What happens when you delete music from iTunes?
When you delete a song or album from your iTunes library, it doesn’t immediately get erased from your computer’s hard drive. The file is simply removed from the iTunes library index, meaning iTunes can no longer find or play the file. The actual music file remains in its location on your computer until it gets overwritten by new data.
So in the short term after a deletion, the original music files may still be recoverable, as long as they haven’t yet been overwritten. However, iTunes does not have a built-in way to easily browse and restore deleted music. To recover deleted music from iTunes, you need to use third-party software or try manually finding the files on your hard drive.
How can I recover recently deleted music in iTunes?
If you just deleted songs or albums from iTunes and want to restore them, your best bet is using dedicated iTunes recovery software. Apps like iMyFone TunesFix have an iTunes library cache that can scan and find music that was recently removed. This type of software is quick and easy for undeleting songs that were just deleted.
To use TunesFix to recover deleted music:
1. Download and install the program on your computer.
2. Open TunesFix and select the “Deleted Files Recovery” option.
3. The software scans your iTunes library cache and presents a list of recently deleted songs and albums.
4. Simply preview and select the music you want to restore, then click “Recover” and the files will be added back into your iTunes library.
This recovery process takes just a few minutes and can rescue music deleted in the past few days or weeks, depending on your iTunes activity.
Can I recover music I deleted months ago from iTunes?
If it’s been weeks or months since you deleted tracks from iTunes, the original files are likely long gone or overwritten. iTunes recovery software can’t help you in these cases, since the cache it scans no longer contains information about your old deleted files.
However, it is sometimes possible to manually find and restore individual music files that were deleted further back in time. This involves combing through your hard drive and hoping the files still exist intact.
Here are some tips for manually finding previously deleted music from iTunes:
– Check the iTunes Media folder location on your computer – typically “Music/iTunes/iTunes Media” on Windows or “/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media” on Mac. See if any files remain from deleted albums or songs.
– Use your operating system’s search tool to look for song titles, artists, lyrics or other keywords associated with music you want to recover. This may turn up files iTunes can no longer find.
– Open the folder where you originally imported the music into iTunes. For example, if you imported songs from CDs, look in the “Imported Music” folder for those files.
– Use data recovery software to scan the entire hard drive and show you all recoverable media. You may be able to rescue deleted tracks this way.
– Check any external drives, SD cards or other connected devices you may have synced or transferred iTunes music to in the past.
Recovering older deleted music from iTunes takes time and may not be successful. But it’s sometimes possible to salvage individual songs and albums using these manual methods.
What are the best data recovery apps for deleted iTunes music?
If you need to restore a lot of deleted music from iTunes, especially tracks removed further back in time, a full-fledged data recovery app is your best solution. Here are some top options:
1. Disk Drill
Disk Drill can scan and recover lost media files from your Windows or Mac computer. It’s designed to restore any accidentally deleted files from hard drives, external devices, USB drives and more. Disk Drill has a user-friendly interface and powerful scanning features.
2. Stellar Data Recovery
Stellar offers advanced data recovery capabilities to resurrect files that have been lost or deleted. It can scan an entire drive or target just certain file types like audio and video. Stellar Data Recovery has options for both Mac and Windows.
3. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
EaseUS is known for its reliable recovery of deleted files across many formats. It can restore iTunes music alongside documents, photos, videos and other erased data. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard offers full support for Mac and Windows systems.
4. Ontrack EasyRecovery
Ontrack can recover accidentally deleted music and has specialty options just for iTunes restoration. It retrieves data loss from all kinds of devices and storage media. EasyRecovery works on Windows-based computers.
These data recovery apps provide more power to uncover deleted music files than iTunes itself contains. Just connect the drive your iTunes library is stored on and scan for audio files that may still be intact and retrievable.
Can I recover music after wiping my hard drive?
If you intentionally wiped or erased your hard drive, or it was formatted through a full factory reset of your computer, recovering lost iTunes music becomes extremely difficult to impossible.
