iTunes locks up Mac completely

tilttilt
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Hi,



I tried googling this and did not find much help, so I am posting it here. Well, to be precise, I did find some info, but it all had to do with iTunes on Windows. I seem to be the only one having this problem on a Mac.



I am on a MacBook running Tiger, with 2 music libraries, both on an external 1TB Firewire 400 drive.



Library 1 is around 25 gigs, library 2 is around 103 gigs. Library 1 is the default library by the way.



I am trying to merge my two libraries by "Add to Library" from iTunes and adding the songs from the larger library into the smaller one.



All goes well for a couple of hours, and then iTunes stops responding. I am unable to force-quit iTunes. I try to force-quit a couple of times and then my whole machine locks up and the only way out is to power off and power on.



Now, why am I importing the big library into the smaller one instead of the other way around? Because I tried it the other way too and the same issue cropped up anyway.



By the way, during all this, my iPod is not connected to the Mac. Only the external drive is connected.



Cheers.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    mbaynhammbaynham Posts: 534member
    you could try transferring the library in smaller chunks.



    i remember when i had to transfer everything back to my macbook after the safari 3 beta stopper everything working, apart from the finder and stickies. i managed to get everything over in one go before i reinstalled tiger, but getting it back across the other way, nightmare! i tried a few times doing it all at once, but in the end i did it in all manageable chunks.



    but anyway, you could try adding the files into either library, not by using the 'add to library' function, but by the 'import' function. hope it helps just make sure you only do a few gigabytes at a time
  • Reply 2 of 7
    tilttilt Posts: 396member
    Well, I found a work-around and even managed to sync my 160 gig iPod! It was as follows:



    I changed iTiunes to NOT copy the songs when importing.

    I then pointed iTunes to a new empty folder for the default library.

    I then added songs from both existing libraries one after another.



    So, I got a brand new library, but no playlists or no ratings (which I frankly do not use anyway).



    I then painstakingly deleted duplicates (around 3000 duplicates) and then hooked up my iPod.



    When it told me that iPod was already synced to one library but that now that the library info had changed, if I wanted to sync my iPod to the current library I answered "Yes" and sat there biting my nails for a few hours while the iPod kept syncing.



    Finally all was well and just a few minutes ago, it completed syncing.



    I had heard horror stories about how iTunes would refuse to eject the iPod or how iTunes would still lock up the machine when the iPod was connected etc., but luckily nothing like that happened. I was able to eject the iPod and now I have a complete iPod.



    Thank God I never have to do this again. Yes, my music collection is complete, I have everything I ever wanted to have, I do not listen to new stuff anyway, so I am set for life (or till I replace my iPod )



    Cheers
  • Reply 3 of 7
    mbaynhammbaynham Posts: 534member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tilt View Post


    Well, I found a work-around and even managed to sync my 160 gig iPod! It was as follows:



    I changed iTiunes to NOT copy the songs when importing.

    I then pointed iTunes to a new empty folder for the default library.

    I then added songs from both existing libraries one after another.



    So, I got a brand new library, but no playlists or no ratings (which I frankly do not use anyway).



    I then painstakingly deleted duplicates (around 3000 duplicates) and then hooked up my iPod.



    When it told me that iPod was already synced to one library but that now that the library info had changed, if I wanted to sync my iPod to the current library I answered "Yes" and sat there biting my nails for a few hours while the iPod kept syncing.



    Finally all was well and just a few minutes ago, it completed syncing.



    I had heard horror stories about how iTunes would refuse to eject the iPod or how iTunes would still lock up the machine when the iPod was connected etc., but luckily nothing like that happened. I was able to eject the iPod and now I have a complete iPod.



    Thank God I never have to do this again. Yes, my music collection is complete, I have everything I ever wanted to have, I do not listen to new stuff anyway, so I am set for life (or till I replace my iPod )



    Cheers



    sounds like someone had fun! glad it worked out for you. how long did it take to do all that then?
  • Reply 4 of 7
    tilttilt Posts: 396member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mbaynham View Post


    sounds like someone had fun! glad it worked out for you. how long did it take to do all that then?



    Umm... it took around 6 hours to create the new library, around 6 hours to remove duplicates and then around 4 hours to sync the iPod. I did it all over three days.



    Cheers
  • Reply 5 of 7
    teedoff087teedoff087 Posts: 348member
    I feel ya man. I've got about 140GB of music (over 20,000 songs). It's taken me years and years of sorting, tagging, etc. to get it how it is. I don't let iTunes mess with my organization model. It's there to play it, I'll handle the rest.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    mbaynhammbaynham Posts: 534member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tilt View Post


    Umm... it took around 6 hours to create the new library, around 6 hours to remove duplicates and then around 4 hours to sync the iPod. I did it all over three days.



    Cheers



    blimey, quite a lot of work then.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    tilttilt Posts: 396member
    Well, like I said, this was a one-time exercise. I am never again going to transfer any more music to the iPod, at least not till this iPod dies.



    Cheers



    edited to add: BTW Teedoff, iTunes manages my music. I quite like the way it manages my music
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