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iTunes Tops Out At 32,000 Songs

Posted by pudge on from the mo-mp3s dept.

usr122122121 writes "A Macintouch User has discovered that iTunes maxes out at 32,000 songs." I did test this myself (a one-liner perl script to give each file a unique artist/album/title), and it's apparently true. How much it matters is an exercise left to the reader.

4 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Since a decade ago, by _Splat · · Score: 5, Informative
    Since the limit is 32,000, not 32,768, I don't think it's a datatype limitation. More likely, some programmer probably did

    #define MAX_SONGS 32000

    arbitrarily.

    --
    -Splat
  2. Perhaps the posted fix for iTunes 2 is applicable? by SymbioticCognition23 · · Score: 5, Informative
    As I do not have 32,000 songs as of yet I am unable to test this, but does anyone know if this would work?

    A single iTunes 2 music library can hold 32 000 songs. To accommodate more songs, you can create additional music libraries. Follow these steps;

    1. Locate the "iTunes Music Library (2)" file inside the iTunes folder (in Documents).

    2. Create a folder called "Backup" and copy the iTunes Music Library (2) file to it. If you make a mistake or change your mind about creating multiple Music Library files, you can go back to using this backup file.

    3. Create a folder called "Library 1" and copy the iTunes Music Library (2) file to it.

    4. Create a folder called "Library 2" and copy the iTunes Music Library (2) file to it.

    5. Repeat for each increment of 32 000 songs. For example, if you have more than 64 000 songs, make two Library folders, if you have more than 96 000 songs, make three Library folders, and so forth.

    6. Open iTunes, add, delete, or change the songs in the Music Library for the first 32 000 songs.

    7. Quit iTunes, copy "iTunes Music Library (2)" mentioned in step 1 into Library 1.

    8. Open iTunes, add, delete, or change the songs in the Music Library for the next 32 000 songs.

    9. Quit iTunes, copy "iTunes Music Library (2)" mentioned in step 1 into Library 2.

    10. Repeat for each 32 000 increment of unique songs

    To access each of the different Music Libraries, copy the respective "iTunes Music Library (2)" file to the iTunes folder (in Documents), replacing the "iTunes Music Library (2)" file that is there. Important: If you accidentally move the file instead of copying it, make sure you move it back to the respective folder, or else you may have to redo some of the setup steps.

    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=615 85&SaveKCWindowURL=http%3A%2F%2Fkbase.info.apple.c om%2Fcgi-bin%2FWebObjects%2Fkbase.woa%2Fwa%2FSaveK CToHomePage&searchMode=Assisted&kbhost=kbase.info. apple.com&showButton=false&randomValue=100&showSur vey=false&sessionID=anonymous%7C164541794

    --
    "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." PKD
  3. Re:Perhaps the posted fix for iTunes 2 is applicab by EggZact · · Score: 5, Informative

    As usual people quoting an Apple KB article URL forget that they're logged in, etc problem. Here's the public URL: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=615 85 Hope that helps!

    --
    "True programmers are artists and someday we'll respect programming as self expression and personal effort." - fateswarm
  4. This is acknowledged limitation .... by e.+boaz · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apple's knowledge base readily admits this. See this link for a workaround:
    iTunes 2: How to Overcome 32 000 Song Library Size Limitation