help syncing music

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Level 1

4 points

help syncing music

I am a Windows user and historically used iTunes to rip CD's and manage my library. Months ago I switched from iTunes to the trifecta Apple Devices, Apple Music, and Apple TV. The issue I am encountering is that music that I rip it iTunes and then import into Apple Music are not syncing with my iPhone 14 Pro Max running iOS 18.1.

As part of my diagnostics I removed all music from my iPhone and tried to sync my whole music library. Here is the step-by-step process and error:

I opened iTunes and ripped the new Linkin Park "From Zero" CD.
iTunes put the ripped CD in the "C:\Users\<user>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Audiobooks\Linkin Park\" folder.
I closed iTunes and copied the "Linkin Park" folder to C:\temp\. I then deleted the "C:\Users\<user>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Audiobooks\Linkin Park\" folder.
I opened Apple Music and imported the "C:\temp\Linkin Park" folder, which correctly put the files in the "C:\Users\<user>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\Linkin Park\From Zero" folder. Apple Music is able to play the new music just fine.
I closed Apple Music, opened Apple Devices, connected my iPhone, and synced. The process goes through steps 1 - 4, showing the tracks transferring during step 4.
Most of my library syncs except for "From Zero." I get a popup window stating "Some items, including “Good Things Go”, were not copied to the iPhone “iPhone” because they could not be found."

I have confirmed Apple Music is using the "C:\Users\<user>\Music\iTunes\" media folder location. Anyone know I can get new music to sync properly?

P.S. Going back to iTunes is not an option. Once I switched to Apple Devices, Apple Music, and Apple TV, I have been unable to use iTunes to manage my library. Even if I delete all the apps, including iTunes, and then just install iTunes, it only shows Podcasts and Stations - it no longer shows my library. I have tried this many, many times...

Posted on Nov 16, 2024 9:48 AM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

274,452 points

Nov 16, 2024 10:02 AM in response to jgranto

iTunes should revert to its original behaviour if you uninstall Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Devices. You should find Music is available in the drop down media selector. If you have multiple users you would probably need to make sure those apps are uninstalled for all users. I have installed Apple Music to explore its features multiple times and then removed it again to restore iTunes.

You could try deleting the copy of the album you have now, ripping a fresh copy either with iTunes, or another package such as CDex. If you place copies of the fresh rips into <Media Folder>\Automatically Add to Music see if those work better. You can then repeat with out reripping if necessary.

tt2

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Answer 2

jgranto Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 18, 2024 1:11 PM in response to turingtest2

Okay, I finally got it all fixed. One issue was due to cluelessness on my part, all the other issues were due to poorly written Apple software (for Windows).

First, the cluelessness. When I uninstalled Apple Devices, Apple Music, and Apple TV, then opened iTunes and saw only Podcasts and Stations, I never tried using the menu to go to Music. I was so used to it defaulting to Music that I assumed iTunes was no longer managing my music once I removed those products. Stupidity on my part.

Now for the rest, which is all due to the Apple products. Every song I own is ripped from CD's that I own, and all were ripped with iTunes, even those ripped since I tried the Apple Music app. I removed Apple Devices, Apple Music, and Apple TV, got my music displayed in iTunes, and tried a sync. Guess what - same error: the files could not be found. These files had been ripped by iTunes...

So I deleted them from my library (via iTunes) and re-ripped Free Zero. When I synced, it synced fine. I had two other problematic albums - for these, I simply copied the albums to a temporary location, removed them from my library, and then imported them into my library. When I synced, it synced fine.

Looking through the folder structure, I saw folders indicative of me installing Apple Music and Apple TV - I renamed them all (prefacing with old.). I did this before importing songs back into my library. Here are the folders:

C:\Users\<user>\Music\iTunes\old.Automatically Add to Apple Music

C:\Users\<user>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\old.Automatically Add to Apple Music

C:\Users\<user>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\old.Automatically Add To Apple TV

C:\Users\<user>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\old.Automatically Add to iTunes

So, after all the above, I got everything syncing properly once again. Thanks for the hint to tell iTunes to look at my Music.

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

274,452 points

Nov 18, 2024 2:21 PM in response to jgranto

You can discard those four folders which should all be empty. They are created automatically in the relevant media folder when one of the apps is launched if they don't exist already. Anything you drop in them should be added to its app and moved to the default location in the media folder. Anything that app doesn't know how to process gets moved to a Not Added subfolder.

tt2

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