Try choosing your library by holding alt while launching itunes. Then navigate to where your library is (usually /Users/<name>/music/itunes/itunes library).
If you still get the problem, make sure that the permissions haven't gone funny on the files or folders in that area and make sure the folders aren't locked.
If none of that works, you can try moving the itunes library and XML file out of there and then opening itunes. Then do a file > import library and choose your xml file.
Also note, you library getting corrupt doesn't affect your music in any way. You can easily just drag your music folder onto itunes. However, you'd lose some info that way like song ratings.
yeah - i did the repair permissions thing a couple of times, imported the library twice... I guess 7.3 just really screwed me over, being that I have ratings for nearly all of my songs, huh? that blows. Any other suggestions before I nuke my old library?
yeah - i did the repair permissions thing a couple of times, imported the library twice... I guess 7.3 just really screwed me over, being that I have ratings for nearly all of my songs, huh? that blows. Any other suggestions before I nuke my old library?
You can try opening the XML file in Textedit to see if there's any obvious corruption.
Don't delete your library btw, just move it and the XML out of the folder. It should be possible later to run a script to copy all the old data back into your new library. You'd need to find one or write one that did that of course.
I am having the same issues. I thought about looking in the .XML file for corruptions, but I don't know how to read HTML. Here's the text of the file, hoping that someone can help me find the error:
I believe that 7.3.1 should fix your problem. It is probably related to custom "sort artist/album/etc." fields you may have set. The most recent update should have fixed this, as that appears to have been its goal.
Yeah, the recent update did the trick. I guess all I needed was a little patience. Still, the incident left my iPod's hard drive a little hosed, so I had to reset to factory defaults. No problems, just some routine crap.
Comments
If you still get the problem, make sure that the permissions haven't gone funny on the files or folders in that area and make sure the folders aren't locked.
If none of that works, you can try moving the itunes library and XML file out of there and then opening itunes. Then do a file > import library and choose your xml file.
Also note, you library getting corrupt doesn't affect your music in any way. You can easily just drag your music folder onto itunes. However, you'd lose some info that way like song ratings.
yeah - i did the repair permissions thing a couple of times, imported the library twice... I guess 7.3 just really screwed me over, being that I have ratings for nearly all of my songs, huh? that blows. Any other suggestions before I nuke my old library?
You can try opening the XML file in Textedit to see if there's any obvious corruption.
Don't delete your library btw, just move it and the XML out of the folder. It should be possible later to run a script to copy all the old data back into your new library. You'd need to find one or write one that did that of course.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">;
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
\t<key>Major Version</key><integer>1</integer>
\t<key>Minor Version</key><integer>1</integer>
\t<key>Application Version</key><string>7.3</string>
\t<key>Features</key><integer>1</integer>
\t<key>Show Content Ratings</key><true/>
\t<key>Music Folder</key><string>file://localhost/C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/My%20Documents/My%20Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Music/</string>
\t<key>Library Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333EE</string>
\t<key>Tracks</key>
\t<dict>
\t</dict>
\t<key>Playlists</key>
\t<array>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Library</string>
\t\t\t<key>Master</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>38</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333EF</string>
\t\t\t<key>Visible</key><false/>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>90?s Music</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>41</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333F0</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Info</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tAQEAAwAAAAIAAAAZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAA==
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Criteria</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tU0xzdAABAAEAAAABAAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAcA AAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABEAAAA AAAAB8YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAB88AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Audiobooks</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>88</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333FC</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Audiobooks</key><true/>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Movies</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>82</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333FA</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Movies</key><true/>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Music</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>79</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333F9</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Music</key><true/>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Music Videos</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>56</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333F5</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Info</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tAQEAAwAAAAIAAAAZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAA==
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Criteria</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tU0xzdAABAAEAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADwA AAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABEAAAA AAAAACAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAACAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>My Top Rated</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>44</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333F1</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Info</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tAQEAAwAAAAIAAAAZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAA==
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Criteria</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tU0xzdAABAAEAAAABAAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABkA AAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABEAAAA AAAAADwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAADwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Party Shuffle</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>70</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333F6</string>
\t\t\t<key>Party Shuffle</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Podcasts</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>76</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333F8</string>
\t\t\t<key>Podcasts</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Recently Added</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>53</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333F4</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Info</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tAQEAAwAAAAIAAAAZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAA==
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Criteria</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tU0xzdAABAAEAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAA AAIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABELa4t ri2uLa7//////////gAAAAAACTqA
\t\t\tLa4tri2uLa4AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Recently Played</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>50</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333F3</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Info</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tAQEAAwAAAAIAAAAZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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\t\t\t</data>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Criteria</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tU0xzdAABAAEAAAABAAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABcA AAIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABELa4t ri2uLa7//////////gAAAAAACTqA
\t\t\tLa4tri2uLa4AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>Top 25 Most Played</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>47</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333F2</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Info</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tAQABAwAAABkAAAAZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAA==
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t\t<key>Smart Criteria</key>
\t\t\t<data>
\t\t\tU0xzdAABAAEAAAABAAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQB AAACAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\tAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
\t\t\t</data>
\t\t</dict>
\t\t<dict>
\t\t\t<key>Name</key><string>TV Shows</string>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist ID</key><integer>85</integer>
\t\t\t<key>Playlist Persistent ID</key><string>D624512044D333FB</string>
\t\t\t<key>All Items</key><true/>
\t\t\t<key>TV Shows</key><true/>
\t\t</dict>
\t</array>
</dict>
</plist>