Still trying to move iTunes from a Windows 10 PC to a new Windows 11 PC - please help?

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Level 1

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Still trying to move iTunes from a Windows 10 PC to a new Windows 11 PC - please help?

I have iTunes on a Windows 10 PC and I cannot get it to consolidate my files.

I have spent weeks going through my library and locating songs and albums not filed properly (eg in Downloads) and moving them into my Music folder and deleting and re-adding them to iTunes.

I still get the 'file name invalid or too long' error when I try to consolidate.

I am at my wits end. How can I find what is causing this error, please?

Posted on Dec 18, 2025 8:33 AM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

278,149 points

Dec 18, 2025 8:47 AM in response to Sue036

Hi,

In Windows it is possible to nest folders inside other folders in a way which can result in a path length that exceeds the 256 character maximum that certain older Windows file management tools have. The likely solution would be to move the affected tracks to some higher level folder before attempting to fix the broken links that would be created in iTunes. I have a few scripts that might help here.

Unconsolidated should be able to list those tracks that aren't currently consolidated.

ConsolidateByMoving moves tracks into the media folder and updates their location in the iTunes database, but might fail in the same way that iTunes does. Try selectively on one or two tracks that you know aren't yet consolidated to see how it fares.

FindTracks can fix broken links to tracks that have been moved as long as they are still in some sort of sensible ..\<Artist>\<Album>\## <Name>.<Ext> style layout.

See Move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Community for general library migration advice.

tt2

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Answer 2

Sue036 Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 18, 2025 9:58 AM in response to turingtest2

Thank you, I'm just saving a copy of my iTunes folder elsewhere before attempting to run the Unconsolidated script.

I'm not clear how I will ensure that it searches the whole library, because I am unsure how I would select specific items if I only wanted some things to be searched?

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

278,149 points

Dec 18, 2025 10:06 AM in response to Sue036

As a rule my scripts work with any currently selected tracks, or the current playlist, or the whole library. If you are in the Songs view and don't have any particular tracks selected it will process the whole library, most likely after an "are you sure" warning.

tt2

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Answer 4

Sue036 Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 18, 2025 10:21 AM in response to turingtest2

The songs view confuses me. It seems to have a lot of songs ticked and I am unsure why, but I think it might be to do with the songs and albums I have selected to sync with my iPhone (and maybe other devices)? Are these ticked songs 'selected' songs, or would I have to highlight songs to select them?

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Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

278,149 points

Dec 18, 2025 10:29 AM in response to Sue036

No, selected songs get a highlighted background colour. If you click a single song it becomes selected. If you shift click another the range between and including them gets selected. You can ctrl-click to remove individual songs from your selection. A selection can be dragged to a playlist, for example, or serves as a target for most of my scripts.

Using the checked/unchecked ticked/unticked state to control what syncs to devices isn't ideal. Ctrl-clicking any checkbox will check or uncheck all tracks in the current view so you can easily destroy your carefully constructed selection by mistake. Better to create one or more dedicated playlist and only sync thoses. These are more robust, and can allow you to create different selections for different devices should you choose. Unchecked songs are skipped during normal track to track playback, which might not be something you intended when you unchecked a track to stop it being synced.

tt2

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Answer 6

Sue036 Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 18, 2025 10:47 AM in response to turingtest2

OK, thank you, that clarifies the difference between ticked and selected. I'll have a look at running the Unconsolidated script next.

The additional information re how to sync using playlists is also of interest, and I will come back to that once I've solved the current problem of how to move the music to my new computer.

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Answer 7

turingtest2

Level 10

278,149 points

Dec 18, 2025 11:23 AM in response to Sue036

B.T.W. Don't be conned into installing Apple Music/Devices/TV for Windows. These break iTunes and offer no tangible benefits. The current 64-bit build of iTunes can be found here: https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/win64.

(Nobody really has any business running the 32-bit version any more.)

tt2

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Answer 8

Sue036 Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 18, 2025 11:46 AM in response to turingtest2

Not certain which build of iTunes was installed on my new computer as someone else did that for me, however I'm probably going to uninstall and reinstall - because I opened it and logged in and it created a new itunes library, which I need to get rid of. That's for another day, though.

I have run the script and it's identified 16 unconsolidated tracks. I'll go through those when I have time (hopefully tomorrow?) and figure out what they are and where they are.

It also identified 3 mising tracks - how can I tell which ones they are?

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Answer 9

turingtest2

Level 10

278,149 points

Dec 18, 2025 2:04 PM in response to Sue036

They will have an exclamation mark against them after you have run the script. Those are reset when you relaunch iTunes. It is possible they are not really missing, but again buried deeper than some system calls can reach. Moving a higher level folder that you can access to an even higher position shortens the file path, potentially making the files in question accessible again.

tt2

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