iTunes Help Please

[Region3]

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully me giving as much info as I can will help the experts to advise me.

I have all my music in my "Music" folder in "Documents". Inside "Music" I have a folder for each artist, then a folder for each album inside each artist folder.

I had most of this music long before I got an iPod and consequently had to use iTunes, so when I first got it I told iTunes to add the folder "Music" to it's list of songs, and that was fine.

Each time I get music now I follow my filing system then point iTunes at the new folder I've added once it's placed in the relevant artist folder, and that's been fine too.

In preferences, I DON'T have the option ticked to let iTunes make a copy of everything because I'm assuming it will just double the space used on my hard drive, and I'm reluctant to have my only copies of my albums in the iTunes folder.

Now the question.
I want to get rid of a load of music that I have no idea why I wanted in the first place. Long have I suffered from 'magpie syndrome' when it came to music. If I got hold of something I put it on my iPod whether I liked it or not. Stupid eh?

So now if I delete it in iTunes it will still be in my "Music" folder, and if I delete it from my "Music" folder then iTunes won't be able to see it and will put a ! by everything I delete.

Is there a better way of managing my music than what I'm doing now, bearing in mind what I said above about not wanting iTunes to have my only copy?

I've also just added about another 30 albums to the collection and was thinking of just telling iTunes to add everything in my "Music" folder. Will it double up everything it already has, or will it only add the new stuff?

Thanks for any help

 

[Deke]

Itunes itself only stores tags of the music you have in your music folder.If you want properly want rid of music files you need to delete from your original folder and itunes.I only use itunes to sync with my phone and use a different music player,it makes life a lot easier mate!

 

[Region3]

I don't use it as a music player, only to sync with my iPhone and iPod.

How do you add music to iTunes once you have it in your music folder?
The same as me, or differently?

 

[Region3]

Sorry, also meant to ask... when you say it only stores 'tags', is that even if you let it make it's own copy of your files or just if you only let it point to your own files?

 

[Deke]

Sorry, also meant to ask... when you say it only stores 'tags', is that even if you let it make it's own copy of your files or just if you only let it point to your own files?

It saves the tags if you have a second copy of the tune or not,I have never had the need to have two copies! I add files to itunes pretty much the same as you bud,using the "add to library" command.Your way of doing things seems the the normal one.

 

[Deke]

When I want to replace all the music in my phone I just delete all of the tags in itunes (the originals are still safe in my music folder,be careful you don't select the delete original file command) and then just add the files I want on my phone.

 

[DappaDonDave]

I believe this http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080624120325AA13lLv

May help

 

[Region3]

I believe this http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080624120325AA13lLv

May help

Ah ok. I guess I'll just carry on the way I have been then.

Thanks for the replies gents.

 

[Deke]

A pleasure mate,any time!