iTunes disaster

quad_red

Last night my flatmate told me she was having problems with iTunes/iPod. Now, I don't have an iPod and I've never used iTunes but how hard can it be?

She had all her music in 'my music'. Yet the only music showing up in iTunes was the music she already had on the laptop when her friend helped her last year (putting 13 artists onto the laptop& iTunes).

So I went to file>add folders. I selected the my music folder and off itunes went, converting some wmas in the process.

I came back to it an hour later. All the music sub-folders in 'my music' are empty. And mother f*ppin iTunes still only shows 13 artists - ALL the music she has ripped from her collection since (amounting to at least a year of cd shopping) appears to be gone.

What the hell happened? (needless to say, she isn't too thrilled at my 'work'.)

swingking

My best advice is to actually search for the music using windows search; the chances are that the music is in a different folder

Good luck!

Tree

iTunes is evil.

there's this option in it "consolidate library" that takes every file in teh library and converts the ORIGINAL to .aac and makes the whole collection into an ipod only pool. My sister will be shot if she ever clicks that option.

double check theres someo ther option in preferences about leaving originals intact when copying to the library (but nothing to do w/ consolidate librayr)

Idleater

Tree wrote:

there's this option in it "consolidate library" that takes every file in teh library and converts the ORIGINAL to .aac and makes the whole collection into an ipod only pool.

No it doesn't.
ITunes has a music folder. This is listed in edit -> preferences -> advanced -> general -> Itunes music folder location. The type of file that it uses is listed in the importing tab and though is AAC by default, can be set to MP3.

According to the help (yes I clicked on it )

itunes help wrote:

Copying all your iTunes files into a central location
Depending on how you've added songs, videos, and other items to iTunes, your library might include items that are located anywhere on your computer's hard disk or other media. To organize your files, you can choose to place a copy of all the files in your music library in the iTunes Music folder in the iTunes folder (in your My Music folder).

Choose Advanced > Consolidate Library.

Any iTunes files that are located outside the iTunes folder remain in their original location; copies of them are placed in your iTunes folder.


With all your music and other items in one place, you can more easily copy it to a new computer or back up your iTunes library to an external hard disk or other media.

pgodkin

i agree itune's is the devil in a dress but i have to say after using it for a while im starting to get the hang of it your problem as i see it is u can't find any music on the hard-drive,

the first thing i would do is do a search (i.e start button, then search), then type in .mp3 or.wma or whatever format there in and press search, the computer will then pull up all the music on your hard-drive, once u see a name that looks like it should be in the other folders, right click it and look at the loctation of it, the just back track and open up the folder

it's just a matter of cuttin and pasting into the right folders after that, once you've done that click on the add folder to liabary on the itunes that should be it

philip

quad_red

of that. I didn't click consolidate anything. I clicked 'add folder'.

Why the hell would iTunes convert every single music file, remove them from their folders and place them someplace that it wouldn't be able to find them.

That makes no sense.

Thank god I've got an iRiver.

pgodkin

quad_red wrote:

of that. I didn't click consolidate anything. I clicked 'add folder'.

Why the hell would iTunes convert every single music file, remove them from their folders and place them someplace that it wouldn't be able to find them.

That makes no sense.

Thank god I've got an iRiver.

Like all things from Apple they suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but I'm no expert on it so i can't talk about it, what i do know is something like that happened to me except it was my sis messing with the music and that's how i got all my stuff back, and the doctors said she would make a full recovery, so all in all it wasn't to bad!!

a Learning Experience if u will:rolleyes:

Philip

Heinrich

pgodkin wrote:

but I'm no expert on it so i can't talk about it, what i do know is something like that happened to me except it was my sis messing with the music and that's how i got all my stuff back, and the doctors said she would make a full recovery, so all in all it wasn't to bad!!

a Learning Experience if u will:rolleyes:

Philip

So you're no expert on it and you are able to proclaim that:Like all things from Apple they suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am probably not an expert either but I have been using iTunes for years, both on a Mac and a PC and never had these problems. I recently formatted my hard disk and reinstalled Windoz etc. I then transferred my folders frm my backup to where they should be.

If you have nothing sensible to say silence is a good alternative...;)

pgodkin

Heinrich wrote:

So you're no expert on it and you are able to proclaim that:Like all things from Apple they suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am probably not an expert either but I have been using iTunes for years, both on a Mac and a PC and never had these problems. I recently formatted my hard disk and reinstalled Windoz etc. I then transferred my folders from my backup to where they should be.

