Why does adding files to itunes take forever?

One thing that might make it take so long is that iTunes may be creating copies of your files, which will take a while. You can see if this is happening by choosing: Edit > Preferences, Advanced tab. If the box that says "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" is checked then iTunes is copying the files to the location right above this option that says "iTunes Media Folder location."

Probably every one has a different preference for organizing there music files. I like to check the box mentioned before, and also the box that says "Keep iTunes Media folder organized." This way all the files in the iTunes library are centralized in the iTunes Media folder. (But, that's just how I do it)

So, if you want to do it this way, check those boxes. If your already have a system of organizing your music, uncheck those boxes.

Really, its hard to make suggestions about what to do, without knowing how you want to organize your stuff.

But, unchecking the "Copy..." box mentioned before can speed up your process of Adding.

Maybe you could provide info on how you want to organize your library.

In addition to Grandmaster Jesh's excellent suggestion that itunes might be making unnecessary copies of the files while they're being added, security software can also slow down the process.



If security software keeps scanning the itunes library files every time itunes makes a change, that could get slow. Set up your security software not to do real-time scans of
iTunes Library.itl
iTunes Library.xml
Itunes genuis
itunes extras