Member Avatar for Brandt

Ok, so, I have a Dell Studio 1537 laptop, and yesterday upgraded my ram to 4GB and also upgraded my 32bit Vista to 64bit Win7. I made backup DVD discs of my whole iTunes library, but when I tried to reload them on to iTunes all of a sudden my CD/DVD won't recognise that there is a disk there when I put them in. I have been having problems like this with the drive for some time, and I know the disks are ok as they show up fine on my Mum's laptop. So, it seems to me I have a few options, but I wanted to check with you pros which one would be the best to try...

1)Interestingly during the Windows upgrade, it kept all my old files which are now in the folder C:\Windows.old and it seems like I can play the songs too. Is there a way I could transfer everything over to C:\User\Music and then just drop a single 'library' file into itunes? There a couple of library files and I'm not sure which one I would need?

2) Could I create an ISO image of the discs on my Mum's laptop, then transfer them to my laptop, and get itunes to recogonise the images? I'm a complete novice with ISO software, and would have to download something to do the job.

3) Finally, I have all the content of my library spread between my video ipod and my iphone. The ipod has all the music, and the iphone has all the apps etc. iTunes only gives the option to transfer 'purchased items', and most of my music wasn't purchased from itunes. I have used a seperate method in the past that extracts the whole ipod contents as 4 letter files which you can then drop into itunes, but I'm not sure about this method when trying to do it for two devices with different content.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, many thanks in advance

Brandt

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Brief diagnosis and safe next steps based on ’s upgrade and ’s copy-from-Windows.old attempt: when the iTunes database (.itl) and the media files are moved separately the library can lose track of files because it stores the original file locations. Windows keeps a temporary copy of the prior installation in C:\Windows.old, but that snapshot is intended for short-term recovery and should be restored intact rather than piecemeal. Retrieve files from the Windows.old folder (Microsoft) and community posts explain how path mismatches break iTunes references. (support.microsoft.com)

Recommended recovery workflow (minimal risk, highest chance of restoring playlists/ratings):

  • Copy the entire iTunes folder (the folder that contains iTunes Library.itl, iTunes Library.xml and the iTunes Media folder) from Windows.old into the current user Music folder. Apple documents the proper copy-and-choose-library method for moving/restoring a library.
  • Start iTunes while holding Shift and choose the restored iTunes Library.itl so iTunes opens the recovered database.
  • Once open, run File > Library > Organize Library and select Consolidate files to bring any loose media into the iTunes Media folder. [Apple: Move your iTunes library / Consolidate files]. (support.apple.com)

If some tracks still show “missing”:

  • Use Windows search and show hidden/system files (an upgrade can leave files in odd places or with permission issues). If media files exist but are outside the iTunes Media tree, use File > Add Folder to Library or drop folders into the “Automatically Add to iTunes” area to re-import them. If discs are readable on another PC, copy the files (not necessarily create ISOs) to an external drive and import. See Apple’s import instructions and Microsoft’s recovery tips. (support.apple.com)

Notes on the device-route and cautions: Transfer Purchases moves only iTunes Store purchases; non‑purchased music must be extracted with a trusted tool (examples: iMazing, iExplorer), and Apple Music/iCloud‑protected tracks often cannot be exported. Before heavy changes deauthorize the old computer, keep a full backup (Windows.old is auto-deleted after the platform’s retention period), and update iTunes if it reports a library-version mismatch. (support.apple.com)

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Member Avatar for caperjack

hi, first let me say im no pro/don't use itunes ,but i have many time loaded windows and had file in c:windows.old, did you using windows explorer try to just simply drag and drop the itunes folder from the windows.old location to the itunes folder.

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for Brandt

Thanks Caperjack, I just tried doing that and it seemed to work perfectly, but now I have loads of completely random songs missing!? All my purchased files are there, but just completely random songs say they can't find the location. I've tried searching everywhere for them but they just seemed to have vanished. This is seriously annoying, if anyone has had a similar problem it would be good to hear from them

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