WTH? Why does iTunes keep deleting sync'd content on ATV?

[jim.arrows]

As subject indicates, why does iTunes insist on deleting all the music content that's already been synced to the ATV? It seems like if I launch iTunes following a reboot it immediately goes and "syncs" to the ATV by deleting all the music on the ATV. I've had to re-sync 12GB of music at least 5 times now. Running latest version of iTunes on XP.

After it deletes everything, If I just click "sync" for ATV (to get the music back on the device) it doesn't do anything, even though I have the option checked to sync all music and playlists on the music tab of the Apple TV device. Only way to get the music back over there is to ctrl-click my music library (select all) and THEN click sync, and it starts copying. It's almost as if it's doing it by design (because the entire library isn't checked at startup?), but they couldn't have possibly been that retarded designing this, could they? The REALLY stupid thing is that it doesn't bother the 2 podcasts I have sync'd, one the D5 interview with Gates & Jobs and the other a Macbreak. Space is not an issue, as I said I have a 12GB music library and the two video podcasts are about a Gig; that's all that's on it. Any ideas? Anyone else experience this behavior?

Thanks,
Jim

edit: I did search and find people with various sync'ing issues, but this isn't one I was able to find...

 

[pavloskgr]

Are you sure you do not choose the "Turn syncing off" option when you right click on the Apple TV device on the left column of iTunes! Cause if u choose turn syncing off after all the data have been synced with your apple tv , itunes will remove them!!!

 

[Maui]

Check your sync settings. For example, on TV shows, iTunes can be set to sync only unwatched episodes. Once you watch it, it no longer qualifies to be synched and will be deleted.

 

[jim.arrows]

Are you sure you do not choose the "Turn syncing off" option when you right click on the Apple TV device on the left column of iTunes! Cause if u choose turn syncing off after all the data have been synced with your apple tv , itunes will remove them!!!

No, it's set to sync all music & playlists, syncing is definitely turned on as that's the problem, when I launch iTunes it says "Syncing Apple TV" in the display window at top & then boom, all music is gone.

To the other poster, I'm ONLY sync'ing music (and the two podcasts I mentioned), all other syncing is disabled (movies, tv shows, & photos). I don't even have any movies or tv shows on the PC... thanks for the responses, anybody else have an idea?

 

[jim.arrows]

my apple tv settings regarding music looks simply like this.....

/Users/pavloskgr/Desktop/Picture 1.png

do u have all the necessary boxes checked? It sounds very weird that it deletes your music! I don't know if that picture helped you.......just trying to help......

Thanks again -- I don't think your attachment worked, it's just a path to the picture but no hyperlink.

 

[jeremy.king]

Thanks again -- I don't think your attachment worked, it's just a path to the picture but no hyperlink.

Screenshots of your settings might help.

Edit: Also, have you tried removing it as a source and reconnecting to the apple tv? Making sure to select the Syncing option (Not connect to iTunes) from your Apple TV

 

[jim.arrows]

Screenshots of your settings might help.

Edit: Also, have you tried removing it as a source and reconnecting to the apple tv? Making sure to select the Syncing option (Not connect to iTunes) from your Apple TV

I'm at work & it's at home, so can't post a screenshot. BUT, on the Apple TV device, under the music tab, "Sync all music & playlists" (the top selection) is checked (not selected playlists, all music) and the "Include Music Videos" is checked at the bottom (though I have none). As I mentioned, Movies and TV Shows (first two tabs) are disabled. Also, it's not a problem getting the music to sync -- as long as I have the entire music library selected with checkmarks it syncs fine. I'm also able to stream just fine by selecting the PC's library from the sources menu on ATV (I've had it for a month, so not making newbie mistakes... but I know, you had to ask 8). It works fine with the exception of this one unbelievably irritating thing, and it seems somewhat random. I haven't been able to determine if it's a reboot that causes it to happen (i.e. the first time launching iTunes following a reboot), or if it's just on random program startup -- maybe something in the library changes, which forces a re-sync, but then since all the library doesn't have checkmarks it just deletes everything?

So, this doesn't happen to anyone else? You sync'd your library once and can make any changes you want to the library within iTunes, and the changes are properly sync'd without losing your entire library on the ATV? This sucks...

p.s. Should mention, I'm not doing ANYTHING on the ATV when this happens, I'm in another room at the host PC; the summary page for the AppleTV has the little bar chart at the bottom showing disk usage, and it shows the 12GB of Music (in purple, I think?), and then as soon as it finishes syncing the bar is empty with the exception of like 97MB labeled as "Other" on the graph. But if I then go to the ATV, sure enough, the music is gone -- if I select ATV as the source and try to go into Music it says it's empty and I should choose to sync my music in iTunes, or whatever the standard error message is...

 

[Maui]

Crazy idea, but is your music library to big to fit on the ATV? So it's not really deleting, just not moving everything over when it syncs? And maybe moving different stuff on each sync so it looks like it is deleting?

 

[jeremy.king]

So, this doesn't happen to anyone else? You sync'd your library once and can make any changes you want to the library within iTunes, and the changes are properly sync'd without losing your entire library on the ATV? This sucks...

