"Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

[iGowanus68]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

I am using iTunes version 12.5.4.42. I checked for updates last night & this is the current version.

Actually, you can indeed have multiple iTunes libraries. If you press the left shift key while clicking on the iTunes icon, a dialogue box will appear presenting options to choose or create a library. As iTunes is not always responsive, you might have to repeat the action 2 or 3 times.

You can proceed from there. What you cannot have is more than one device assigned to a library. So, for my 5 libraries, I have 5 160 GB iPod Classics.

As for Advanced Preferences, mine are the same as yours, only I have update notification unselected.

As for your request that I try ripping to a temp folder outside the iTunes tree & then using "Add Folder ...", as I believe I said, I have already done so following the suggestion by GaryM. Last night I further experimented with the method as I was wrestling for maybe 4 hours, ultimately unsuccessfully, to get some content into the iTunes Library. I cannot detail for you all that I tried. All I can say is that this method may be working for you, but it is not for me. & even if it was, I would not be satisfied, because it requires more steps than should be necessary.

Over the past year, I have learned the hard way of iTunes' deficiencies & I am sick of it. I too only use it to sync my iPods. Everything else is done by dBpa.

Thanks very much for your input.

[iGowanus68]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

I am using iTunes version 12.5.4.42. I checked for updates last night & this is the current version.

Actually, you can indeed have multiple iTunes libraries. If you press the left shift key while clicking on the iTunes icon this will appear on your screen:


[hope that displays as an image]

As iTunes is not always responsive, you might have to repeat the action 2 or 3 times.

You can proceed from there. What you cannot have is more than one device assigned to a library. So, for my 5 libraries, I have 5 160 GB iPod Classics.

As for Advanced Preferences, mine are the same as yours, only I have update notification unselected.

As for your request that I try ripping to a temp folder outside the iTunes tree & then using "Add Folder ...", as I believe I said, I have already done so following the suggestion by GaryM. Last night I further experimented with the method as I was wrestling for maybe 4 hours, ultimately unsuccessfully, to get some content into the iTunes Library. I cannot detail for you all that I tried. All I can say is that this method may be working for you, but it is not for me. & even if it was, I would not be satisfied, because it requires more steps than should be necessary.

Over the past year, I have learned the hard way of iTunes' deficiencies & I am sick of it. I too only use it to sync my iPods. Everything else is done by dBpa.

Thanks very much for your input.

[mville]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

Which version of iTunes are you currently using? I am also unclear how you can have 5 libraries for 1 user. For me, iTunes only creates a single library at the default location of C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\

To troubleshoot this issue and rule out any other underlying problems, I was suggesting (as in post no. 7 and post no. 14) ripping to a new (non Apple/iTunes) folder, eliminating the use of any Apple/iTunes library folders in the process, which is working for me.

Here are my relevant iTunes Preferences:


Could you try this, with the above settings and see if it works?

I would also say that in my experience of the world of Apple/iTunes, iTunes' tagging implementation and file handling is flawed. As Apple fix one bug, they create another. Only recently I had to report a bug to Apple, where, in certain circumstances, iTunes was deleting one of my tags. I only use iTunes for syncing files to my iPod Classic 160GB.

[iGowanus68]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

I'm sorry. I thought I had made it clear at the beginning of this thread. I am ripping & tagging with dBpoweramp CD Ripper, using the Apple Lossless encoder, to one of the 5 iTunes libraries that I have created, iTunes Library 2. Over the past year or so, I have ripped a total of more than 700 cd albums distributed among the 5 libraries by Classical genre & Jazz. Most of the time, I have been directing the ripped music files to the "Automatically Add to iTunes" folders of the respective libraries. Those files would be in an artist folder, & iTunes would move the folder & files to the iTunes Media --> Music folder while at the same time copying the the tagged data as well as, much more often than not, the cover art for display in the library. I believe that this is how the process is supposed to work & it is how it did work most of the time. When it did not, I used the "Add Folder to Library" method & that worked, but it did not work as quickly or efficiently as the auto add method. So that when one way or another I got auto add working again, I used it & had been using it, with occasional hiccups, until last month when it stopped working. This time around when I used the add folder method, there were a couple more steps required than I recall from previously. If you wanted the folder & files to be in the iTunes Media --> Music folder, it was necessary to manually move them there. But then, when I tried to play a track or to sync the library with the iPod, iTunes could not find that content. A "locate file" process was required making the add folder method more cumbersome than it had been. This evening when I attempted to use this method, it did not work at all.

