Recently I had a huge problem with iTunes: all of the music in my Library vanished to iCloud. There were exclamation points everywhere. iTunes Support didn't know what to do. I stumbled on to a way to restore the music, but it meant song by song. Why doesn't iCloud offer a way to do a mass restoring? I know that if one goes to Purchased, one sees a Download All button, but it doesn't work. Please advise.
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downloading from iCloud
- Thread starter narda
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We really need a few more details. What device, what operating system, what if anything happened/did you do immediately before this occurred?
The Download All Button does not refer to media it is for iOS software only.
iTunes is just a user interface for viewing your music, video, software etc. All of your music should still be stored in Macintosh HD > User > Music > iTunes > iTunes Media > Music
Depending on your device OS and iTunes version there are things you can do to reload your library.
gey back to us with a bit more info.
The Download All Button does not refer to media it is for iOS software only.
iTunes is just a user interface for viewing your music, video, software etc. All of your music should still be stored in Macintosh HD > User > Music > iTunes > iTunes Media > Music
Depending on your device OS and iTunes version there are things you can do to reload your library.
gey back to us with a bit more info.
It was the iTunes Support Supervisor himself that advised me to use Download All, even though I use a MacBook Air, macOSX Sierra and the latest iTunes version. I cannot remember that I was doing anything out of the ordinary before the problem occurred, other than listening to music. There was a connection problem, but that has been resolved with the installation of a telephone fixed line with router for WiFi, which is working perfectly well.
Would the path you describe above allow me to do a mass restoration of all my music? Meanwhile, I am continuing with my one-by-one method.
Many thanks.
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Follow the path and just see if everything you had is there. If so just select one item and drag it to either the iTunes icon or an open iTunes window. If it opens that file (an album for example) and contains the track names and artwork thats good. Obviously you could do this with multiple files although I would suggest small batches.
My problem with this is we don't really know why it happened. To me that indicates a problem, and an unfixed problem may occur again. I am even more surprised that the iTunes Support person did not have any idea. Did they suggest you check that your library was intact.
Is it possible that you may have logged into a different iTunes account?
It's just possible that iTunes may have lost the path to your library. You can check this by opening iTunes while holding the Option key, it will offer you the option of creating a new Library or opening an existing one (you can have more than one Library) if you see more than one existing library eg iTunes and iTunes (1) try opening each to see what they contain. The default should just be iTunes.
My problem with this is we don't really know why it happened. To me that indicates a problem, and an unfixed problem may occur again. I am even more surprised that the iTunes Support person did not have any idea. Did they suggest you check that your library was intact.
Is it possible that you may have logged into a different iTunes account?
It's just possible that iTunes may have lost the path to your library. You can check this by opening iTunes while holding the Option key, it will offer you the option of creating a new Library or opening an existing one (you can have more than one Library) if you see more than one existing library eg iTunes and iTunes (1) try opening each to see what they contain. The default should just be iTunes.
I found that I have only one exisiting iTunes Library. Next, I followed the path and moved a Music folder to the iTunes icon, which opened only one song in the Playlist. To play the others, I had to follow the method I stumbled on: Double click on Song; dropdown opens saying the original cannot be found; select Cancel rather than Locate; when dropdown vanishes, there is an iCloud icon next to the song; download/restore.
You seem to be so much better informed than the people I dealt with at iTunes Support. Thank you for your expertise.
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See this Apple Support Article, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201272, it will tell you how to get all your iTunes purchases back to your Mac.
Yes, I read that article, but it did not really help me. On the Purchased page, in the lower right-hand corner, it said Download All, but it would not work. It was no better than my manual one-by-one method. Why can't iTunes just re-send all the music in my iCloud account to me to be moved by me to iTunes<Music?
Thank you.
I have re-started and shut down many times. No effect whatsoever. I think it is a freak occurrence caused by a poor connection to WiFi, now corrected.
I have also tried that many times, but to no avail. Again, why can't iTunes put all my music in a folder which I could then load to iTunes via the icon?
