iTunes: lost files ?

[micmex]

**** This is a duplicate from a thread i posted in "basics and help", I´ll delete the riginal one. **

Sorry for asking again a really newbie question, searching the forum I found a lot on iTunes libraries, consolidating etc, but I´m afraid still I don´t understand it

My iTunes library is on a external HD connected to an Extreme. I consolidated (thought it was a "merge") MY library with the one of a friend on the same HD, but now it seems that I lost all of MY files
I still can see "my" covers in CoverFlow, but iTunes marks all my songs with an exclamation mark, the file info says "removed"...

To avoid more damage by doing stupid things, I ask for your thoughts on that:

I´d like to search all music and reload it to iTunes, hoping to recover whatever is possible:

- Search with finder for all *mp3 and *m4a
- Copy those files to a new folder an the external HD
- Delete the current iTunes library
- Start iTunes pressing "alt" to create a new library
- Drag all files from the new folder into iTunes

I´m aware that I might loose playlists and covers, but I hope in this way I can get all stuff into the new iTunes library - correct ?

Thanks in advance for your help..!

 

[Mitch1984]

My girlfriend deleted moved some of the songs out of the Itunes folder, I found them, double clicked on them, pressed show duplicates (because it puts another entry in Itunes), then I double clicked the ones with the exclamation mark and delted the newer ones, it fixed it and I got to keep my play counts and whatever.

 

[micmex]

Mitch, thanks for your hint. My problem is: I can´t find them....! Using Finder I can locate the iTunes music folder, the CD, but there is only one file in there ".DS_store". Time Machine says since december it has saved only ".DS_Store"... Looking into this file using Textedit it shows

Bud1"Üne De
Scene De Viedsclbool @Ä @Ä @Ä @EÜDSDB `¿ @Ä @Ä @

"Scene de Vie" here the albums name

But I cant find the SONGS... ?

But in all of the album folders that iTunes marked I can find this file ".DS_store"

Hm... what do you think ? If I´d restore all mp3´s and m4a´s to a new iTunes library, would I loose things like album name, interpreter´s name and al those things ?

BTW: I really appreciate your hints, but if you know some source (manual?) to learn more about iTunes, please let me know as well. I´m not afraid of reading and learning

 

[honeycrisp]

If I were you, I'd just delete the library on iTunes, but keep the files, then readd everything.