iTunes just ate one of my songs!

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Okay, I'm listening to my music when suddenly the whole thing jars to a halt, I raise the iTunes window, and the song (Elbow - 'Little Beast', of which I am exceedingly fond) has disappeared! Completely! It isn't even in the Recycle Bin!

What's happening? Is this going to occur again? Will my collection ever be safe?

Share your own similar 'WTF' moments in audio equipment/mp3 file corruptions on this thread...

― I am the best lyrocost since Dylan (Scourage), Thursday, 21 December 2006 02:49 (seventeen years ago) link

user error.

― grady (grady), Thursday, 21 December 2006 02:59 (seventeen years ago) link

wai 2 brake hart :'(

― I am the best lyrocost since Dylan (Scourage), Thursday, 21 December 2006 03:00 (seventeen years ago) link

NSA involved.

― M.V. (M.V.), Thursday, 21 December 2006 15:58 (seventeen years ago) link

won't any another song do just as well in this fair, free and democratic internet?

― sexyDancer (sexyDancer), Thursday, 21 December 2006 16:15 (seventeen years ago) link

ok, i've got one:

I just transfered 3626 songs from a macbook pro HD and an ipod HD to an external HD. After I selected "add to library" in iTunes I looked at the songs in the library and realized that 1277 have had much of the song info (album, artist, year, etc) completely wiped clean. The only tag that seems to have survived is 'song'. This is a serious WTF. Any thoughts on what happened and how can I make sure this never happens again???

― ianinpdx (ianinpdx), Thursday, 21 December 2006 20:38 (seventeen years ago) link

iTunes LOCKED!

THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IS DISSOLVING

― I am the best lyrocost since Dylan (Scourage), Thursday, 21 December 2006 20:47 (seventeen years ago) link

iTunes 5 doesn't even run smoothly on my PC so... um. I have nothing positive to add.

Louis it's probably still there just renamed to 9594837485738392.mp3 and with the ID3 info fux0red. You'll have to go into your music folder(s) (1-500) and listen to all your mp3s again.

― Da Mystery of Sandboxin' (fandango), Thursday, 21 December 2006 20:51 (seventeen years ago) link

Or I could just buy the song again from the iTunes music store for 79 pence. :P

― I am the best lyrocost since Dylan (Scourage), Thursday, 21 December 2006 20:55 (seventeen years ago) link

Apple :P @ us all!

― Da Mystery of Sandboxin' (fandango), Thursday, 21 December 2006 20:57 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm a bad man :'(

― I am the best lyrocost since Dylan (Scourage), Thursday, 21 December 2006 20:59 (seventeen years ago) link

YSI, anyone?

― I am the best lyrocost since Dylan (Scourage), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:00 (seventeen years ago) link

Louis it probably is still on disk somewhere but if you let iTunes "organise" (rename, retag and splinter into a million subfolders) your collection good fucking luck finding it again.

Search hidden files, files containing "elbow" etc but don't get your hopes up. If you're really desperate you could even try a system restore (unless it's been turned off to save resources...)

― Da Mystery of Sandboxin' (fandango), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:04 (seventeen years ago) link

and RUN CHECKDISK!

― Da Mystery of Sandboxin' (fandango), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:06 (seventeen years ago) link

grr, I suppose I'll have a look...

― I am the best lyrocost since Dylan (Scourage), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:07 (seventeen years ago) link

"probably" might be more optimism than good advice, but I'd hate you to buy it again and have the same thing keep happening :/

― Da Mystery of Sandboxin' (fandango), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:09 (seventeen years ago) link

It's OK! I reckon it's an isolated incident, and were I to resort to buying the song again, it wouldn't happen again (at least, not to that specific song, with odds of about 4000-1 against). The irritating thing is that it happened to a song I don't otherwise own on CD (unlike most of my collection).

― I am the best lyrocost since Dylan (Scourage), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:11 (seventeen years ago) link

Ah well, I took your advice, searched for 'elbow' files, and hey presto, foundin an instant. Only lasting damage: the play-count. I am extremely anal about such things, but I'm willing to forgive my laptop JUST THIS ONCE... ;-)

I think Ian's query is of a rather more serious nature, and we seem to have forgotten it, alas. Anyone got any ideas (because I certainly haven't)?

― I am the best lyrocost since Dylan (Scourage), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:26 (seventeen years ago) link

Check your View Options - sounds like something got turned off.

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:39 (seventeen years ago) link

Failing that, check your Previous iTunes Libraries folder. It may have backed itself up, in which case, replace the current one with the old one. (Use Copy-Paste and save a backup of the current one to your documents folder!!!)

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:48 (seventeen years ago) link

looking for a re-ID'd track is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

best thing to do is drop all coded mp3s into a real player or something, and they'll unscramble them fast.

― grady (grady), Thursday, 21 December 2006 21:56 (seventeen years ago) link

Check your View Options - sounds like something got turned off.

definitely not this unfortunately. The columns are still there they are just...empty.

I just tried removing the "iTunes library" file and then reimporting one of the problem mp3 files and the problem persists -- no artist, no album, only song title.

Fairly maddening, actually!

― ianinpdx (ianinpdx), Thursday, 21 December 2006 22:33 (seventeen years ago) link

as long as it isn't too maddening

― friday on the porch (lfam), Friday, 22 December 2006 18:48 (seventeen years ago) link

ianinpdx, did you try my second suggestion?

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Friday, 22 December 2006 18:52 (seventeen years ago) link

Tantrum,

Yes, I did and still no go.. The only saving grace is that I got a big chunk of these files from my brother so I can just chuck my copies and recopy from him... Still a huge PITA though! Thanks for your suggestions...

― ianinpdx (ianinpdx), Thursday, 4 January 2007 19:28 (seventeen years ago) link

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.