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In a way it does. But if the individual files in the iTunes Media folder have Cloud symbols next to them then they are not physically on your HD so that may not work.
I know you said Download All did not work (and I'm sorry I gave you the wrong info on that originally) but when you click that do you get a little circle top right on the menu bar with a down arrow in it. If so clicking on that will show a list of downloading items. This process could take a long time dependent on your internet connection.
What version of iTunes are you using because the preferences vary between versions.?
See arrowed below;
I know you said Download All did not work (and I'm sorry I gave you the wrong info on that originally) but when you click that do you get a little circle top right on the menu bar with a down arrow in it. If so clicking on that will show a list of downloading items. This process could take a long time dependent on your internet connection.
What version of iTunes are you using because the preferences vary between versions.?
See arrowed below;
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After some exhaustive research it seems your problem is not unique. There have been changes to iTunes recently that may have worsened the problem, see this article:http://www.macworld.com/article/299...library-dealing-with-duplicate-playlists.html
Using the link in this article I went to this site; http://www.mcelhearn.com/how-to-rebuild-your-itunes-library/
I am unsure if this will be any help to you now but it does explain some things.
It's possible that your iTunes Library became corrupted so creating an .xml file may be too late.
In the end it would have been so much easier to restore if you had a backup. Obviously this is no comfort to you now but it is why we all constantly harp on the importance of both A Time Machine Backup and a bootable Clone of your HD.
This has been a learning experience for me as well and I have followed the advice from the iTunes Guy to create an .xml file myself just for experimentation even though I have several backups.
At least you do have a solution, albeit a slow one but I strongly suggest that you backup and if like me you find iCloud an unnecessary complication for Pictures and Music turn off iTunes match and iCloud services for both.
I do not suggest turning off all iCloud services many are extremely useful but as far as iTunes and Photos go I find they sometimes create more problems than solutions. (personal opinion only)
Using the link in this article I went to this site; http://www.mcelhearn.com/how-to-rebuild-your-itunes-library/
I am unsure if this will be any help to you now but it does explain some things.
It's possible that your iTunes Library became corrupted so creating an .xml file may be too late.
In the end it would have been so much easier to restore if you had a backup. Obviously this is no comfort to you now but it is why we all constantly harp on the importance of both A Time Machine Backup and a bootable Clone of your HD.
This has been a learning experience for me as well and I have followed the advice from the iTunes Guy to create an .xml file myself just for experimentation even though I have several backups.
At least you do have a solution, albeit a slow one but I strongly suggest that you backup and if like me you find iCloud an unnecessary complication for Pictures and Music turn off iTunes match and iCloud services for both.
I do not suggest turning off all iCloud services many are extremely useful but as far as iTunes and Photos go I find they sometimes create more problems than solutions. (personal opinion only)
I am using iTunes 12.5.3, and yes, I am very familiar with that circle in the upper right-hand corner for downloading.
Thank you.
Actually, I have two backups: one on Carbonite, the other on a lenovo hard-drive. I would like to restore via the lenovo, but I am not sure how to do it. Can I just select my music files and then move them to the iTunes icon, or do I have to move them to iTunes media? Thank you.
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How were the files put on the Lenovo external drive? Did you use Time Machine, Lenovo software included with the drive, or did you drag and drop the files yourself?
I used Time Machine.
I have downloaded the two articles you sent, but I do not have the patience to read them today. I'll get back to you after I read them. Thank you.
I have now read those two terrifying articles and have thus further exacerbated my lack of confidence in Apple. You were right: now the advertising departments rule over the engineers. There no longer seems to be an overall vision or concern about compatibility. And iTunes Support is out of touch. Of course, it's all about $$$$, and this will become more prevalent during the Trump years.
Anyway, I must have my music back, so I will continue with my tedious manual method, but it does seem to work. When finished, I will probably turn off iCloud and stick with external hard drives.
Any simple instructions for moving my music from the lenovo hard drive, loaded through Time Machine, back to my Mac? If I do this, would it override the already re-installed files in my Library, or would all be duplicates. Please advise.
Many thanks.
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