I don't have this issue and haven't really heard of it until now. My library changes daily and I have never had it resynce the entire library.

I do know that when you reconnect your iTunes library from your TV, it will delete everything and resync. So for some reason your Apple TV thinks its a different library. This is why I suspect a configuration issue.

At this point, I would suggest you reset the device to Factory, reconnect your iTunes library and see if the problem persists. You may want to consider uninstalling iTunes and reinstall on your PC, as syncing is driven from iTunes.

It could also be the fact your on a PC, so Apple is punishing you...

 

[jim.arrows]

Crazy idea, but is your music library to big to fit on the ATV? So it's not really deleting, just not moving everything over when it syncs? And maybe moving different stuff on each sync so it looks like it is deleting?

Nope, only 12GB and it's solely used for Music.

 

[jim.arrows]

I don't have this issue and haven't really heard of it until now. My library changes daily and I have never had it resynce the entire library.

I do know that when you reconnect your iTunes library from your TV, it will delete everything and resync. So for some reason your Apple TV thinks its a different library. This is why I suspect a configuration issue.

At this point, I would suggest you reset the device to Factory, reconnect your iTunes library and see if the problem persists. You may want to consider uninstalling iTunes and reinstall on your PC, as syncing is driven from iTunes.

It could also be the fact your on a PC, so Apple is punishing you...

Well, I may try the factory reset since it seems nobody else is experiencing this, just didn't want to go that route since I suspect it's a bug in either the XP iTunes or the ATV itself & the bug's going to be there factory reset or not. The XP box was just rebuilt from the OS up 2 weeks ago, so that's a fresh install with all patches up to date. But, since nobody else seems to have this problem, I may have to try it. I could sync from my macbook as a test, but that's not a permanent solution as the desktop (XP machine) is going to be the long-term media server. Thanks again for the suggestions, at least now I know it is NOT normal behavior, if anyone else sees this and has a fix I'd love to hear it!

edit: WooHoo! Lost my newbie status... ATV's still broke, though... 8)

 

[tbrinkma]

I noticed that you mentioned 'checked' songs sync across, but when they're *not* checked, they get deleted...

I had a similarly confusing period when I first got my iPod. I was trying to tell it what to sync by checking songs, and had the 'Only Sync checked music' option selected. Are you sure you don't have that situation going on?

 

[jim.arrows]

I noticed that you mentioned 'checked' songs sync across, but when they're *not* checked, they get deleted...

I had a similarly confusing period when I first got my iPod. I was trying to tell it what to sync by checking songs, and had the 'Only Sync checked music' option selected. Are you sure you don't have that situation going on?

Is that option somewhere other than on the Apple TV device page? Because on the music tab of the ATV device I have "Sync ALL music and playlists" selected, where would the "Sync only checked music" option live? Is it per device or a global option selected elsewhere? Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think that option is checked, because my iPod syncs properly from the same library (withOUT check-marking the entire library). The iPod behaves the way I'd expect the ATV to, which is to copy over the entire library and then only update for incremental changes (songs added, deleted, or updated album artwork). It's a good thought though, I'll definitely double-check it when I get home... thanks!

 

[Peace]

Question #1 : where is your iTunes library located ?.Is it in the default location?

Question #2 : Do you have all your music labeled properly? Because video is blue,music is purple,photos are yellow and "other" is bronze.

Question #3 : Is most of your music ripped from CD's ?

 

[jim.arrows]

Question #1 : where is your iTunes library located ?.Is it in the default location?

Question #2 : Do you have all your music labeled properly? Because video is blue,music is purple,photos are yellow and "other" is bronze.

Question #3 : Is most of your music ripped from CD's ?

1. Yes -- My Documents -> My Music -> Itunes ...
2. Yes, tags are present & accurate on all files.
3. A mix of ripped CD's and iTS purchases, but it's not as if the purchases are sync'ing properly & the rips are not, if that's what you're asking -- it's the entire music library that's being deleted.

Any ideas?

 

[Peace]

1. Yes -- My Documents -> My Music -> Itunes ...
2. Yes, tags are present & accurate on all files.
3. A mix of ripped CD's and iTS purchases, but it's not as if the purchases are sync'ing properly & the rips are not, if that's what you're asking -- it's the entire music library that's being deleted.

Any ideas?

You have me stumped.A screen grab sure would help.

 

[jim.arrows]

You have me stumped.A screen grab sure would help.

Ok, here are four screen captures. First one is the AppleTV summary tab; next is the Music tab with the "Edit -> Preferences -> Apple TV" Dialog box open in the foreground; next is an actual screen shot WHILE it's syncing, note that the 11.96GB of Music is still shown on the bar graph at the bottom. Last picture is the result of the Sync process; note that all music is gone from the bar graph and all playlists have disappeared from under the Apple TV in the left pane. All I did was uncheck my music library (via ctrl-click) and then clicked the Sync button on the ATV Device Page. Now, while I was hoping it would do it this time for illustrative purposes, the problem is that when I launch iTunes it does it automatically (sync's) and if I happened to have previously closed iTunes without the entire library selected, it deletes everything. Let me know if I failed to include a screen cap of an options page I'm unaware of... thanks again for everyone's help.

