Some time in the last week, the one machine that I haven’t backed up recently, my old Windows 2000 box that more or less just runs iTunes, decided that corrupting my iTunes library sounded like a lot of fun. Backing the machine up hasn’t been a priority because the music itself is backed up locally (and soon to S3) and has virtually nothing else of consequence on it that isn’t already backed up (it just runs iTunes, remember). Regrettably, I hadn’t considered the iTunes library itself.
The last snapshot I have of said library is from June, just prior to my transition out to Maine for the summer. I never used the ratings seriously, and I’m not terribly concerned with the playcount and so on, but I’m really hoping I don’t lose all the CD playlists I’ve created between now and June. Some were really good – I swear.
Unfortunately, it seems like that’s what going to happen. I tried loading the corrupted library according to the instructions here and iTunes refused to recognize it. Worse, I can’t even view the *.itl file itself, as it won’t open in a text editor – so it’s not like the library export where you could recreate it by hand in a worst case scenario as it’s just an XML file. One odd thing: even after refusing to load the library, iTunes still had several thousand tracks listed; just incorrect metadata (added date and so on) and no playlists whatsoever.
The couple of folks I’ve asked the question to so far have expressed sympathy for my plight, but had little in the way of answers. What of you, O Great and Wise Lazyweb? I turn my lonely eyes to you.
