Resolved Exclamation marks (!) losing my music

Anybody have a guess as to why I keep getting them?
It's been an ongoing problem for about two years. It got much worse when MS Suggested I change from MP-10 to MP-11.
I complained but MS said it was in my PC.
I went back to MP-10, eventually to Itunes, but the problem still IS in my PC but what the heck is the problem.

I can find the music and restore it with "search" but I got a lot of exclamation marks.

Sometimes when I buy new music from Itunes, all those exclamation marks go away. But they come back!

I defrag regularly. I also keep the Internet files reset.


I went to the Itunes search file and found this forum post, but I don't know what to do with it.
Anybody?

Re: File not found tag (exclamation mark) problem
Posted on: Apr 2, 2010 6:00 AM, by user: Katrina S. -- Relevance: 62% -- Show all results within this thread

You can run this script to get rid of the ! marks.

http://ottodestruct.com/itunes/update.txt


I'm guessing the lengthy address to the base file is the problem that causes those exclamation marks.
But I don't know how to put all that music in one place, with a short link to the music.

Here's a sample. This got an exclamation mark. It's the same music saved in two places. But....some single copies get the Exclamation mark too.

C:\Documents and settings\Dick Hopkins\desk top\Copy of music and video.

C:\Documents and settings\Dick Hopkins\desk top\April 10 All My docs files saved\my music.

 

try holding down the shift key while launching Itunes and it should ask you to point to youir Itunes library

 

I did that. A box came up saying Itunes needs a Library, then it offered me three choices.
"Quit" "Choose Library" "Create Library "

I hit "Choose.." and didnt get anything I recognized.
I tried to create and got nowhere, but the music's all gone.

 

Have you at any time used an external USB drive to store your music on to, or changed partitions where the music is stored. Have you at any time changed willingly or unwillingly the drive letter of your IPod.

 

Some of it is on another drive.
I believe all my Music is still in the Hard Drive somewhere. I just haven't located it yet.

If I had been experienced enough to follow the "Itunes library" link in MitchellCooley's post I might have saved it all and maybe even solved the Exclamation mark problem.
Too late I discovered it.

How about running that Script I posted? Anybody know what that said and how I might run it on my PC?

 

Hi, try this,

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...-us/wsh_runfromwindowsbasedhost.mspx?mfr=true

 

Don't forget to rename "update.txt" to "update.js" (no quotes)

 

Mitchell, I'm so confused about this thing.
I finally searched through the PC and found the Music. Old stuff that dissapeared a long time ago.
In desperation I opened iTunes, and the musice folder.
I highlighted the music, dragged it into iTunes.
It took an hour to get it in that way, but its in.

I still don't know what's what about those (!) marks or how to use that script.

It could be that I dont know enough about PC Troubles, because I dont know what you mean by; " Don't forget to rename "update.txt" to "update.js" (no quotes) "

I couldn't follow the iTunes directions either, nor the MS directions.

I'm going to mark this one as solved and hope somebody will help next time I have them danged things.

 

I wish I could have helped more; I don't use ITunes. A co-worker had that problem and used the shift click method and it worked fine so I really had no other help to offer.

The first two lines in the script give the instructions for using it

The exclamation mark just tells you ITunes doesn't see the file and it may have been moved as Hawk22 had suggested.

The important thing is you found your music and though it was time consuming you were able to get it relocated.

Now the next time you get the ITunes exclamation mark you can try the shift click or the script with come confidence - knowing your music is still there regardless.

Sometimes it just hit and miss

Mitch

 

This PC stuff is incredible complex. I'm just glad to associate with people who know more than I do. In fact, A heckuva lot more than I do

I get depressed when my mind just dont know what to do next. Nobody around to help. I just go to sleep.
Dick