How Many Songs Can iTunes Hold?

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
I know there is a limit but I forgot exactly what it is. It use to say on Apple's page but now I can't find it.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feynman


    I know there is a limit but I forgot exactly what it is. It use to say on Apple's page but now I can't find it.



    Is there really a limit? The only reason I can think that there is a limit is that there is a limit in the amount of data that the iTunes library folder can hold. If there is a limit then I would say that's it. I know that you can play songs through iTunes without having them in the Library folder, so I think that there really isn't a limit as long as you split up your music. I may be wrong though, so don't take my word for it.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    Yeah I use an external drive to store all my music but I thought the iTunes Library had a limitation. I thought I read some where that it was 45,000 songs or something but I thought they upped it in iTunes 6.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    It seems as if we are both pretty unsure of ourselves. Hopefully someone that really knows will answer soon.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    the only thing i could find was the limit for itunes 2, which was 32000 songs. i have read reports somewhere that someone had 130,000 tracks but take that with a grain of salt. I feel that with iTunes 6 that it is most probably limitless in regards to the number of songs it can keep track off. It is more likely limited to the size of your harddrives.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Yeah, there used to be a 32,000 limit, but as Apple's article on the matter states, this is no longer in effect as of 4.0.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    How did you set up your library on an external hard drive?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maimezvous


    Is there really a limit? The only reason I can think that there is a limit is that there is a limit in the amount of data that the iTunes library folder can hold. If there is a limit then I would say that's it. I know that you can play songs through iTunes without having them in the Library folder, so I think that there really isn't a limit as long as you split up your music. I may be wrong though, so don't take my word for it.



  • Reply 7 of 10
    Well I've got 39,000 songs in mine (883 GB), so I guess the old limit is gone. And I use a network drive Millsdude, but a external works the same. Go under the advanced prefs and change your library to anywhere you want.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    slugheadslughead Posts: 1,169member
    It used to be 32,767 songs, which means that it was likely based on a 2Byte integer (w/negatives).



    If they made it 3 byte, it's 8,388,608 I think..



    It's a freakin lot, OK?
  • Reply 9 of 10
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by millsdude


    How did you set up your library on an external hard drive?



    Plug in the drive. Assuming it's already partitioned, formatted and mounted, go to iTunes

    Preferences -> Advanced tab -> Music folder location and choose the new hard drive, preferably a folder on the external hard drive. You'll want to tell iTunes to manage your library so tracks get moved there.



    It's a good idea to check that setting occasionally, a month or so ago I found it had reverted to my own user account and I never found out why. I caught it before it tried storing too much on my system drive.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by millsdude


    How did you set up your library on an external hard drive?



    I don't have an external drive... Sorry about the confusion. It looks like JeffDM gave you a good answer though.
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