Itunes not responding, running extremely slow

I figured something out for adding files to iTunes. If I have music up on iTunes it will endlessly hang if I try to add a file but if for instance I select a playlist such as recently added and add a file from that point if adds it no problem.

OK I'm still having all kinds of random issues. I did manage to load some files into iTunes but now it's doing stuff like hanging when just playing a track.

Should I bother trying to call Apple and get support on this? My iTunes has been screwed up for weeks and weeks now. I'm about to figure out something else for good if I can't get this figured out and get it to start working normal again.

From what I've read on these threads, Apple support has you do a ton of time-consuming things that have nothing to do with the basic problem. They usually suggest your files are "corrupted" or have you reinstall your whole system or who knows what.

As have many of us done, you might be better served simply reverting to 12.3.0. But… For whatever reason, some folks are reluctant to do so.

I put up w/ this garbage for a few days when it started, then I reverted. No real problems since, and no "corrupted" files. But, of course, the choice is yours as to what best fits your situation.

Thanks. Where do you get 12.3.0? I assume it's not available no longer through Apple?

Russell-

That's exactly right. I was confounded by the sudden problems syncing with iPhone 6 and iPad Air, which worked FINE in 12.3. Suddenly, it was so brutally slow that it was unusable, to the point where I debated reinstalling Yosemite from a TimeMachine backup. I am grateful for your suggested fix, which worked perfectly for me. I still get the occasional beachball I didn't get in older versions of iTunes, but it works. I have access to my library again and I can sync with my device again! For anyone who hasn't tried it, IT WORKS and even if you never have used Terminal (hiding in Utilities folder), there is nothing to it. Make sure you follow Russell's link to 12.3.0...

Thanks again,

Bradley

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/download-review/1957301/apple-itunes-for-mac-1110

Didn't help in the least. Tried that weeks ago.

Same here.

Has anyone connected an iPod yet?

iTunes is running so slow and has so many lags that I'm afraid to connect and sync my iPod (yes, I'm still using one).

Merely adding my voice to the multitude, in the hope that Apple will QUICKLY fix the incredible mess they made with iTunes 12.3.1.23 running under OS 10.11.1.

Presently, it is broken beyond description. The "not responding" pinwheel is the only thing that works.

Their support is treading water on this subject, and useless.

For dedicated Apple customers who have been using iTunes for many years, and accumulated a very large collection of music with an equally large and detailed playlist library that would take months to recreate, this ridiculous situation is a disaster. It completely breaks our trust in the Apple brand.

This can't be happening to all iTunes users? Mine is completely worthless too. I have not been able to use it for a few weeks now and have been resorting to playing music only through my TIDAL subscription. I have used iTunes for years and have Thousands of precious files in there. It is deeply disturbing hearing that peoples files are being corrupted or their entire library erased. My good friend lost his whole library when he updated.

It's probably a coincidence but my problems began when I deleted my apple music account. I tried it for a while, I like TIDAL better and for me it sounds much better. Apple music sound is very disappointing.

Me too. Totally unresponsive, unusable for about two weeks now. Not related to devices, will now only give me the spinning ball.

My library and apple music fine on all devices save my macbook pro.

Resorting to Pandora.

More than 21 thousand people have viewed this thread.. I would say Apple is dropping the ball big time on iTunes.. what can I use instead..

UKNY and all others still fighting with iTunes, looking for alternatives and worrying about your libraries.. there are 2 important things, esp. those with concerns over iTunes deleting your songs - that you can 'bullet-proof' yourself by doing.

First! ..and this is the big one - make a new folder at the root level - so when you open a Finder window to look at your hard drive, you will have 5 folders - Applications, Library, System, Users and 'My Music'. (the folder can be named whatever you want - I use "Musicmp3s" for my songs) With iTunes OFF, go into your Home/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media folder and Select All and drag-and-drop your entire library to that new root-level folder you made.

When iTunes throws a wobbler (and now with all the internetted online clouded stuff it is being made to do, 'wobblers' are more common than ever) 99.999% of the time, it will blow up in your face and take out files in the default location. Simply moving the library to a different folder, for whatever reason, changes the preferences *just* enough that it stops that rubbish from happening.

When you restart iTunes, go right away into the preferences and to the 'General' pane - rename your library to the name of the folder you put at the root level of the drive. Then go to the 'Advanced' pane and change the iTunes Media folder to the new location. Make sure you un-check the 'Keep iTunes Media folder organized' ticky-box - any songs you import whether from your own CD collections or via the Music Store will be put in correctly anyhow. One less way for iTunes to move, sort, catalog or otherwise mess with your songs - YOUR FILES - is always to be encouraged.

Now, once you have all your music moved (and at this point, if you haven't backed up all your songs, now would be a good time to do it) and the new settings in the preferences pointing at that new library location and you've un-checked the organization ticky-box, it's time to do the purge of the iTunes library list.

Empty the Trash on your computer. If you miss a song, it's simple then to rescue it once the final flush of iTunes is done - mind you, you shoudln't need to, but you never know when a file will try and give you the slip.

