Dumb iTunes Question ...

November 9, 2006 6:41 PM

I cleaned loads of mp3 files from my hard drive. iTunes still shows the deleted files in the library. I could not find a "refresh" function. How do you refresh your library in iTunes? Thanks.
posted by eebs to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

My only idea would be to clear out your library listing and then rebuild from scratch (preferably overnight or something). It's not too bad if you just want to add all of the audio files you have on a given disk -- just tell it "add directory," add c:\, and tell it to also read subdirectories.
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:55 PM on November 9, 2006

Not a dumb question. It's one of iTunes irritating flaws.

If you're a Mac user, check Hubi's iTunes Scripts, which removes dead tracks from the library, plus a couple dozen other tasks.
posted by ardgedee at 7:00 PM on November 9, 2006

I use the Super Remove Dead Tracks script.

Annoyingly, the permalink to the script is broken (despite the fact that I copied the "Link to This Entry" URL) so you will probably have to click through to a different page within the Managing Tracks section to find it. As of this moment, it's on page 1.
posted by bcwinters at 7:00 PM on November 9, 2006

If you are in windows you need The Apple iTunes SDK, there should be something in there like Remove Dead Tracks or if you are in OSX you need something like: Super Remove Dead Tracks
posted by mge at 7:01 PM on November 9, 2006

I've always just deleted the itunes_library.xml (or similar) file which you'll find under "itunes music", and then re-adding the stuff I actually want.

Not ideal, but doesn't require any scripts or anything.
posted by pompomtom at 7:08 PM on November 9, 2006

In the future, I highly recommend that you let iTunes manage your tracks for you. After you add tracks to iTunes, it copies them to its Library area (where they are sorted into Artist/Album subfolders) and then you delete the originals. You can then delete tracks directly from inside iTunes and they both go to the trash and are removed from your library at once.

I have been managing an ever-growing music collection with iTunes since 2002. I am now at almost 300 gigs. Trust me, cataloging your music through metadata is much better than doing it by hand.
posted by yesno at 7:09 PM on November 9, 2006

What yesno said. In the future, just delete the tracks in iTunes and you won't have this problem.
posted by dobbs at 7:14 PM on November 9, 2006

Response by poster: Windows user.
I will rebuild the library tonight (no script experience).
Then follow the yesno advice.
Thanks.
posted by eebs at 7:18 PM on November 9, 2006

I found this (iTunes Library Updater) to be extremely helpful when I still used iTunes. You can sync folders or clean up "orphaned" files (basically what you have right now). I'd be careful the first few times I use it (so that you don't accidentally delete your whole library), but overall it's pretty intuitive and made managing my library a LOT easier.
posted by mittenedsex at 8:39 PM on November 9, 2006

I should also note that I haven't tried this against the more recent versions of iTunes. I haven't used it in maybe 4 or 5 months.
posted by mittenedsex at 8:40 PM on November 9, 2006

I used to have this problem as well, but I'm with yesno now. I used to be vehement about maintaining my own folder structure, but I can't think of a single time I've tried locating a particular song not directly from within iTunes. When I finally conceded to let iTunes manage my songs for me, I was a happier person.
posted by Robot Johnny at 12:19 AM on November 10, 2006

I haven't used it (yet), but for Windows you could use idleTunes, a tool that boasts the following features:

* Find and insert album artwork into tracks
* Copy iTunes playlists to any MP3 player
* Export iTunes playlists as M3U, PLS, or B4S
* Remove "dead" tracks from your library
* Create playlists for all of the albums in your library
* Create playlists for all of the artists in your library
* Delete user playlists
posted by Skyanth at 1:30 AM on November 10, 2006

iTunes Library Updater for Windows
posted by softlord at 5:56 AM on November 10, 2006 [1 favorite]