How to Rebuild iTunes Library on Your Computer

2017-09-132017-09-16 Jonathan 7 Comments

After updating iTunes to new iTunes 12.7 or downgrading iTunes to previous version, some users found all songs and media files were gone from the library on computer, or meet the problem “iTunes Library.itl cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes”. If you also get into this kind of trouble, you may need to rebuild iTunes library to get back lost data in iTunes library. So here we offer you the tutorial about how to restore iTunes library on any PC and Mac.

How to Rebuild iTunes Library on Windows/Mac Computer

Shut down iTunes.
Go to iTunes folder. The location of iTunes folder vary from computers. On windows 7/8/10, the location is, C:\Users\[Your Computer Username]\My Music\iTunes. And on a Mac, you can use Spotlight to search “iTunes” to get the iTunes folder under Music folder.
In iTunes folder, click “Previous iTunes Libraries”, and copy the latest iTunes Library itl file back to its parent folder.
In iTunes folder, move the file “iTunes Library.itl” to desktop or some other folder for backup.
After that, rename the file you dropped from “Previous iTunes Libraries” folder to the new name “iTunes Library.itl”.
Relaunch iTunes.
When it asks you to Choose iTunes Library, just choose the “iTunes Library.itl” file you renamed in iTunes folder.

It may takes hours to rebuild iTunes library on your Windows or Mac computer. If this method doesn’t work, you can try other method to recover iTunes library. For example, you can recover iTunes library with purchases such as purchased songs, movies and apps.

If you get some issues when using this method to rebuild your iTunes library on computer, be free to comment them in the bottom.

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7 thoughts on “How to Rebuild iTunes Library on Your Computer”

Bill @Musi_Zhang博伦 (@Musibolun) says:

2017-09-17 at 07:04

Cannot really find the “Previous iTunes Libraries” on mac

Reply
1. Bill @Musi_Zhang博伦 (@Musibolun) says:
  
  2017-09-17 at 07:15
  
  I’ve tried my time machine but the version of iTunes Libraries.itl remains Friday, 23 January 2015 1:07 am
  
  Reply
  1. Bill @Musi_Zhang博伦 (@Musibolun) says:
    
    2017-09-17 at 07:25
    
    Ok i just find it cuz I move the iTunes library to an external drive, but the iTunes version of 31/03/2017 just move the iTunes Libraries.itl part along back to my system hard drive.
    
    Reply
Ken Oliver says:

2017-09-17 at 23:00

I successfully downgraded iTunes. Now how do I prevent Apple from automatically downloading the new iTunes??

Reply
1. Jane says:
  
  2017-09-17 at 23:35
  
  Here’s how to prevent Mac from automatically installing iTunes 12.7:
  1. Open System Preferences from your Dock.
  2. Click App Store.
  3. Uncheck “Automatically check for updates” option.
  
  Reply
John Holland says:

2018-04-27 at 20:59

Does not work, Previous Libraries latest .itl file won’t work. Still get the .itl error message when trying to use it. Only works if I go back several months to an old .itl file.

Reply
1. Dorothy says:
  
  2018-05-10 at 02:55
  
  Hello, John, thanks for reading our article and we are sorry for the delay reply. To start with, would you please tell us which iTunes version are you using? If you do not use the latest iTunes 12.7.4, would you please download it from link below: https://secure-appldnld.apple.com/itunes12/091-76333-20180329-6D5B026C-32F7-11E8-A675-99BAB071F5CF/iTunes64Setup.exe
  
  After updating your iTunes, would you please restart your computer to give it a new try?
  
  If you have any questions or problems, please do not hesitate to contact us.
  
  Enjoy a nice day!
  
  Reply