No Playlists -- Missing iTunes Music Library.xml

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Level 1

56 points

No Playlists -- Missing iTunes Music Library.xml

Some time ago, I moved from Windows 7 to 11. I managed to move iTunes and my iTunes music to the Windows 11 system, but I haven't looked at it for a while. iTunes 12.13.7.1 is installed. I think that a more recent version of iTunes for Windows 11 is available in the Microsoft store, but I haven't yet downloaded that.

I just noticed that iTunes doesn't have my playlists anymore. In the navigation pane on the left, the only item under "Music Playlists" is "Genius" (does Genius still work?). Playlists, both those I created and those that were created by Genius are listed under "My Devices" (i.e., on my iPhone), but not under Library.

I thought that playlists were stored in iTunes Music Library.xml but that file is not on my computer anywhere. I even retrieved an old version of that file from a backup and saved it in the Music\iTunes folder (see below), but it as soon as I open iTunes, the xml file is deleted.

Because of the way things were structured on my old Windows 7 computer, the iTunes files are not in standard locations on the new Windows 11 computer:

the actual music files are in D:\...\iTunesMusic (this location is shown in iTunes Preferences|Advanced)
C:\Users\[me]\Music\iTunes includes
- iTunes Library Extras.itdb
- iTunes Library Genius.itdb
- iTunes Library.itl
- sentinel
- Album Artwork (folder)
- iTunes Media (folder), which includes Automatically Add to iTunes and .iTunes Preferences.plist

How do I get playlists back? Should I download the current version of iTunes or the new Apple Music app?

Where should I put the backup copy of the iTunes Music Library.xml file?

Posted on Aug 20, 2025 12:10 PM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

277,711 points

Aug 20, 2025 12:41 PM in response to Peter Adler

iTunes 12.13.7.1 is the current version, whether downloaded from apple.com or the Microsoft Store.

See Move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Community for advice on moving your library from one computer to another. See also Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash - Apple Community.

The automatic generation of an XML file whenever iTunes is running is no longer the default setting, however you can enable it under Edit > Preferences > Advanced. Note that the XML files is for supporting third party applications, iTunes itself doesn't really use it, although it can potentially be used to rebuild a library when the .itl file has been lost for whatever reason and there are no backups.

Please avoid the Apple Music/Apple TV/Apple Devices apps, particularly while your library is incomplete. The new suite is less capable than iTunes in many respects, and troubleshooting options are seriously limited.

tt2

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Answer 2

Peter Adler Author

Level 1

56 points

Aug 23, 2025 04:04 PM in response to turingtest2

So, just to be clear, playlists are stored with iTunes Library.itl.

I restored a backup of that file and my playlists are back.

I don't know if I added any music files to iTunes after the date of that backup file. Is there something I should do to make sure that the music files are accurately reflected in what iTunes shows?

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

277,711 points

Aug 23, 2025 08:31 PM in response to Peter Adler

Yes, playlists are stored in the .itl file. You can use File > Add Folder to Library and select your media folder to add in any recent tracks that are not known to the library.

tt2

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