MAC USERS: assist one moron

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I deleted my itunes music folder and emptied the trash. Can I get it back? ...please?

― Holly (an appletross), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 22:39 (twenty years ago)

i did this too. i hate to break it to you, but the answer is probably no.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 22:41 (twenty years ago)

when i called mac they said something about a $70 (out of budget) program... anyone know anout that?

― Holly (an appletross), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 22:42 (twenty years ago)

(Why would you do that?)

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 22:48 (twenty years ago)

you'd have to look into "Data Recovery services". It could be as cheap as $100. It would prob be easier to fire up yr favorite P2P and re-download.

― Orbit (Orbit), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:01 (twenty years ago)

If you can get ahold of Norton Utilities from someone, you can try having a go with that

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:02 (twenty years ago)

And in the meantime, don't use your computer if you can help it, especially if you don't have very much free space on your HD. Norton can only find erased files if they haven't been written over with new data yet, and any activity on yr computer writes some data to your hard drive.

There's also a program called "Data Rescue" wich I've heard spoken highly of, but I've never tried it myself - http://www.prosofteng.com/index.php?datarescue

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:09 (twenty years ago)

U FUKD UP

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:29 (twenty years ago)

I dled the trial of data rescue but it says i need to have 2 volumes, one for readind one for writing... can i make a partition or waht?

― Holly (an appletross), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:40 (twenty years ago)

Yeesh dunno, I think making a partition would probably make it harder to get back your data. Maybe burn it to CD and run data rescue from the CD? I'm a little out of my depth here but that's probably what I would try

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:45 (twenty years ago)

how much actvity will erase my deleted music FOREVER?

― Holly (an appletross), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:47 (twenty years ago)

You have to realize it's almost definitely already gone forever.. this is serious hail mary type stuff you're trying, but you should try!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:50 (twenty years ago)

i dont think a CD is going to cut it. i am going to have to link up with my roommates computer when i get home. but i don't think it's going to work... time for ilxors to mail me music....

― Holly (an appletross), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:55 (twenty years ago)

Try, try!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 00:12 (twenty years ago)

i will try when i get home, but i am not holding out much hope.

― Holly (an appletross), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 00:15 (twenty years ago)

what did you think you were accomplishing by deleting the whole music folder, then emptying the trash?

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 00:18 (twenty years ago)

my friend andy informed my that i could delete the files in the music folder as long as i didnt delete them in itunes music folder, which is true, but i accidently highlighted the itunes music folder and deleted the whole damn thing. not knowing this, and trying to make more space on my hard drive, really for no reason, i emptied the trash.

― Holly (an appletross), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

If you delete files from your Music folder - files which happen to live outside your iTunes music folder, and empty the trash - they're gone. I knew this "iTunes music folder" nonsense would eventually end in tears. THere's like three place to look for your songs: iTunes itself, your Music folder, and then your iTunes music folder, wich usually lives inside your music folder. It's fucking ridiculous. If the Finder is such a ad way of accessing and organizing files that they have to quarantine certain types of files away from prying eyes so that you can only access them through some other custom-built application interface then maybe they need to rethink the Finder. Jesus. Sorry to go on a rant, Holly, and I'm sorry about your music!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 00:29 (twenty years ago)

in the future, if you realize this mistake instantaneously, you can quickly UNPLUG your computer and then plug it back in, 87% of the time I've done that, it magically restored my trash!

though obviously this only works on desktops, not laptops, this has only just occurred to me.

― Allyzay Dallas Multi-Pass (allyzay), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:16 (twenty years ago)

Tracer: that's stupid! What if I want to uhhhh, you know copy an mp3 to something?

― Fat Anarchy on Airtube (ex machina), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:20 (twenty years ago)

dude what does that have to do with what he just said about iTunes directory being a sack of shit on top of a dead, fly infested elephant? cos i mean he's kind of right about that.

― Allyzay Dallas Multi-Pass (allyzay), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:22 (twenty years ago)

At this point, you should really just take this one as a lesson and move on. You probably didn't pay for most of that music anyhow. Be glad that it wasn't something more important.

― Who did release magic family out from the base of $499 (deangulberry), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:30 (twenty years ago)

i don't get why having a separate itunes folder inside your music folder is such a biggie

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:42 (twenty years ago)

my main problem with iTunes system is that A) it's really dumb B) the default preference is to try to recopy your entire music folder (which exists outside of the realm of "iTunes music folder" in the finder and is not necessarily one and the same thing, which is why I think Tracer was getting at) so that you have 2 mp3s of each item and basically crashes the whole shebang.

but i've said this before!!! it's just bad proprietarial coding of the Microsoft variety.

i concurr with the sentiment that the files are probably gone!