When a drive is wiped or reformatted, all its existing files and data are deliberately overwritten to prepare the disk for fresh usage. Your music library is erased along with everything else previously stored. The only way to possibly restore some deleted music in this scenario is using cutting-edge data forensics.
Professional operations like DriveSavers offer advanced data recovery from wiped hard drives. However, this level of service costs thousands of dollars because it involves reconstructing data traces from the low-level, overwritten disk.
So unfortunate as it may be, music and other personal files are essentially non-recoverable through standard means if you intentionally wiped the associated hard drive. This is why you should always back up your music library and other important data before reformatting a computer.
Can I recover iTunes music from a backup or restore point?
iTunes music you’ve deleted recently or in the past can potentially be restored from a backup or system restore point containing your iTunes library. Here are some options for retrieving deleted iTunes music this way:
– Time Machine Backup – Macs running Time Machine automatically save historical copies of files, including your iTunes library. You may be able to recover deleted songs by browsing previous Time Machine backups and restoring iTunes from an earlier date.
– Windows System Restore – The System Restore feature on Windows lets you roll back your PC to an earlier state with previously saved system images. If iTunes files existed in a restore point from before you deleted tracks, they can be retrieved.
– iTunes Backup – Manually backing up your iTunes library externally creates a snapshot you can use for restoration. Connect your iTunes backup drive and restore iTunes to rescue deleted music.
– iCloud Backup – If you have iCloud Music Library enabled, your iTunes purchases and uploads exist in the cloud. You can restore deleted tracks by turning on iCloud Music Library on a linked device or app.
– Third-party Backup – Apps like iMazing save historical iOS and iTunes backups you can restore from. Look for a backup from before your music was deleted.
Leveraging backup copies of your iTunes library is a reliable way to get back lost music files. Just be sure the backup you use contains the tracks you want to restore, prior to when deletion occurred.
Can I use iPhone backups to restore deleted iTunes music?
If you’ve synced iTunes music onto an iPhone or iPad, backups created by that iOS device also potentially contain copies of songs and albums erased from iTunes. You may be able to recover deleted tracks from your computer by restoring iTunes with an iPhone backup.
Here’s how to restore iTunes music using an iPhone backup:
1. Connect the iPhone containing the backup to your computer.
2. Open iTunes and create a new, empty library (hold Shift while launching iTunes).
3. In iTunes, click Restore Backup and select the iPhone backup containing the deleted music.
4. iTunes will load the backup and restore the music files into the new library.
5. Once complete, you can sync this restored music back into your main iTunes library to recover the deleted tracks.
Just ensure the iPhone backup you restore contains the iTunes music in question, created prior to deletion. Also note this only works for synced iTunes tracks – Apple Music streams can’t be restored from an iPhone backup.
Is it possible to recover music deleted from an iPod or MP3 Player?
If you have an iPod, MP3 player or other external music device synced to iTunes, it’s possible those files retain music deleted from your iTunes library itself. You can essentially use the player as an alternate source to restore missing tracks.
Here are some ways to recover iTunes music deleted from an external device:
– Connect the device to your computer and look for desired songs still present in its storage. Manually copy them back into iTunes.
– Use third-party device recovery software to scan and extract the music for restoration to iTunes.
– Do a complete sync of the device to overwrite your iTunes library and recover missing music.
– Put the device into recovery mode and restore a backup containing the deleted songs into iTunes.
The exact method depends on the device. As long as the hardware still contains your missing iTunes music, you have a good chance to copy it back and restore tracks that were deleted.
Is it possible to recover iTunes music after selling/losing my iPhone or iPod?
Once an iPhone, iPod or iPad synced to iTunes is sold, traded in or otherwise lost, recovering copies of music from that device becomes extremely difficult. Even advanced phone data recovery services are generally unable to extract iTunes files after an iPhone changes hands.
