Files deleted from iTunes Library are'nt sent to the Recycle Bin

JustinW

JustinW

Super Moderator
Staff member
I have noticed that iTunes has a glitch where files deleted from the library and supposely moved to the recycle bin are not moved there.

Apple's documentation for iTunes states that iTunes only deletes or moves files to the recycle bin that are wihtin it's iTunes folder.

When I try to delete podcast episodes, they are removed from the library, but are not moved to the recycle bin. My podcasts folder is the default which is the Podcasts folder that can be found within ...\iTunes\iTunes Music\.

To currently get around these issues, I have had to make a batch file that'll delete the files for me periodically as it builds up and I have deleted them from the library.

Searches on the topic have not yeilded any results, but I have experienced this on 2 desktops and my current installation (after re-installing everything). I am always up to date with the latest versions of iTunes.

Has any one else been having these problems or know of a better way of getting rid of the old files?
 
Sorry, I'm a Windows Media Player fan myself :smile:

Supposedly Apple is good about fixing bug reports quickly, you might want to ask them?
 
I'm mostly a windows media player user myself, but I figure that there has to be at least one other person out there that browses the forums, uses iTunes, and has experienced the same problem. I generally only use iTunes for updating my iPod and downloading and watching podcasts. Good idea about reporting it... I would think however they'd be aware of the problem after some 6 revisions or more of iTunes to work out bugs like these as well as making it Vista compatible. Nevertheless, the more reports they recieve on the bug, the higher on thier priority list to fix it :smile:
 
I use anapod explorer when i have to work with a ipod. Sorry. I always suggest people to stay away from iTunes. It is a bad port of the Apple version that is buggy on Windows.
 
batch

Justin,

I use Vista Home Premium and have the same issue. Even though iTunes is set to keep files organized, it doesn't delete the files I send to the trash bin through iTunes.

What's the batch you use? I'd like to give it a whirl.

Thanks,
-T.
 
Hiya T, welcome to NeoSmart Technologies!

I don't have the batch file Justin is talking about it, but I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this.....

In the meantime, why don't you drop by and introduce yourself?
 
My batch file is specific to what I want to delete and I must add entries to delete stuff as I subscribe to new Podcasts. It seems to only be Podcasts specifc though. Any other form of media is deleted as expected. The general layout of my batch file is simple, like this:

@echo off
del ...\iTunes\iTunes~1\Podcasts\SamplePodcast\*
pause

You must specify each Podcast folder on its' own line... the command line won't allow you to use *\* instead of ...\* to delete the contents of any directory within the Podcasts folder. My example is generic since I do not know of which OS you are using or if you have changed the location of where iTunes stores files in Preferences. If you kept the default, and am using XP, then you could use:

del "%systemdrive%%homepath%\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Podcasts\<Name of Podcast>\*"

If you're using Vista, it is slightly different:

del "%systemdrive%%homepath%\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Podcasts\<Name of Podcast>\*"

You could also hard type the entire path if you wish, but I use system variables to assure that it well work regardless of which drive the OS is installed on or who may be using it.

I don't append the yes option so that I still have the option to keep certain podcasts if there are episodes that I still have yet to watch. You might also want to exclude @echo off so you know what you're deleting or include echo "Name of Podcast" in a line before that delete command.

Re-installation of iTunes sometimes corrects the issue, but I have found it to be unreliable and iTunes deletes stuff like it supposed to only half the time. So the batch file is good to wipe the folders clean every once in awhile when it starts to take up too much space on the drive.
 
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Alright enough of the create a custom batch stuff :smile:

Ok for all to enjoy I got fed up with empting multiple folders and the annoying amount of time it takes to go to each one, so I've spent a good few hours coding and created an app to do just that!

As you can imagine, it can be used for more than just iTunes mishaps, such as cleaning out temp folders, etc.

How it Works:

You download and store the app anywhere you want and just run it. You add folders to the list and can remove them at any time. With the click of a single button, all of the folders in the list and any sub-folders of them that contain files are cleaned out. Upon exit it saves a file in the same directory as the application and will automatically re-add the folders that were in the list the next time you launch the application, so that you don't haft to repeat the proccess of adding the folders each time. Just launch, click, and forget :smile:

FolderCleanup.jpg


File Hashes:

MD5: 3096DAA0C1C3BE932B1EA2222735FA06
SHA1: EF0757582F905AFA5A66E15F0FEE98FCEF4181E3
 

Attachments

  • FolderCleanup.exe
    28.5 KB · Views: 5
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Thanks. Sorry, but you'll want to get it again. Shortly after posting I realized a mistake I made. Nothing critical or anything, but annoying, so I re-did it. Let me know if there's any problems and I'll be more than happy to try to fix them.
 
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kairozamorro said:
Thanks. Sorry, but you'll want to get it again. Shortly after posting I realized a mistake I made. Nothing critical or anything, but annoying, so I re-did it. Let me know if there's any problems and I'll be more than happy to try to fix them.
Click to expand...

Alright. :smile: No problem.
Thanks again. I'll let you know if I experience any bugs with it or anything.

Cheers,

-Coolname007
 
Like OMG, the whole point of doing the program was to clean out iTunes folders, but they have spaces...

Not to worry. Fixed so it handles spaces in pathnames now. Just cleaned out a folder with 100 old eps I didn't need any more :smile:
 
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