For some reasons, you might discover that iTunes finds it difficult to locate your music. What could cause that? Perhaps, you have moved the file or accidentally deleted the track. When this happens, you will notice that iTunes display a question mark next to the track you are looking for. So, how can you locate it again?
How to Get Back Your Missing iTunes Songs
iMyFone TunesMate can sync music between iPhone/PC and iTunes. It helps eliminate most problems faced when using iTunes, especially when iTunes cannot locate your songs. TunesMate will help locate it without you having to follow complicated steps to find your songs in iTunes.
iMyFone TunesMate iPhone Transfer
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Key Features:
- Freely 2-Way Transfer: Directly transfer files between iPhone and iTunes/PC, without any restrictions.
- Found Missing iTunes Files: Retrieve all iTunes medias (music, photos and movies) without opening iTunes or entering the iTunes password.
- Rebuild iTunes Library: To restore your missing songs, you can also rebuild iTunes library by transferring the missing song from other iDevices to iTunes.
- No Data Loss: When it syncs, no damage will be recorded and will sync without any data loss, no need to erase original iOS data.
- Support Free and Paid Music: TunesMate can be applied to free and paid music/movies.
Steps to Get Back Missing iTunes Songs
Step 1. Download and install TunesMate to your PC. Run TunesMate when prompted. Mark the "Trust" button as trusted. Launch it and open Menu.
Step 2. Go to the tab “Transfer iTunes Media to iDevice”. Go through the list to preview and select songs.
Step 3. Start syncing by clicking Transfer.
How to Locate Missing iTunes Music Track
You can locate your missing iTunes track by following these four simple steps.
Step 1. Go to iTunes and open
Step 2. Double-click the missing file.
Step 3. Click ‘Locate' to find the track.
Step 4. Find the missing file in your iTunes media folder by using the ‘Open Window' (import if not in iTunes media folder).
Step 5. Lastly, click Open.
When you are through with these steps, your song should start playing immediately.
How to Locate Missing iTunes Media Library
Your iTunes media library can go missing if you store your songs on an external hard drive. What should you do to regain your media library? We have a solution. Follow these steps.
Step 1. Launch iTunes library and click OK.
Step 2. Tap on Choose Library.
Step 3. Now, go to the Finder window to find music files.
Step 4. After you have found the folder with the iTunes Library.xml file, click Open.
Step 5. These steps should help you to locate your missing iTunes media library.
How to Prevent The "original file could not be found error" from Re-occurring
It is best to prevent the "original file could not be found error" in the future so that you do not lose your songs again. By preventing it from happening, iTunes will automatically place any new songs you added in the right place in your iTunes Music folder irrespective of the previous location of the file. Follow these steps to set it up.
1. Open iTunes
2. If you are using Mac, click the iTunes menu. If using Window PC, click the Edit menu.
3. Locate Preferences and click.
4. When Preferences pop-up come on, click the Advanced tab.
5. Go through the box next to ‘Keep iTunes Media folder organized' and check
6. Last, click OK.
These steps will prevent a future appearance of ‘original file could not be found error.'
Other Effective Ways to Fix iTunes Cannot Find Songs
There are some other ways you may use to fix the problems of iTunes cannot songs. Let us discuss them briefly.
- iTunes Directory Structure: You should ensure that iTunes directory structure is properly set up. To do this, go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced, and turn off both the "Keep" and "Copy" options.
Re-Import the Lost File Manually: You can also re-import the lost iTunes file back. - Rebuild All iTunes Library: You may also choose to rebuild the entire iTunes library. If you are not very experienced in this, it is better to use TunesMate.
- Use SED: Sed can be used to fix the path and create a new xml file too. You need to connect Sed to iTunes in order to fix the iTunes cannot find songs.
