iTunes acts as an interface between the iPod and the computer. The iPod needs to be synchronized with iTunes, to transfer songs, movies, videos etc. One can use the iTunes store to buy music, movies, etc which are not available in your own country. This application is also often used to just listen to music on the computer, or watch movies on it. If ever one were to lose data from iTunes, and does not have a back up, you simply need to recover iTunes using a utility tool.
As with every application, iTunes saves its data in a file, with the extension .ITL. This is where iTunes saves all the music and other information from iTunes. There are two files that are created by the library for two different purposes. The files and their paths are:
- File Extension: .itl
Location: (Windows) \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl
(Mac) /Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library
Purpose: The is a database of all the data in your iTunes Library. It contains songs, playlists, etc that have been created by you. The song names, artist, and other such details is often saved in this file.
- File Extension: .xml
Location: (Windows) \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml
(Mac) /Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml
Purpose:
The main purpose of this file is to enable other applications to use the data stored in the library. This file has most of the information stored in the ITL file.
If the ITL file gets damaged, all your iTunes data is lost. The file also contains user comments, song rating etc. Though a very rare case, sometimes this file is not recognized by the PC.
This error occurs due to problems with the registry. The registry is what governs the computers interaction with any of the software or programs stored on it. There are ways to correct this, but it is recommended that one should not fiddle around with this. You should call an expert who can do the job efficiently.
However, when this file gets deleted, iTunes automatically creates a new blank file. So if you have a backup of your iTunes data, just restore it to this new file. In case you don’t have a back up available, and you need to recover iTunes, use an iPod recovery software for the same. These software scan the drive and retrieve all the iTunes data from the system.
Stellar Phoenix iPod Recovery has proved to be safe and efficient in iPod recovery. The software has a free trial version with which you can preview the recoverable files. Thereafter you can buy the full version an recover the same. Since it supports all file formats (MP3, MOV, AVI, etc.) you can recover all your data using one tool.
