the songs have always been? 😳

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