How do I tell where iTunes or Apple Music are looking for Music files (NOT THE MEDIA FOLDER)

I am running iTunes on a Win 10 PC. When I set up iTunes, I had a directory/folder with music files that I imported into iTunes. However, I did not allow iTunes to organize the files, as I used another app. The original external drive where the music files resided started to get flaky, so I copied the files to another location.


Since I did not allow iTunes to organize the files, it's using the files from the original location to update the local libraries on my iPhone and iPad. How do I tell where iTunes is currently looking for those files located outside the iTunes Media Folder?


How do I tell iTunes to look at this other location so I don't lose all the information in iTunes (Playlists, metadata)? I have a lot of files, and I really don't want to rebuild the iTunes database via import.

Windows, Windows 10

Posted on Mar 20, 2025 8:04 AM

Reply
1 reply
Sort By: 

Mar 20, 2025 8:35 AM in response to ipodlam

The easiest path for the initial problem would have been to copy the content from say drive X: to drive Y: to the same path, and then swap the drive letters around so that the newer drive now has the drive letter where iTunes is looking for the content.


Should it not be possible to take that approach for reasons then as long as there is some straightforward common change to the path my SwitchLinks script should be able to make the library reference the new paths instead of the old ones. This preserves ratings, playlist membership, etc. which would be lost if you simply imported the media into a new empty library. This script relies on both old and new versions of the file being accessible. I have another script called FindTracks that is used for repairs when the original is no longer available and you want to update iTunes to point to the correct item in a new media folder.


tt2

Reply

How do I tell where iTunes or Apple Music are looking for Music files (NOT THE MEDIA FOLDER)

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.