I guess having Apple fix the bug in iTunes is an unthinkable solution. If you put all the iTunes bug reports end to end, they would reach from here to Jupiter. They just close the ones I file without explanation most of the time or with some stupid impractical excuse.
It isn't a bug in iTunes. It's that the OS boots up (presumably off an SSD) and loads the start-up items faster than the external platters can spin up.
Definitely not a "bug" but it's certainly something that could be submitted to Apple so that when the iTunes Library is being pulied from an external drive or a network share, it will automatically wait for that drive to be mounted before iTunes looks for the iTunes Library files since the app will know the path is so something external. If after x-seconds that drive or share is never mounted it should then pop up a message about being able to not find the iTunes Library.
Another way to have music externally is to keep the library on the main drive and just relocate the music. Then you change the iTunes Media folder location in iTunes Preferences > Advanced > iTunes Media folder location. If the drive isn't mounted, it still opens iTunes ok with all the tracks, the music just won't play until the drive is connected. Another way is to relocate the music and add it to iTunes without copying it to the music folder. That lets you have multiple locations with a single library but it means renaming drives can cause problems.
iTunes should really be able to accommodate multiple music locations or libraries simultaneously so that there could be a local audio store, an external and a network share at the same time. On adding music, it would be dragged into the appropriate location. This applies to all their apps like Photos having multiple libraries and families can have a shared library as well as each person having a personal one. They'd still need the feature to wait on each being available but wouldn't have to hold up the app from loading.
I've done that in (many) years past. I forget why I ended up moving the entire /iTunes folder to the external drive as a more ideal solution.
PS: I think it's long overdue for Apple to move ~/Music/iTunes to ~/iTunes.
I had an issue implementing the AppleScript solution. You may want to let us novice script writers know the program name needs to be enclosed by parentheses. Your example script is missing them. Once I figured out the syntax from the export screenshot, it worked like a charm with my Drobo.
The wait ten seconds fix is a bit of a hack as it wont work if it takes 11 seconds.
iTunes could fix this as they could probably tell from the path if it is potentially on an external drive or not, and if it is then wait until it mounts.
I had an issue implementing the AppleScript solution. You may want to let us novice script writers know the program name needs to be enclosed by parentheses. Your example script is missing them. Once I figured out the syntax from the export screenshot, it worked like a charm with my Drobo.
It doesn't need to - the first compile should insert the quotes for you.
You are correct, thought -- the quotes are required in a fully compiled script. I'll go fix the text.
PS: I think it's long overdue for Apple to move ~/Music/iTunes to ~/iTunes.
While we're on the topic of iTunes wish lists, I'd like the ability to play multiple media to different outputs in one iTunes instance. There's more than enough power to send a video stream to the monitor, and an audio stream to AirPlay.
Over the years iTunes screwed up my music library and countless hours of curation and customization, I was delighted when Google Music offered a way to back up my entire library automatically and for free. iTunes remains a bit of a mess, even today.
While we're on the topic of iTunes wish lists, I'd like the ability to play multiple media to different outputs in one iTunes instance. There's more than enough power to send a video stream to the monitor, and an audio stream to AirPlay.
Could you explain this further? Perhaps an example?
Here's my iTunes account streaming through my Apple TV and whatever speakers I have setup on the HEC and to my Mac at the same time, which effectively means it's playing the A/V through the air.
I can use the same library to stream to my Apple TV in one room, my Mac in another, and to various iDevices all from my headless Mac mini whose sole purpose to run iTunes as a media server.
I assume you're talking about something else, which likely means it's not something I have yet to consider.
Comments
PS: I think it's long overdue for Apple to move ~/Music/iTunes to ~/iTunes.
1) disable autologin
2) enable permissions on the drives and add them to /etc/fstab
=> drives will mount at boot time, and by the time you get a login screen you can login without any hassles.
The wait ten seconds method isn't a deterministic solution.
iTunes could fix this as they could probably tell from the path if it is potentially on an external drive or not, and if it is then wait until it mounts.
You are correct, thought -- the quotes are required in a fully compiled script. I'll go fix the text.
While we're on the topic of iTunes wish lists, I'd like the ability to play multiple media to different outputs in one iTunes instance. There's more than enough power to send a video stream to the monitor, and an audio stream to AirPlay.
I should note this is easily done in iTunes Preferences but needs to be done manually.
Here's my iTunes account streaming through my Apple TV and whatever speakers I have setup on the HEC and to my Mac at the same time, which effectively means it's playing the A/V through the air.
I can use the same library to stream to my Apple TV in one room, my Mac in another, and to various iDevices all from my headless Mac mini whose sole purpose to run iTunes as a media server.
I assume you're talking about something else, which likely means it's not something I have yet to consider.