Once all is set, simply go to your main library window (in song or list view is best) and Select All and clear the list to delete. It will ask you if you want to move the songs to the trash (on those with pre-Yosemite systems, simply moving your songs out of your User/Music folder wolud be a Move - in the later OSes, it's a Copy, so the library will still be at it's default location.. have iTunes move it to the Trash. That you emptied the Trash before means that you can double-check the contents and see if you missed anything easily. You should now have a totally empty iTunes with all your songs tucked safely away on both a backup, and in that root-level folder you made.

To rebuild that Library from the new location, simply go to that root-level folder, and drag-and-drop it into the empty iTunes. It will take a while to rebuild the library and it does two things - analyzes the songs for the gapless playback and looks for the album art. I have FOUR libraries - and have for the last 6 months been slowly merging all my libraries together and have out of 40k songs, only a couple hundred that are from the Music Store - and have, for the last 16 years been occasionally rebuilding the library to 'freshen' it up, when it starts to slow iTunes.

Make rebuilding your music library a every-few-years event, it allows you to get a handle on your files so YOU own them, not iTunes or Apple. (In an early interview with Walt Mossberg, who is the technology writer at the Wall Street Journal, Steve Jobs stated well over a decade ago, that he did not think it necessary that a user control their files - that the applications would do it *for* them - so the instances where an app goes sideways and deletes people's files.. oh well.. right? Ehhhh.. I don't think so.)

The other SECOND great thing about using a non-default location for your songs, is that you can easily change up the music player you use and have it not get into any issues with it interfering with or accessing the iTunes folder that maintains all the playlists and preferences.

So in getting back to you, UKNY, YES! I use many alternative music players - Nightingale (http://getnightingale.com/) my go-to when iTunes gets a broken update, and if your unsure of apps from outside the AppStore environment, there is Vox (http://coppertino.com/vox/mac) - which I have dabbled with and works nicely and also the wonderful open-source Clementine (https://www.clementine-player.org/) - actually, there are tons of different music players, if you are willing to dive into it, and many can sync iThings as well as iTunes and have streaming radio sources beyond Apple Music's services.

Good luck!

Thank you, Deborah. That made my head hurt 🙂, but after being patient for Apple's absolutely disastrous software groups to finally fix (****, even *admit*) this crippling bug that it foisted on its users a month and a half ago, after seeing today's software update come and go with no fix, I am done. I'll try any other solution that does not tie me into a company that has seemingly gone off the rails when it comes to software, insulated with smug satisfaction by the historic profits being made on the hardware side. I've used Macs/Apple products almost exclusively for nearly 25 years, spent ttens of thousands of dollars on Apple products, spread the love of Apple products in countless conversations... and I've pretty much now had it.

In these forums, for many other issues I have sought help for, the "advice" from the Level 9/10 users (whatever this depth of volunteer involvement on behalf of a massive profit-making entity may suggest, I won't speculate) to frustrated users quickly becomes "If you don't like it, go use a different product. Apple will do just fine without you."* That, aside friends the snide and cavalier dismissal of genuine concerns, ignores the great inertia against change posed by interconnected device/software/media/family-member lock-in. It's not just that easy to pick a different music program when you have ~14 years of accumulated iTunes playlists, ~20k songs, podcast subscriptions, hundreds of dollars in DRM restricted iTunes movies, used on 5 macs, 5 iPhones, and an Apple TV in my household - a complete foul-up of iTunes like this can leave many longtime users at the complete mercy of Apple. So you better believe when we do finally decide to leave this ecosystem, we ain't coming back. I was planning to buy two new Apple TVs and an iPad this past month, but wanted to wait until this central bug was fixed. But this continuing complete disdain for existing users and products is too much - I simply can't sink more money into products that depend on a company that has been this unresponsive and this incompetent.

Yes, Apple makes billions. Quarterly. No, Apple, Inc. wont cry over my few thousand dollars. But so many great companies have stumbled and crumbled, for myriad reasons, and I'd bet this is the recipe for Apple's eventual downfall - the quest for perfection in gadgets to sell to consumers coupled with the ultimate desire to never have to be accountable to its users. Reality doesn't any preclude delighting both consumers and users, but hubris and mismanagement certainly do. Apple acts as if think they can build bridges faster than they can burn them, but they don't understand that bridges don't build other bridges, but fires will darn sure start other fires.

(Regardless, I'm still stuck for at least the time being with my media centered around the mess that is now iTunes, so just fix it Apple! And apologize.)

* Their other favorite 'advice' is "Apple doesn't read or respond to these discussions. Instead, submit your feedback here:" with the feedback to Apple link. I think everyone on this thread has long since sent such feedback to Apple, probably multiple times, but after continued silence and inaction, I, personally, think its marginally more useful to post continued notice of these still-unfixed problems to a thread already read by thousands rather than toss even another word down that useless "feedback" rat hole again.

Same problem as everyone here. Itunes is a disaster. At the moment my solution is to unstick from itunes. I like to listen to music. Itunes prevents that, so I switched to Swinsian. So far Swinsian works right off my itunes library but I get to actually listen to the music there. For my airport express, I got Airfoil. It works very nicely indeed. Some how it works better than apples airplay. For movies, I am going to stick with Itunes. The slowness doesn't seem to effect movie play. The iphone will be trickier. But now I have my beloved Bach back.