― Allyzay Dallas Multi-Pass (allyzay), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:51 (twenty years ago)

Jon I use the Finder for it all, it's about the same as using iTunes's useless "Library". I'm seriously thinking about ditching iTunes altogether because of how it farts out that little "iTunes Music Folder" every time it starts up, and its little xml file, like GET THAT CRAP OUT OF MY MUSIC FOLDER PLEASE K. I don't like having to drag things into iTunes once I've downloaded them, either, I don't like this whole "put it into the Library" step. Even if it's automatic it feels like "time to check in with uncle iTunes and let him know what I've downloaded!!" But I don't know what else to use and I really like being able to type a couple of letters into the search box and filter down the results.

xpost to s1ocki: that's why. I'm fastidious about my computer in direct inverse proportion to how fastidious I am about everything else. I've always liked Macs because they let you organize things in the Finder however you liked, and they haven't traditionally sprung weird folders on you, plopping them down into the middle of some directory of yours. I know that's mainly changed with OS X, but I don't think it's a bad gestalt to shoot for.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:51 (twenty years ago)

you can just double-click on dled files to add them to your library!

also it's fairly simple to tell itunes NOT to copy all your shit.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:53 (twenty years ago)

yeah i know that but only an insane motherfucker would code a program so that that was the default option that if you, say, forget to check off before you do it, you're totally fucked six ways to saturday.

I also agree with Tracer's whole assessment of the iTunes music folder being kind of nothing like any other way they did things previously. I also don't like the fact that files in the "music" folder, which is not the same thing as "iTunes Music Folder" seem to have different permissions within iTunes no matter what I do to my computer to change this.

― Allyzay Dallas Multi-Pass (allyzay), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:56 (twenty years ago)

Dude s1ocki did you read what I just said????? I don't want to "add songs to my Library." What is the fucking point? I've already downloaded them! I've already got folders and a desktop, what do I need playlists and libraries for?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:58 (twenty years ago)

uh i dunno, so you can line up a bunch of songs without having to mosey over to the finder every time one of them ends?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 01:59 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I used to use SoundApp! Highlight the files, Cmd-O, walk away...

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 02:04 (twenty years ago)

...and never look back.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 02:14 (twenty years ago)

iTunes haters are like the dittoheads of ILX.

also:

i don't get why having a separate itunes folder inside your music folder is such a biggie

-- s1ocki (slytus...) (webmail), February 23rd, 2005 8:42 PM. (slutsky) (link)

― Fat Anarchy on Airtube (ex machina), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 02:35 (twenty years ago)

yeah i know that but only an insane motherfucker would code a program so that that was the default option that if you, say, forget to check off before you do it, you're totally fucked six ways to saturday.

Or just copy the files back?

― Fat Anarchy on Airtube (ex machina), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 02:40 (twenty years ago)

it doesn't even move the files! you could just delete them

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 02:41 (twenty years ago)

what is a dittohead?

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 02:46 (twenty years ago)

dittohead = rush limbaugh fan

― Fat Anarchy on Airtube (ex machina), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 02:59 (twenty years ago)

IF I STATE MY OPINION LOUDLY AND FORCEFULLY ENOUGH, MAGICALLY I AM RIGHT

― Fat Anarchy on Airtube (ex machina), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 02:59 (twenty years ago)

that's rich, jonathan!

― Who did release magic family out from the base of $499 (deangulberry), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 03:01 (twenty years ago)

http://www.mackron.com/random/fingergirl.jpg

― Fat Anarchy on Airtube (ex machina), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 03:04 (twenty years ago)

ok, another itunes question from a novice: how do you make sure than when you delete an "album," you delete the files associated with it? (which right now mostly exist in some huge fucking list of 1,500 "track 1" files etc.)

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 03:09 (twenty years ago)

tracer's just (orig. typed: 'kist') being trying to help, jw!

― cozen (Cozen), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 03:09 (twenty years ago)

being = haha drunk 'been'.

― cozen (Cozen), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 03:09 (twenty years ago)

(i don't have broadband so when i rip a cd i don't bother to get the tracks named and shit.)

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 03:10 (twenty years ago)

even on dial up it only takes a minute or so to get the tracks from gracenotes.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 03:32 (twenty years ago)

Well, maybe if you run MAC OS 7

― Fat Anarchy on Airtube (ex machina), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 03:56 (twenty years ago)

i solved this by renaming the actual files once downloaded. other than that, you'd just have to click on each track 1 to see what it is.

I don't like having to drag things into iTunes once I've downloaded them, either, I don't like this whole "put it into the Library" step.

not sure what version you have but things i download from Limewire show up automatically in both the library and a playlist called Limewire that iTunes created on it's own.

i don't see the problem with iTunes though. it's fairly straightforward and other mp3 players i've used use a similar playlist/library concept.

― eman (eman), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 04:30 (twenty years ago)

in the future, if you realize this mistake instantaneously, you can quickly UNPLUG your computer and then plug it back in, 87% of the time I've done that, it magically restored my trash!

though obviously this only works on desktops, not laptops, this has only just occurred to me.

So pull the battery out instead!

If the Finder is such a ad way of accessing and organizing files that they have to quarantine certain types of files away from prying eyes so that you can only access them through some other custom-built application interface then maybe they need to rethink the Finder.

Just wanting to try to hide certain files from the user is a good sign that they don't really know what they're doing - or, at least, that they don't understand Unix very well. For another thing, there is a Right Way to hide files; if they want to hide something, why don't they do that?

