Audio/video files missing from iTunes but present in iTunes folder. Fix?

[mavots]

Somehow quite a lot of my audio and video media are missing from my iTunes app (version 12.9 on iOS Mojave 10.14.5).
Searching the iTunes folder, the files are there in their proper folders but are not "attached" to the app.
I added one missing TV show via the normal "Add to Library" process in iTunes as a test, but I am hoping there is a fast way to sync the iTunes back up with iTunes folder on the hard drive.
If I had to guess, I'd say some 30% of the media is missing from the app.
I recently migrated to a new machine. The iTunes library is on an external RAID drive and it was just a matter of plugging it into the new machine.
And yes, iTunes is attached to the correct folder.

No idea what happened but at least the files are all still there, just not showing up on iTunes. Is there an easy fix or sync, or do I have to "Add" everything again?

Thanks in advance.

 

[TheIntruder]

Personally, I have my own media folder structure, and don't rely on iTunes to organize, or copy files to its library.

Simply dragging an entire media folder to iTunes' library window will start the indexing process, and should fix any broken links (usually indicated by an exclamation point) without affecting the rest of the library.

This has worked for as long as I can recall, and up to v12.6.5 I'm using now. I can't imagine later versions behave any differently.

 

[mavots]

Personally, I have my own media folder structure, and don't rely on iTunes to organize, or copy files to its library.

Simply dragging an entire media folder to iTunes' library window will start the indexing process, and should fix any broken links (usually indicated by an exclamation point) without affecting the rest of the library.

This has worked for as long as I can recall, and up to v12.6.5 I'm using now. I can't imagine later versions behave any differently.

Thanks. Yes, I am familiar with the dreaded explanation mark next to an unlinked media file. In that case, itunes shows the song (for example) but one has to go back and re-link it to the one in the Finder. I've had that problem quite often and am not sure why that happens either.

In my case, there is no file name at all in iTunes so no explanation mark. As if it never existed.

HOWEVER....
I found the problem for the missing audio files, they were all reclassified as "Home Videos"! I am in the process of changing the video type from "Home Videos" to "TV Shows". They are then populated correctly in the Episodes folder under "TV Shows".
I've had this happen before when importing individual TV shows or movies but never to whole, large sections of my iTunes folder. Part of the problem is they keep moving were to find the "Home Videos" section. It is under "Movies", in the left sidebar. I think it used to be in Movies, but along the top line with Library/Unwatched/Store.
I have a nifty macro that quickly changes the file type so its just a matter of selecting a large group of files and changing the media type all at once.

 

[0279317]

Thanks. Yes, I am familiar with the dreaded explanation mark next to an unlinked media file. In that case, itunes shows the song (for example) but one has to go back and re-link it to the one in the Finder. I've had that problem quite often and am not sure why that happens either.

In my case, there is no file name at all in iTunes so no explanation mark. As if it never existed.

HOWEVER....
I found the problem for the missing audio files, they were all reclassified as "Home Videos"! I am in the process of changing the video type from "Home Videos" to "TV Shows". They are then populated correctly in the Episodes folder under "TV Shows".
I've had this happen before when importing individual TV shows or movies but never to whole, large sections of my iTunes folder. Part of the problem is they keep moving were to find the "Home Videos" section. It is under "Movies", in the left sidebar. I think it used to be in Movies, but along the top line with Library/Unwatched/Store.
I have a nifty macro that quickly changes the file type so its just a matter of selecting a large group of files and changing the media type all at once.

Old thread, same problem. I'm on the last version of Catalina before Big Sur. I went to watch a video from my iTunes but it's gone (in fact a bunch of them). As was the case for your situation, mine were still there in the proper folder. I didn't think to look there until I found this thread. Thanks for that and WTF/over-Apple.