If you have nothing sensible to say silence is a good alternative...;)

Right hang on a sec, true I'm not an expert on apple products but my main argument is that itunes is not an easy program to use out of the box, i think it's down to the fact that it's a cross over from apple o/s to window' o/s and with the recent explosion of ipod users and the fact that 90% of people are windows user's, this is why you see "Itunes help" threads popping up all over the place, (not only on boards.ie that's why i stated it sucked!!

and another thing...........

re-read the question it was looking for help to get back music lost in the hard drive, my first post helped (i hope) to get it back, look above to your FIRST post, did u help at all??:p

My second post was replying to the fact that she/he didn't know how this happened and i gave him my own example of people going messing around with setting that don't know how or what the hell there using!!:mad:

so take some of your Own advise If you have nothing sensible to say silence is a good alternative...;)

Philip:cool:

Idleater

ITunes is certainly not difficult to use. Whatever one's criticisims of Apple and iPods etc are, I don't think that you can say that ITunes is difficult to use.

To the person who has lost their music:
Have you found it again using the search function?

Looking at my own library, I have used the "add folder" function and all my songs are listed in itunes but are located in their original location - ie not all are in the "ITunes music folder" listed in the preferences tab.

You didn't happen to remove all the songs from the library by any chance? And then click to remove from my computer as well?

L.

quad_red

Good to see some healthy debate.

First of all - i'm a reasonably computer literate guy. I've had a creative micro zen, an olympus m:robe and I have an iRiver H10. Now they all have their own little intricacies - particularly the iTrip software that's packaged with the m:robe. THAT is a total b*llox to work with.

But iTunes is something else. I have it in work so I can watch trailers on apple.com (the new versions of quicktime demand you download iTunes). It's fine. Not the fastest program but relatively slick.

This, however, is something different. I would know if it was asking me to consolidate folders. It didn't. Now, I haven't been home since sunday so I haven't done a manual search of the hard drive. But what sort of crappy program totally rips apart the folder structure you're using THEN doesn't even have the decency to remember what its done.

It didn't even leave its phone number

Heinrich

pgodkin wrote:

Right hang on a sec, true I'm not an expert on apple products but my main argument is that itunes is not an easy program to use out of the box, i think it's down to the fact that it's a cross over from apple o/s to window' o/s and with the recent explosion of ipod users and the fact that 90% of people are windows user's, this is why you see "Itunes help" threads popping up all over the place, (not only on boards.ie that's why i stated it sucked!!

and another thing...........

re-read the question it was looking for help to get back music lost in the hard drive, my first post helped (i hope) to get it back, look above to your FIRST post, did u help at all??:p

My second post was replying to the fact that she/he didn't know how this happened and i gave him my own example of people going messing around with setting that don't know how or what the hell there using!!:mad:

so take some of your Own advise If you have nothing sensible to say silence is a good alternative...;)

Philip:cool:

Your contribution that Apple sucks is not very helpfut at all...

The program, as with most Mac stuff, is very simple to use. If you read the friendly manual you may noy have to resort to angry posts...

Finally, if the music on these pods was legally purchased then the originals will be readily to hand. I doubt very much if most of the complainers have purchased downloads.

If you backup your stuff then there should never be a problem!

quad_red

Heinrich wrote:

If you backup your stuff then there should never be a problem!

Thanks. It is backed up. But she (in her total excessive stupidity) never thought of taking the time to rip her cds THEN back all those files up in case iTunes got hungry.

I'm not making any comment on apple in general. But the whole concept of apple is that it's easier to use. Now, no other mp3 software has ever done this. And even if the music is there, and its been reformatted and stored someplace else etc.

- well, telling my flatmate who has NO computer know-how that it'll be all fine once she knows how to add a folder, then search the hard disc to where its stored (will the name tags etc. still be attached to the file) and try to get iTunes to recognise it again.

That's not very user friendly.

Heinrich

quad_red wrote:

- well, telling my flatmate who has NO computer know-how that it'll be all fine once she knows how to add a folder, then search the hard disc to where its stored (will the name tags etc. still be attached to the file) and try to get iTunes to recognise it again.

That's not very user friendly.

I recently sold a computer on which I had my music. I simply copied the iTunes folder from My Music folder and put this folder in the My Music folder of the new machine. Now that is not complicated.