― caitlin (caitlin), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 08:54 (twenty years ago)

iTune is a mcuh better way of organising files in general and music in particular. It abstracts the real filing locations and provides logical, metadata based, ways of accessing them.

I don't see what the problem with the library is it works just like a specialised case of a finder window.

For all you iTunes Hataz out there; iTunes is going to inform the way that the finder (and Windows Explorer) works in Tiger (and Longhorn). The location of files will be irrelevant but you will access them through meta data defined folders (like smart playlists) or virtual folders (like ordinary playlists).

an besides the Library is very logical, hierachically organised artist/album track. It falls down with bad tagging and to a certain extent with compilations or where on one album there are a few tracks with second artists tagged in the artist field.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 09:03 (twenty years ago)

That's all very well and good to say - but what if you don't *want* iTunes telling your shell what to do? I don't want software that says "you *will* use this system, because we think it is a Good Thing".

You can never abstract the real filing locations completely, because if you manage your own computer you need to be able to manage your disk storage too.

― caitlin (caitlin), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 09:09 (twenty years ago)

File systems are a pretty ugly abstraction as to what's really going on on a disc anyway, so why not actually create a file system oriented towaards how the human mind actually works, things don't stay in single folders in our brains, a single piece of information can pop up in connection to many others or ideas or concept based on what we know about a piece of information so why not have our computers present our information in the same way.

Even if you son't want iTunes telling you where all you files go you can turn it off and keep your files anywhere and still within the library, the only problem (and something that should be solved soon) is that if you move a file iTune looses the knowledge of it.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 09:11 (twenty years ago)

Ed I can almost get behind that but in that case why bother having a Finder at all?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

The finder is just an abstraction, an oudated one, a circa '92 invention. The new finder will be a much better abstraction.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 17:33 (twenty years ago)

Finder lets you view DIFFERENT KINDS of filesystems with relative seamlessness, it fills in the blanks between Terminal windows, iTunes, web browsers and DVD players and lets you navigate to the most appropriate one. Look at it as a sort of Leatherman for file management.

MSFT's high level concept ap[pears to be trying to push all this shit under one inter-assface called Explorer and that's just not going to peter out.

― TOMBOT, Wednesday, 23 February 2005 17:35 (twenty years ago)

Actually the finder as it stands is not much of an abstraction, it represents the file system pretty unabstracted. The file system provides the main layer of abstraction. Not much clever is done.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 17:36 (twenty years ago)

That's what's great about the finder, tom, it allows you to get at thing by different logical roots, searchlight will just be an extension of this.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 17:41 (twenty years ago)

Another good reason for a backup FireWire drive. I back up my iTunes folder once a month to my 160GB drive to ensure that this doesn't happen. Considering how cheap external HDs are now, there's really no reason to trash anything anymore.

― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

On another subject, I think DataRescue might be the freebie which is evil freeware which installs in your system and won't like you erase it - I had to reinstall OSX to get rid of the bastard. I might be getting it mixed up though. It was defo an unerase widget. Check the comment on Version Tracker - I didn't, and paid the price for my lack of vision.

― Dave B (daveb), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 18:05 (twenty years ago)

Sorry to say I ran data rescue last night and was only able to recover one song. Under Pressure by Queen feat. David Bowie. I couldn't find the others. Thanks for your help guys, now mail me data discs, please/thanks.

― Holly (an appletross), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 19:45 (twenty years ago)

DaveB! You are correct. I figured out how to manually junk all its bullshit.

― Fat Anarchy on Airtube (ex machina), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 20:32 (twenty years ago)

OMG Holly! THat's like, a sign! Of what I'm not sure.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)

I think what is more interesting is that at the time of the great deleting i had.... 666 songs.

― Holly (an appletross), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 22:04 (twenty years ago)

Oh, I thought you had a lot of songs.

― Who did release magic family out from the base of $499 (deangulberry), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 22:07 (twenty years ago)

And I'm the one who had sent "Under Pressure" to your gmail, which means you would still have a copy of it regardless.
oh well...
Time to load up those 250 Stephin Merritt songs, I guess.

― Anyone Who Can Pick Up A Frying Pan Pwns Death (AaronHz), Wednesday, 23 February 2005 22:13 (twenty years ago)

i should start burning cds from my itunes playlist before this happens to me. i sold a lot of music and ripped the cds to my hard drive before i sold it, and i've been lazy about burning cds so far.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 24 February 2005 00:28 (twenty years ago)

Dean give the girl a break. 666 songs, at an avg of four minutes each is.. a HELL (chiz) of a lot of music. But .. even if it was just like five songs man, I mean I have particular mp3s that if I lost just ONE or TWO who knows if I'd ever get them back, you know? Try a little tenderness man!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 24 February 2005 00:32 (twenty years ago)

i'd second the firewire external drive idea. i only have about 400 mp3s but would be gutted if this happened since most are from cds i paid for then traded. also avoid norton utilities, it is a piece of shit. use disk warrior instead.

― eman (eman), Thursday, 24 February 2005 06:00 (twenty years ago)

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