Your only potential option is if you happen to have a backup of that iPhone from when it still contained the iTunes music in question. For example, an iCloud backup or a computer backup from before selling the device. With an old backup, you may be able to restore the deleted iTunes songs by syncing their copies from the backup into iTunes.
But without an existing backup, there is little recourse for retrieving lost synced music from an iPhone, iPod or iPad you no longer possess. This underscores the importance of maintaining independent backups of precious iTunes music separate from synced devices.
Can deleted music be recovered with iTunes Match or Apple Music?
iTunes Match and Apple Music will not help you recover iTunes tracks deleted from your personal library. These services merely store copies of certain files in the cloud:
– iTunes Match – Saves copies of your actual music files uploaded to iCloud. But it won’t retain deleted files unless they exist in another synced iTunes library.
– Apple Music – Lets you re-download Apple Music streams, but not music you personally owned that’s now missing from iTunes.
So neither Apple Music nor iTunes Match provide backup or restore capabilities for deleted local iTunes music. An accompanying iCloud Music Library only contains tracks also still present in your synced iTunes libraries. The services have no record of music purchases or imports that have since been removed from iTunes itself.
Is there any way to recover iTunes music after a factory reset?
Performing a factory reset or restoring your iPhone, iPad, iPod or computer to original settings erases all media, which presents a challenge for recovering deleted iTunes music. However, as long as the reset device was previously synced, there are a couple potential ways to restore missing iTunes tracks after a factory reset:
– Restore the reset device from its most recent iCloud or iTunes backup, which should contain the music files prior to factory reset erasure.
– Use data recovery software to scan the reset device for any residual music files that may still exist.
– Connect the reset device to a computer it was previously synced with. Any unique iTunes tracks it copied over may still be present to copy back.
– Check other synced devices and libraries that may have received the missing tracks before factory reset occurred.
The effectiveness of these methods depends how much of your iTunes library was synced prior to reset. But with the right preserved backup or device, you have a chance at getting back deleted music.
Can I recover music bought on a previous iTunes account?
If you purchased iTunes music under an old Apple ID that you no longer use or have access to, getting back that content poses challenges. But here are a few ways you may be able to recover music from a previous iTunes account:
– If you still use any Apple devices synced to the old account, authorize those devices with your current Apple ID. The synced music will merge into your existing libraries.
– Try signing into the old Apple ID temporarily to re-download purchased music. The purchases should still be linked to that account.
– Contact Apple Support to request they unlink the old purchases from the deactivated account so you can add them to your new one.
– Use account recovery options to try resetting the password and regaining access to the old Apple ID, at least temporarily.
– Restore from an old iPhone or iTunes backup that contains the purchased songs from prior account.
With persistence and the right backups, you have options for carrying purchased iTunes music over to a new Apple ID. But access to the original purchasing account makes this significantly easier.
How can I be sure I don’t lose iTunes music again in the future?
To avoid going through iTunes music recovery again down the line, be sure to maintain good backups of your library separate from the app itself. Here are some tips:
– Back up your entire iTunes folder to an external drive periodically to create restore points.
– Sync your iPhone/iPad routinely to provide alternate copies of synced iTunes music.
– Use iCloud Music Library to keep a cloud-based backup of iTunes Match files.
– Enable iTunes in iCloud on PCs to sync your library across devices.
– Use third-party backup software to save version history of your iTunes library.
– Create MP3 copies of irreplaceable music to store independently from your iTunes library.
– Store original music files used to import tracks into iTunes in a safe location for re-import later if needed.
With redundant backups and copies, losing your iTunes library or having to restore deleted music becomes much less likely. Use multiple backup sources for maximum protection of your irreplaceable iTunes purchases and imports.
Conclusion
While iTunes itself offers no way to restore deleted music, don’t lose hope if you’ve removed tracks from your library. With the right software and some time investment, you have decent odds of recovering recently or even longer deleted iTunes music using the methods outlined here. Backup your library diligently going forward to avoid needing recovery again later. With persistence and preparation, you can resurrect music missing from iTunes in many cases.