Here is something that might be relevant. At the risk of being redundant, what is happening when a cd is ripped to iTunes is that, instead of the music files going to the auto add folder, they are going to a "Not Added" subfolder where, with each new rip, they accumulate as Date-Time named folders containing the music files. Nothing can be done that content but erase it. Tonight I noticed something. Here is the text of a message describing it that I sent to the last iTunes support specialist that I consulting with:

"... It is now, in New York City, Wednesday January 11, 2017 8:51 PM, or in Windows format: 2017-01-11 20.51.**. About ten minutes ago, after ripping a cd to iTunes & having the music files be inserted into the Date-Time named subfolder which you may remember is a subfolder under the Not Added folder which is in turn a subfolder under the Automatically Add ... folder. But the date-time folder was stamped 2017-01-12 01.38.40. This is about 5 hours in advance of the time here in New York. It sounds far-fetched, but could this time difference in the naming of the folder be causing the problem or be a clue to its cause?"

Any thoughts on this anyone?

[mville]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

Tried that. Didn't work. Thanks.

In what way did this not work? This has worked successfully for me for many years.

Which step does not work, i.e. ripping CDs with dBpoweramp or adding the ripped folder tracks to iTunes, please describe the symptoms. What format are you ripping to using dBpoweramp?

[garym]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

I am in complete agreement about the role of dBpa and that it is not the source of the problem. The only other user support forum I have consulted is the iTunes one & no contributor there nor any iTunes support specialist I have spoken with has apparently known of the existence of dBpa or of any media managing software other than iTunes. Oh, well, I'll press on one way or another. Thanks again for your help.

I understand that they don't know about dbpa at those forums. But that's really irrelevant since the tests we've had you do show that dbpa is not a source of the problem (the only possibility was that dbpa was still finalizing files while itunes was trying to move...but you've tested that issue already). Hopefully you'll get to the bottom of this. There is likely a simple explanation and fix, so I wouldn't spend my time exploring other programs (jriver, etc.) as that is overkill and doesn't focus on solving the problem at hand. Good luck.

[iGowanus68]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

Sorry, Haven't used those programs. The issues you report suggest some issue with managing files and itunes. Nothing you report seems to have anything to do with dbpoweramp. dbpa simply creates the files. The files are either good or not. You can test this by playing the files in jriver, windows media player, foobar2000, itunes or any number of programs. The files are either good are not. Whether itunes adds them to your itunes library correctly has everything to do with how itunes handles things and how your computer is dealing with folders/files in general. In my own experience, adding files to itunes has always been a simple task. File menu > add folder to library > then choose folder with your files.

Respectfully, you'll likely get better help in another forum that relates more directly to itunes. dbpa users aren't typically power itunes users. (I use it in a minor way to load up files on iphones, but itunes is not my main music database or player).

I am in complete agreement about the role of dBpa and that it is not the source of the problem. The only other user support forum I have consulted is the iTunes one & no contributor there nor any iTunes support specialist I have spoken with has apparently known of the existence of dBpa or of any media managing software other than iTunes. Oh, well, I'll press on one way or another. Thanks again for your help.

[garym]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

Yes. But at this stage, I can't get the music into the iTunes libraries in order to sync. Do you know anything about JRiver Media Center? Or MusiCHI? The latter claims to be designed specifically for Classical & Jazz. I am trying them both now, but so far the results are inconclusive. I know that JRiver syncs with the iPod, but I don't know what happened to the cover art. MusiCHI claims that it does, but they are a little vague & I haven't gotten to the point where I'm ready to try it.

Thanks again.

Sorry, Haven't used those programs. The issues you report suggest some issue with managing files and itunes. Nothing you report seems to have anything to do with dbpoweramp. dbpa simply creates the files. The files are either good or not. You can test this by playing the files in jriver, windows media player, foobar2000, itunes or any number of programs. The files are either good are not. Whether itunes adds them to your itunes library correctly has everything to do with how itunes handles things and how your computer is dealing with folders/files in general. In my own experience, adding files to itunes has always been a simple task. File menu > add folder to library > then choose folder with your files.

Respectfully, you'll likely get better help in another forum that relates more directly to itunes. dbpa users aren't typically power itunes users. (I use it in a minor way to load up files on iphones, but itunes is not my main music database or player).

[iGowanus68]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

I still use iTunes to add music to some old iPods, and that's exactly what I do. I never use the "auto add to itunes" folder (as that option was added long after I had a work flow for adding to itunes).

Yes. But at this stage, I can't get the music into the iTunes libraries in order to sync. Do you know anything about JRiver Media Center? Or MusiCHI? The latter claims to be designed specifically for Classical & Jazz. I am trying them both now, but so far the results are inconclusive. I know that JRiver syncs with the iPod, but I don't know what happened to the cover art. MusiCHI claims that it does, but they are a little vague & I haven't gotten to the point where I'm ready to try it.

Thanks again.

[iGowanus68]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

Rip your CDs to a different folder, not the Automatically Add to iTunes folder.

Then in iTunes, use the File menu >> Add Folder to Library... option.

Tried that. Didn't work. Thanks.

[garym]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

Rip your CDs to a different folder, not the Automatically Add to iTunes folder.

Then in iTunes, use the File menu >> Add Folder to Library... option.

