Importing CDs suddenly super slow with iTunes 7

Sorry I can't help but i'm having the exact same problem on my imac g5 20" isight with a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-846 drive since i switched to itunes 7...interestingly i'm not having the slow down problem on my mac book pro 17"...as Shawn so eloquently put it: Help!

imac g5 20 isight Mac OS X (10.4.7)

I don't think it's related to drive compatibility necessarily:

On my G4 iMac I'm also experiencing a massive slow-down since I upgraded to iTunes 7, and this is with the normal factory drive (PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-104).

I used to get speeds of around 5 - 7x, now I'm getting no more than 1.5x (this is without audio correction switched-on).

Until apple comes up with a patch, the workaround to slow import is to create a new user on your computer, rip it in itunes with that new user and then take the folder, put it on your hard drive. Then sign out , go back to your original user, find the files and copy them into itunes.

iTunes 7 is unbelievably slow to import CDs. How do you uninstall 7? This just won't do.

Wow...while i was importing from a cd at the new sub par speed of about 2.2X, i started downloading a podcast from the itunes store...suddenly, the import of the cd jumped to as high as 20.1X...don't know why but maybe somebody can take a clue from that

back again after the itunes download...it has dropped back down...currently 4.3X

I've the same problem. It doesn't appear to be related to the drive you're using but to the size of your library (or perhaps there's a setting hidden in well used libraries that doesn't exist in the workaround below)

A couple of workarounds (one I've found, one I found suggested on other threads)
- import using another Mac you have access to with a small library. I switched from my iMac G5 to Powerbook and it was fine.

- log in to the same mac you're using now but under a different user (ideally one which is new or has an empty iTunes library) and rip using that into that library, then flip accounts back, find the files on disk and just import from there.

Same problem here on my Mac Pro with the Apple OEM Pioneer DVR-111D SuperDrive with the current Pioneer Firmware V1.23: less than half the speed as with iTunes 6 (not more than 10-15x) !

But: the second drive in my Mac Pro, a Genuine Pioneer DVR-111 with the same firmware version rips as fast as before !

With iTunes 6 both drives were ripping at exactly the same high speeds (up to 30x) !

Apple: Please fix ASAP !

I had the same problem, ripping speed was in the 3x - 5x area.

I deleted a few play lists (about 10) and now ripping at over 20x.

Maybe it was a particular Smart playlist that caused the problem.

Ian

Same here: G4 with 1.2GH upgrade and an iTunes Library of 6500 songs.

Import speed has droped from 12 time to 2-5 times. I love the cover art displays but I'm glad I've already imported most of my CD's. This sort of speed is ridiculous.

I just tried the suggestion of creating a new library when you open iTunes by holding down the option key. I did this and was ripping up to 20x then simply re-opened iTunes with the original library file, went into the new music folder and draged all the files in one go onto the music tab in the source list and hey presto. If you do this and you don't have "copy to music folder" selected then don't forget to consolidate to the original library which will copy the files to the correct music folder and then you can delete the one you just created to save confusion. If you used this process for a compilation album then it would normally take you ages as you would have to go into a folder for each artist. Two ways round this are to use spotlight to select all MP3s/other format files in that new iTunes folder or simply change the "artist" field on the CD listing before ripping to "various artists" and they will all appear one folder with that name.
Yes its a pain having to do this but I'm sure apple will bring out a patch/update to solve this as they aren't going to let the reputation of this software take a blow - its too important for them!

...you open iTunes by holding down the option key.
I did this and was ripping up to 20x then simply
re-opened iTunes with the original library file, went
into the new music folder and draged all the files in
one go onto the music tab in the source list and hey
presto. If you do this and you don't have "copy to
music folder" selected then don't forget to
consolidate to the original library which will copy
the files to the correct music folder and then you
can delete the one you just created to save
confusion. If you used this process for a compilation
album then it would normally take you ages as you
would have to go into a folder for each artist. Two
ways round this are to use spotlight to select all
MP3s/other format files in that new iTunes folder or
simply change the "artist" field on the CD listing
before ripping to "various artists" and they will all
appear one folder with that name...

"...Apple’s products are so easy to use because Apple invests heavily in the user experience"
www.apple.com/education/whyapple/easeofuse.html

17" PowerBook Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Yes its a pain having to do this but I'm sure apple
will bring out a patch/update to solve this as they
aren't going to let the reputation of this software
take a blow - its too important for them!

And hey presto, there it is. Back to the good old decent import speeds with 7.0.1. Hurrah!

I just started using iTunes 7.0.2 a couple days ago when I got a video iPod (requires iTunes 7). I am now beset with extremly slow import speeds that may occur anytime during the import. Speeds can fall well below 1x. When they get below about 2x, the resultant files have "scuffy" sounds that make them unusable. (Sometimes the importing goes just fine, faster than 5x!)

If I do import repeatedly on the same CD, it fails at different points. (I throw away bad files after each trial) One CD I am having trouble with is the 2 CD set of Time-Life Treasury of Christmas. (Rather than enjoying Christmas music, I'm devoting over 3 hours thus far struggling with what I am fairly certain is a bug in iTunes??) Or is it cause by the software update to 1.2.1 that was required for the iPod? It was a pretty lengthy download that must have altered the iTunes code in addition to the iPod's software/firmware??

I took the same CD and played it on several CD stereos. It is clean and unscratched. Tonight I put it on my Pismo (iTunes 6) and --- you guessed it -- the import went just fine. Reasonable speed, no damaged files.

I called the Apple help line, and they could not help, but referred me to these forums. I've been online for over 1 hour now, and have searched many threads. The problem is frequently reported. Does Apple have a handle on it? What is happening here?

When the import slows, I cannot even stop the import without choosing Quit. After doing that ~six times, I tried CMD-"period" for several seconds. That produces the perpetually spinning beach ball. After several minutes of beach ball, I used Force Quit.

Please, Apple, I just shelled out for an 80Gb iPod, and a Belkin recording accessory. I am eager to listen to my 10+ CDs of Christmas music on-the-go.

What do I need to know?

-Mark Wilson

P.S. Some of the threads that I saw in the Forums indicate they are "Answered". Unfortunately, I cannot see any link to the "Answer" in these forums (for example, Windows iTunes users experienced glacially slow import problem). I read the entire thread in some cases, and no where did I see and "Answer". Nor did I discern a link to follow to the Answer.

iBook G4, PB G4, Pismo G3 Mac OS X (10.4.2) older computers have earlier OS's: 10.3, and can boot to 9.2.2