If your flatmate has no computer knowledge then she should not tamper with the computer. Sometimes clicking on the Help icon is useful.:rolleyes:

Bard

Cool it, you lot.

pgodkin, if you know little enough about something to be able to say "I'm no expert on it so i can't talk about it" then DON'T talk about it. Blurting out things like "Like all things from Apple they suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and "itunes is not an easy program to use out of the box" is both untrue and unhelpful. If you want to continue contributing to this forum, contribute in a more helpful and less ignorant way in future.

Thanks.

quad_red

Sigh :rolleyes:

Here come the Apple patrol. I don't see why yer man shouldn't be able to say that he doesn't like apple and he finds iTunes hard to use.

Its no more/less useful than the other guy not addressing the 'add folder' issue at all and telling me that we should just have copied and pasted stuff etc.

The whole point of a resource behemoth like iTunes is that its supposed to make things easy.

Idleater

quad_red wrote:

But what sort of crappy program totally rips apart the folder structure you're using THEN doesn't even have the decency to remember what its done

erm, I find this hard to believe.

In all my times rebuilding new libraries, it has never lost a file, deleted a file, renamed a file etc. that I did not expressly command.

I would recommend that you check out the computer (and the recycle bin) before claiming that the ripped apart folder structure is actually so.

The thing to check is: are the files actually gone from the computer or is the library listing in ITunes just gone.

<as an aside: the creative software suite is more convoluted than anything else I have seen and it collectively is much more memory/resource intensive. ITunes is easy, everything is there in front of you in the one application.>

L.

pgodkin

Bard wrote:

Cool it, you lot.

pgodkin, if you know little enough about something to be able to say "I'm no expert on it so i can't talk about it" then DON'T talk about it. Blurting out things like "Like all things from Apple they suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and "itunes is not an easy program to use out of the box" is both untrue and unhelpful. If you want to continue contributing to this forum, contribute in a more helpful and less ignorant way in future.

Thanks.

OK in closing, i will say, did u find the music? and i only say that "I'm no expert" to be modest, i know it like the back of my hand but it's still not user friendly in MY OPINION!

Look i know people who swear that apple products are easier to use, ONCE YOU GET TO KNOW THEM, and they prob are.... but the fact can't escape anyone that 90% of us are windows users which leads to problems along the way, when dealing with apple products and the fact that i say they suck is down to the fact that i haven't got to grips with the program which i could be using!!

but really did u find the music?

philip

quad_red

My flatmate left her laptop in work so I'll get a look at it tonight - with the monster that is boards.ie looking over my shoulder.

I appreciate all the input guys,
Quad.

Heinrich

pgodkin wrote:

OK in closing, i will say, did u find the music? and i only say that "I'm no expert" to be modest, i know it like the back of my hand but it's still not user friendly in MY OPINION!

Look i know people who swear that apple products are easier to use, ONCE YOU GET TO KNOW THEM, and they prob are.... but the fact can't escape anyone that 90% of us are windows users which leads to problems along the way, when dealing with apple products and the fact that i say they suck is down to the fact that i haven't got to grips with the program which i could be using!!

but really did u find the music?

philip

Your final comment seems to negate your first one!!! You know the program like the back of your hand and still say Apple products suck because you haven't got to grops with the program.

Perhaps the back of you hand is blurred...:p

Of the 90% of Windows usere I wonder how many find Apple programs and indeed which ones difficult.
Any ideas?

quad_red

I finally got at the laptop last night. I did a full search for music files (all available formats). In included hidden and system files.

Nothing.

To make a bit weirder, Linda reported a new issue. iTunes has renamed some tracks with writing in some weird script.

Ah, it's all enough to give one a headache.

Grayarea

The "add folder" command does not delete the files it finds.

I use this command all the time to add new CD that I have ripped to the itunes library without anything moving or being converted.

If the command took some time to execute then it probably was not "add folder", this takes very little time (about 30 secs) on my full collection (about 11Gb).

If there is corruption in the library then there may be a software or hardware problem.

Later,

quad_red

of iTunes and used 'add folder' command and all is well.

The music appears in the iTunes library, can be played and can be transferred to the iPod.

The missing music is still gone and the tracks that were renamed to meaningless garbage remain but the problem seems to have been sorted out.

Now she just has to go and rip all her stuff again.