iTunes 9: Problem with Alias in Media Folder

[EatsWithFingers]

Ever since upgrading to iTunes 9, I have been unable to add music to my library using iTunes' "copy to library" feature. Instead, I have to put the tracks in the library folder manually, then add them with the "copy to library" feature unchecked.

The reason would appear to be that the "Music" folder within the "iTunes Media" folder is an alias. That is, if I remove the alias, then iTunes will create a folder called "Music" automatically and happily import new tracks into it (the only page I found from searching had a similar "solution" - here).

The target of the alias is a folder on the same hard drive, and the setup worked flawlessly until I upgraded to iTunes 9. The error message I am getting is "Attempting to copy to the disk "" failed. The required folder cannot be found." (see attachment for pic).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Extra Info:

• My music is arranged as follows: ~/Music/Audio Library/Albums/<ARTIST>/<ALBUM>/<TRACK>
• The iTunes Music folder (~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music) is an alias to ~/Music/Audio Library/Albums.
• I have tried recreating the alias, and also using Terminal to create a symlink (on the off chance there are subtle differences). Problem remains.
• OS X 10.5.8 running on a G4 (I think the same problem occurs on my Intel Mini).
• iTunes 9.0.1 (9), although the problem began with 9.0.
• I do not consider the workaround of moving ~/Music/Audio Library/Albums to ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music a valid solution .
• If anyone else can reproduce the problem, please say so and I will submit a bug report to Apple.

[Las_Vegas]

Go to Preferences and select "Advanced" Change your music folder location to the source of that alias. This will keep your iTunes folder in Music where it belongs, but allow all of your music to reside where you want them.

[EatsWithFingers]

Quote: Originally Posted by Las_Vegas Go to Preferences and select "Advanced" Change your music folder location to the source of that alias. This will keep your iTunes folder in Music where it belongs, but allow all of your music to reside where you want them.

That's what I have (I knew there would be something I forgot to put in the original post) - i.e., the media folder location is set as "~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media".

To avoid any confusion, iTunes 9 changed the organisation so that folders such as "Downloads", "Podcasts", "Mobile Applications", "Ringtones", etc are no longer kept in beside the artist folders. Now, the artist folders (and "Compilations") are moved into a subfolder called "Music". It is this subfolder which I have the alias of. I am not wanting to alias the main "iTunes Media" folder (which does work as expected).

That is, I have:

~
|
+-- Music
     |
     +-- iTunes
     |    |
     |    +-- iTunes Media
     |         |
     |         +-- Music  <-- this is the alias (to Albums, below)
     |         +-- Podcasts
     |         +-- Ringtones
     |         +-- Movies
     |         +-- (etc)
     |
     +-- Audio Library
          |
          +-- Albums  <-- this is where my music is stored

P.S. does anyone know of a cure for OCD?

[Hal Itosis]

Quote: Originally Posted by EatsWithFingers [*]I have tried recreating the alias, and also using Terminal to create a symlink (on the off chance there are subtle differences). Problem remains.

Had you tested the integrity of that symlink by other means (e.g., double-click in Finder or ls in Terminal)?

Also, do you recall the command you used? Depending on how iTunes is 'approaching' that folder, perhaps a trailing slash might make a difference. I.e.,

ln -s ~/Music/Audio\ Library/Albums ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Media/Music

versus...

ln -s ~/Music/Audio\ Library/Albums/ ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Media/Music

[normally such distinctions make no difference, but i've seen stranger things happen.]

Quote: Originally Posted by EatsWithFingers I am not wanting to alias the main "iTunes Media" folder (which does work as expected).

Hate to rock the boat, but can you explain how that setup you desire provides any additional benefit? Why is it worth it (in this case) to simply shift that one subfolder over, within your own home? [i.e., in most cases, users have an external HD, or partition, or move the entire "iTunes Media" blob into /Users/Shared for more practical purposes.]

Just wonderin'

[EatsWithFingers]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hal Itosis Had you tested the integrity of that symlink by other means (e.g., double-click in Finder or ls in Terminal)?

Yes, I tested it via Finder. The original aliases and the symlinks all worked as expected.

Quote: Originally Posted by Hal Itosis Also, do you recall the command you used? Depending on how iTunes is 'approaching' that folder, perhaps a trailing slash might make a difference. I.e., ln -s ~/Music/Audio\ Library/Albums ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Media/Music versus... ln -s ~/Music/Audio\ Library/Albums/ ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Media/Music [normally such distinctions make no difference, but i've seen stranger things happen.]

It was the latter (the one with the trailing slash) since that's what tab-completion gives you.

Quote: Originally Posted by Hal Itosis Hate to rock the boat, but can you explain how that setup you desire provides any additional benefit? Why is it worth it (in this case) to simply shift that one subfolder over, within your own home? [i.e., in most cases, users have an external HD, or partition, or move the entire "iTunes Media" blob into /Users/Shared for more practical purposes.] Just wonderin'

You're right - what I want provides no additional benefit whatsoever! I've just never liked having my music files somewhere in the iTunes' folder (i.e. I want only stuff directly related to iTunes to be in that folder - what most programs would probably keep in their "Application Support" folder). And the case you describe with an external HDD is exactly how I have my other Mac set up. What's even more puzzling is that I don't care how the music is organised, but for some reason I do seem to care where it's kept .

However, it seems like this could be a bug in iTunes and I would like to find out if it really is a bug, or if it's just me (my next step will be to try a fresh user account). After that, I'll do the sensible thing and replace the alias with the actual folder.

[Hal Itosis]

If i had iTunes 9 i could provide some better feedback... sorry. [i hate major iTunes upgrades, because i always need to do it on every Mac i access (musically). I would have stayed with version 7, but buying a new iPod touch forced me into version 8. I will avoid v9 as long as possible.]

EatsWithFingers, I'm trying to accomplish the same thing and have run into the same issue. Still looking for a solution.

[EatsWithFingers]

bdehamer, I ended up going with Hal's suggestion: I moved the actual music files, etc into ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music and then put an alias to that folder in ~/Music/Audio Library (i.e. same as I already had, just with the actual directory and the alias swapped over).

I also filed a bug report with Apple which, if I remember correctly, was flagged as a duplicate and thus already a known issue.