I still use iTunes to add music to some old iPods, and that's exactly what I do. I never use the "auto add to itunes" folder (as that option was added long after I had a work flow for adding to itunes).

[mville]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

I did as you suggested & more. Using dBpa, the music files were successfully ripped to the temp music folder & I was able to import them from there to another media player (JRiver Media Center). From there I could play them. I tried everything I could think of. Once, when I copied the music files from the temp music folder to the &*8220;Automatically Add to iTunes&*8221; subfolder, they appeared in the iTunes Library & were playable. But I was unable to replicate that success. Otherwise, nothing worked. I erased the "Not Added" folder repeatedly but it reappeared each time I ripped or copied to the auto add folder, and even when I tried to bypass it by ripping or copying directly to the Music folder. It appears to me like iTunes is deliberately blocking third-party music ripping to its libraries. The only thing that keeps me tethered to iTunes is knowing that it will correctly sync my iPod Classics with the respective libraries. The one time I attempted a sync with JRiver all of the album art on the device was erased. I am new to this software & probably missed something. Anyway, I am disgusted. Any suggestions from anyone would be appreciated.

Rip your CDs to a different folder, not the Automatically Add to iTunes folder.

Then in iTunes, use the File menu >> Add Folder to Library... option.

[iGowanus68]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

As a test, rip with dbpa with a destination other than the "add to itunes folder". That is, rip to some c:\tempmusic folder. Wait until you've done a batch of rips and all is done. Then copy these newly ripped folders of ripped files over to the "add to itunes folder". As with Dat Ei, I suspect that itunes is trying to add/move the files while dbpa is still finishing some of the work on the ripped files and this confuses itunes.

p.s. in my own ripping process, I always rip to a "tempmusic" directory, make sure I'm happy with everything (tags, redoing replaygain values for multidisk sets, etc.). Then when happy, I move the folders to my main music library location.
EDIT: and why is dbpa better. It is a secure ripper that makes sure you are getting bit perfect rips. Itunes does NOT do this. Most people don't care about this or even understand it. But people that care about bit perfect rips always seem to use either dbpa or EAC.....never itunes!

I did as you suggested & more. Using dBpa, the music files were successfully ripped to the temp music folder & I was able to import them from there to another media player (JRiver Media Center). From there I could play them. I tried everything I could think of. Once, when I copied the music files from the temp music folder to the &*8220;Automatically Add to iTunes&*8221; subfolder, they appeared in the iTunes Library & were playable. But I was unable to replicate that success. Otherwise, nothing worked. I erased the "Not Added" folder repeatedly but it reappeared each time I ripped or copied to the auto add folder, and even when I tried to bypass it by ripping or copying directly to the Music folder. It appears to me like iTunes is deliberately blocking third-party music ripping to its libraries. The only thing that keeps me tethered to iTunes is knowing that it will correctly sync my iPod Classics with the respective libraries. The one time I attempted a sync with JRiver all of the album art on the device was erased. I am new to this software & probably missed something. Anyway, I am disgusted. Any suggestions from anyone would be appreciated.

[iGowanus68]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

As a test, rip with dbpa with a destination other than the "add to itunes folder". That is, rip to some c:\tempmusic folder. Wait until you've done a batch of rips and all is done. Then copy these newly ripped folders of ripped files over to the "add to itunes folder". As with Dat Ei, I suspect that itunes is trying to add/move the files while dbpa is still finishing some of the work on the ripped files and this confuses itunes.

p.s. in my own ripping process, I always rip to a "tempmusic" directory, make sure I'm happy with everything (tags, redoing replaygain values for multidisk sets, etc.). Then when happy, I move the folders to my main music library location.
EDIT: and why is dbpa better. It is a secure ripper that makes sure you are getting bit perfect rips. Itunes does NOT do this. Most people don't care about this or even understand it. But people that care about bit perfect rips always seem to use either dbpa or EAC.....never itunes!

Thank you. I'll try what you suggest & report back the result.

[garym]

Re: "Automatically Add to iTunes" not working ... AGAIN

As a test, rip with dbpa with a destination other than the "add to itunes folder". That is, rip to some c:\tempmusic folder. Wait until you've done a batch of rips and all is done. Then copy these newly ripped folders of ripped files over to the "add to itunes folder". As with Dat Ei, I suspect that itunes is trying to add/move the files while dbpa is still finishing some of the work on the ripped files and this confuses itunes.

p.s. in my own ripping process, I always rip to a "tempmusic" directory, make sure I'm happy with everything (tags, redoing replaygain values for multidisk sets, etc.). Then when happy, I move the folders to my main music library location.
EDIT: and why is dbpa better. It is a secure ripper that makes sure you are getting bit perfect rips. Itunes does NOT do this. Most people don't care about this or even understand it. But people that care about bit perfect rips always seem to use either dbpa or EAC.....never itunes!