Syncing iTunes Database with Music Folder

[Kylera]

I've tried searching, but maybe I just suck at it because every result regarding syncing had to do between the iPod and the PC. Here's my question:

I'm running iTunes 9.2.1.5 on a Windows 7 Enterprise machine with a Classic hooked up to it. Whenever I have a spare moment, I usually go through my library and take out duplicates or songs I just don't like anymore.

I found out the hard way that all I did was to simply erase the entries, not the actual MP3 files. Can someone recommend a plugin or piece of program that can sync the database with a folder and DELETE the songs that are NOT in the database? Most applications I've seen ADD songs automatically, not delete.

Much thanks in advance!

[Jesse Hollington]

Unfortunately, iTunes does not offer to delete a track from your computer unless it's located in the iTunes Media folder, as specified under iTunes' Advanced preferences. iTunes errs on the side of caution and considers anything outside of this location to be out of its control.

I'm not aware of any utilities that will sync this up for you, but one option would be to use the Consolidate Files function in iTunes (see Transferring your iTunes Library) to actually move and reorganize all of your tracks into iTunes' own media folder. Anything not listed in your iTunes library would be left behind by this process and you could safely delete it from there.

Obviously this isn't a great option if you're used to having your own file and folder organization, but if you're primarily using iTunes to manage your music it's generally easier to let it manage the underlying files for you and not worry about the file system structure.

[Kylera]

Originally Posted by jhollington

I'm not aware of any utilities that will sync this up for you, but one option would be to use the Consolidate Files function in iTunes (see Transferring your iTunes Library) to actually move and reorganize all of your tracks into iTunes' own media folder. Anything not listed in your iTunes library would be left behind by this process and you could safely delete it from there.

Hmm. So what happens to all of the "original" files after consolidation? Do they all go up in smoke?

[Jesse Hollington]

Actually, no. iTunes again errs on the side of caution -- not deleting anything outside of its own folders. The files will be copied into the iTunes Media folder, reorganized into an ARTIST\ALBUM\NAME structure under a "Music" subfolders (Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, etc will all go into folders for their respective categories as well). As part of this process, iTunes will update the paths in its own database to reflect the new location (note: this means that if you're not sure you want to stay with the new organization, you should make a backup copy of the iTunes database before you start -- there's no easy way to revert to the old paths otherwise).

However, iTunes only copies files based on what is in its own library database, so files that you've deleted already won't be copied to the new location. You'll be left to clean up the old folders by yourself, but as long as you're confident that everything that's supposed to be in your iTunes library is there, you can pretty much just delete the source folders once you're satisfied with the results.