What iTunes Looks for By Default
By default, iTunes will look in certain pre-defined folders for your media files and library. On Windows, iTunes scans the My Music and Music Downloads folders located in the Music folder under your user account (C:\Users\Username\Music). On Mac, it looks in the Music folder under your home directory (/Users/Username/Music) as well as the Music/iTunes folder under your user Library.
iTunes will automatically add any supported media files (.mp3, .m4a, etc.) found in these locations to its library. So if you want iTunes to recognize your personal music collection, it’s important to store your files in one of the default media folders that iTunes checks.
If your files are stored elsewhere, iTunes won’t see them unless you specifically point it to their location. The easiest option is often to move your music files into the My Music or Music folder so iTunes will find them automatically. But you can also tell iTunes where your files are stored if moving them is not practical.
Point iTunes to Your Music Folder
You can add any folder containing music files to your iTunes library so the songs will appear in your library and playlists. Here’s how to point iTunes to an external folder containing your music:
1. Open iTunes and go to the menu bar at the top. Select Preferences > Advanced.
2. Under the ‘iTunes Media folder location’ section, click the ‘Change’ button.
3. In the file explorer window that opens, navigate to and select the folder containing your music files that you want iTunes to access.
4. Click ‘Open’ to set this as your iTunes media folder location.
Now when you import songs into iTunes or add folders, it will look in this music folder. You can add multiple folders if your music library is organized across locations on your computer or external drives.
Source: The Real World According to iPod
Refresh the iTunes Library
After adding a new folder containing music files to your iTunes library, you need to refresh the iTunes library for it to scan the new folder and add the files (Aimersoft). Refreshing the library essentially forces iTunes to rescan your computer’s drives and folders for any changes and updates to your media collection.
To refresh your iTunes library on Windows, go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced and click the “Update Library” button. On a Mac, go to iTunes > Preferences > Advanced and click “Update Library” (Apple Discussions). This will initiate a scan of your music folders and add any new files.
You can also hold down the Shift and Option keys (Mac) or Shift and Control keys (Windows) when opening iTunes to force a refresh. After the scan completes, you should see your new music files appear in your library.
Check for Corrupt Files
Corrupt files can prevent iTunes from recognizing a folder properly. If iTunes encounters errors when trying to read files, it may skip that folder entirely. Some signs of corruption are missing album artwork, songs jumping around, or errors popping up when playing songs.
To check for corrupt files, go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced in iTunes and select “Check for corrupt files.” iTunes will scan your library and attempt to repair any issues. You can also hold Shift while clicking on a song or album to “Rebuild” it, which re-saves the file metadata. Lastly, deleting the iTunes library file called “iTunes Library.itl” can reset iTunes if corruption is severe, though you will lose playlists.
Corruption often occurs after a crash, failed sync, or OS update. Some users report particular issues with Windows 10 upgrades causing iTunes download corruption. If repairs don’t work, you may need to move your files to a new folder and re-add them to iTunes.
Authorize Your Computer
Authorizing your computer in iTunes ensures that your device has the proper permissions to read and play music files from your library. This is an important step if iTunes is not detecting your music folder.
When you first install iTunes, it should automatically authorize the computer. However, if you have switched computers or reinstalled the software, you may need to manually authorize again. The authorization process registers your computer with Apple’s servers, confirming you have a legitimate version of iTunes.
To authorize a computer in iTunes, go to Account > Authorizations > Authorize This Computer. You can authorize up to 5 computers per Apple ID. If you’ve reached the limit, you’ll need to de-authorize one of your other computers first before adding the new one.
If you don’t remember your Apple ID password or are having other authorization issues, you can learn more at https://www.justanswer.com/computer/bkmlr-can-t-computer-authorize-itunes-computer.html. Proper authorization with your Apple ID is required for iTunes to integrate fully with your music library.
Update iTunes
One of the most common reasons iTunes may not recognize your Music folder is because you are running an outdated version of the software. iTunes is updated frequently by Apple to fix bugs, improve performance, and add new features. According to Apple’s support site, it is recommended to keep iTunes up-to-date to ensure compatibility with iOS devices and access to the latest iTunes Store content.