 

[jim.arrows]

Here's one more, of iTunes re-syncing the library after I went back to it and ctrl-clicked again (to re-select all songs) and then clicked sync again.

 

[Me1000]

If I were you id call apple support...

 

[jim.arrows]

If I were you id call apple support...

I've submitted a bug report via the ATV feedback page at apple.com. Is anyone else here using XP & NOT seeing this behavior, or is everyone else using a mac?

 

[Peace]

Why are there asterisks next to some of the playlists ?. Doesn't this normally mean that list can't be found ?.

Also it looks like you have ALL playlists selected including videos.Your TV might be deleting everything because there isn't enough room to hold all of the content.

If this isn't the problem I'd take it in to an Apple store.

 

[jim.arrows]

Why are there asterisks next to some of the playlists ?. Doesn't this normally mean that list can't be found ?.

Also it looks like you have ALL playlists selected including videos.Your TV might be deleting everything because there isn't enough room to hold all of the content.

If this isn't the problem I'd take it in to an Apple store.

Asterisks are there so those playlists appear first when selecting playlists on the ATV, that's all. I manually re-created the stock smart playlists with the leading asterisk so they're easily accessible. And again, there are absolutely no videos nor video playlists, I don't use the PC for video. The only thing I've used iTunes for is music and a couple of video podcasts, but before posting the screen caps last night I even disabled podcast syncing (you can see on the bar graph that the only thing present on the ATV is 11.96GB of music).

I've accepted that it's a bug in iTunes, just wondering now if someone else using iTunes on XP with an Apple TV can re-create it, or if everyone else's works correctly (as I mentioned, my iPod syncs just fine). I honestly don't think it has anything to do with the ATV, it's iTunes that's deleting the content.

 

[cidjcd]

It does seem like ATV requires you to check songs in order to sync

<snip>
I've accepted that it's a bug in iTunes, just wondering now if someone else using iTunes on XP with an Apple TV can re-create it, or if everyone else's works correctly (as I mentioned, my iPod syncs just fine). I honestly don't think it has anything to do with the ATV, it's iTunes that's deleting the content.

Hi Jim,

I just came across your post and joined the forum because I am having the same exact trouble with my new ATV and Windows XP pro. What I've noted (very frustratingly) is that the ATV will ONLY sync with songs in my iTunes library if they are checked.

I have the option "Sync ALL music and playlists" checked in the settings. There is no mention in the manual that sync only happens with content that is check-marked in iTunes...

So I have the same thought - surely that cannot be as designed, could it??

If it IS by design, it doesn't make sense, because iTunes requires you to check and uncheck songs if you want to only play certain ones, etc - so this means that each time you might happen to uncheck a song because you don't feel like listening to it on your PC iTunes, then it will also get deleted from ATV?!

I have to beleive this cannot be how it's supposed to work... I'm going to do some more testing, but for the moment I'm waiting for it to finish syncing my library of 12,600 songs so it'll be a few days...

Cheers,
Jcd

 

[grockk]

unchecking songs in itunes had the original purpose of telling itunes not to play the song. the ipod used to sync all music no matter what. they later added the option on the ipod since if you don't want to listen to it at home why would you want it on the ipod. now many people use the check marks for all sorts of stuff but this is the intended functionality.

Now the apple TV does not have this option because if you really want to listen to the song you already have a computer to just stream it. When you uncheck all items you are telling itunes you don't want to listen to anything, so it figures you don't want it on your apple tv either. they are too smart for us.

you have to check the songs you want available on the apple tv. some people have success using playlists to do most of the functionality of checking by having one master playlist you want to sync and add being in that playlist a condition to all other playlists. Now you sync only the master playlist to ipod and all checked are available on apple tv.

It's a workaround for sure but when you understand that the check means you want to hear it and uncheck means you don't, it starts to make sense.

 

[0s and 1s]

I think I found it.

I, too, was having the same issues syncing The Office on the TV, only to lose it as soon as my iTunes host computer went to sleep/off.


You have to make SURE that the items you are syncing (complete seasons, photos, an album, etc.) are fully synced. This is, of course, related to how you sync items. In my setup, I want all shows of specific series to be synced.

For example, I tried to sync The Office, Season 3 (23 episodes) to the console. Although all 23 episodes are fully viewable while syncing, the status bar showed (1 of 23) syncing while I started to watch an episode. I stopped viewing and left to run an errand, assuming that the computer would continue to sync until completed. However, since my computer is set to sleep after 20 minutes of inactivity, it went to sleep at said time (I guess syncing is not considered an 'activity.') So, despite it syncing a good 80% of the entire season, the sync was not completed, so the entire process is completed erased the second the connection between the console and the computer are lost.


I hope this makes sense. I'm running on 2 hours of sleep. The moral of the story is to make sure everything is fully synced.