To update iTunes on a Windows PC, go to the Help menu and select “Check for Updates.” You can also download the latest version directly from Apple’s website. On a Mac, open the App Store application and click on Updates. Install any available iTunes updates.
Older versions of iTunes have been known to cause problems syncing devices, managing libraries, and recognizing external folders. Updating to the latest release often resolves folder recognition issues. Make sure to run Software Update on your Mac as well to ensure the operating system is up-to-date. After updating iTunes and your OS, restart your computer and relaunch iTunes to see if it now recognizes your Music folder.
Restart iTunes and Your Computer
Before trying any complex troubleshooting, it’s worth doing a full restart of both iTunes and your computer. This can clear out any temporary glitches and reset things to a clean state. Here are the steps:
- Close iTunes if it’s currently open. On Windows, right-click the iTunes icon in the taskbar and choose “Exit.”
- Restart your computer fully. Don’t just log out – do a full reboot.
- Once restarted, launch iTunes again and see if it now recognizes your Music folder.
Restarting flushes out memory, ends background processes, and reloads the programs from scratch. Often this alone can resolve odd behavior like iTunes not seeing files and folders. Make sure to save any work and close all apps before restarting for a complete refresh. If after a full restart iTunes still won’t recognize your music, move on to the next troubleshooting steps.
Sources:
https://www.ubackup.com/phone-backup/itunes-not-responding-windows-10.html
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3529464
Move Files to a New Folder
One solution is to move your music files into a new folder, such as “My Music for iTunes.” This isolates the files from your existing music folder and can help determine if there are issues copying files or importing folders into iTunes. To create a new folder:
- Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and navigate to your Music folder.
- Right click and select New > Folder. Name the folder something like “My Music for iTunes.”
- Copy or move the music files you want to import into iTunes into this new folder.
Once you have moved the music files into the new folder, you can follow the steps to add a folder to your iTunes library. This will isolate any potential issues to the new folder and help determine if there are problems importing your original Music folder.
Check File Types and Metadata
iTunes supports common audio file formats like MP3, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, WAV, and more. However, if you have audio files in unsupported formats like FLAC, OGG, WMA, or other less common types, iTunes will not be able to add them to its library.
To fix this, you can convert your audio files to a format iTunes supports using a dedicated audio conversion tool like VideoConverterFactory. This will allow iTunes to properly recognize the files.
Additionally, iTunes relies on metadata like artist name, track title, album, genre, and more to organize your music library. If your audio files are missing some or all of this metadata, iTunes may not add them even if they are a supported format.
Using a metadata editor tool can help fix this by allowing you to manually add or edit the metadata tags for your music. MetaX is a popular free metadata editor for Windows and Mac that makes editing large libraries easier. Once metadata is filled out properly, iTunes should successfully add the files.
Checking your audio file formats and metadata is an important troubleshooting step if iTunes won’t recognize your music folder. Converting to supported formats and editing metadata will ensure iTunes can properly add and organize all your music.
Contact Apple Support
If you’ve tried all of the troubleshooting steps and iTunes still does not recognize your music folder, contacting Apple support directly can help. Apple has dedicated iTunes support specialists who can walk you through advanced troubleshooting and get to the root cause of the issue.
You can contact Apple support through their online form or by phone at 1-800-275-2273. When contacting support, be prepared to provide details on the steps you’ve already tried and any error messages you are seeing. The support agent can use remote desktop software to view your system firsthand, diagnose problems, and implement potential fixes.
As the creator of iTunes, Apple support engineers have the deepest understanding of the software and how it interacts with operating systems, peripherals, and media files. They can check for known bugs, incompatibilities, or other factors that standard troubleshooting steps may miss. If it turns out to be an iTunes issue, they can push through software updates faster than waiting for public releases.
With hands-on support from Apple’s experts, they can get iTunes recognizing your music folder again or help you transition to an optimal new structure if needed. Apple provides complimentary technical support for iTunes, so don’t hesitate to leverage their assistance if you are still struggling with this issue.