So, a month or two ago, I started occasionally getting an error message from iTunes, saying that it was unable to save the library file because the disk was full. This seemed improbable, but when I checked, the C: drive did, indeed, have very little space left. I deleted some stuff, restarted (which freed up a surprising amount of space by itself), and went back to my usual routine. It happened again, and then I did a comprehensive sweep of old install files and upgrade residue and the like, and freed up 1.2 GB.
A couple weeks later, the message was back, in spite of making an effort not to buy new music files, cut down on the picture-taking, and so forth. There's no way I used more than a gigabyte of disk space in that span, so I went looking for the source of the problem.
And I found it in the iTunes directory: 3129 files named "Temp File 1" through "Temp File 3129." The files started being created last February, and had an average size of about 20 MB. All together, they were taking up 69 gigabytes of hard drive space.
I deleted them all, with no obvious ill effects on iTunes, and then updated the program (which it had intermittently been pestering me to do, but I hadn't wanted to spend the time required to download the gigantic update files that Apple produces). It's been a week now, and no new "Temp File N" files have appeared, so I hope the problem is fixed.
Has anybody seen this sort of thing before? What on earth would've triggered that? I'd like to avoid having to repeat this process if at all possible.
(The post title is brought to you by the fact that there's no faster way to get information about Apple products than to say something nasty about Microsoft...)
- Log in to post comments
More like this
Not that this is any help, but this is likely a problem specific to the Windows version of iTunes. I've run every version of iTunes on Mac since 6, all on a laptop and two Mac minis (1 PPC, 1 Intel) where I'm always angling to free up space and constantly monitor disk space usage and never encountered such a problem.
Obviously a bug in your old iTunes version that was fixed with the update. My best guess: the iTunes database updates itself every time you play a song, as well as buy one, add artwork, or update an iPod you have been listening to, and you had a version that wasn't deleting the temporary files associated with the database update. That would be the most likely way to get more than 3000 such files.
iTunes does periodically save old libraries at non-obvious intervals. On the computer I am currently sitting at there are eight such files, ranging in size from 2.5 MB to 5.4 MB (increasing in size with time), in a folder called "Previous iTunes Libraries". Is 20 MB about right for the size of your library? (I have about 2500 songs taking up 10.7 GB in my iTunes library; I assume the scaling is roughly linear but I'm not sure exactly how it goes.)
Here is what Apple Support Forums have to say: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1851111&tstart=0
To sum it up, iTunes doesn't play nice with some other various Windows applications, specifically some anti-virus software. No real idea if it's a Windows, Apple or the Software faults, but it happens.
You know, being a Unix guy, I'm not one to defend Windows, but I have to ask why Apple's fuck up here is Window's fault?
You know, being a Unix guy, I'm not one to defend Windows, but I have to ask why Apple's fuck up here is Window's fault?
Read the closing parenthetical again.
Oops...I read this via RSS, and the closing parenthetical didn't show up there. I just clicked over to comment and didn't notice the last bit that got cut off.
This can be easily fixed by uninstalling iTunes and Quicktime.
It is 2009 and you have just realized Wincrap is loathsome? Get http://www.ztree.com/ ZTREE to diddle your hard drive - no BS. http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/zt.zip is a nice color configuration file.
Redmond is abandoning VISTA like Napolean fled Moscow. A Knoppix LIVE! DvD boot runs Uncle Al's analytical software (Linux compiled) 40% faster than WinXP (Wincrap compiled) in the same box. Take the hint.
I haven't had that problem, but iTunes is a very bad Windows citizen. It regularly hangs when upgrading my iPod Touch, and it almost never willingly exits, but has to be killed from Task Manager. And that GUI! What a mess!
(I say "it", but this applies to each of several "upgrades").
The problem might not have been Windows' fault, but it doesn't make it easy to see where your space is going...
I'm certainly no fan of Windows - I use it only when i must - but Apple's software quality does not live up to its design. The same, it must be said, goes for their hardware. Beautiful, functional - and rather prone to failure.
It's a combination of two very bad things that's causing you trouble - Microsoft and Apple. People seem to overlook the fact that Apple these days are just basically Microsoft with a better design and PR team. Get yourself to Linux man! Build a PC and cram it full of open source software! Otherwise Greg Laden and I will beat you up...
No problems on the MAC. Have you tried Sondbird, an open source music player? http://www.getsongbird.com/
No problems to date across my MAC and Windows platforms. Cool plug in displays lyrics within the player.
Okay I have to chime in on this. Apple jacked up your system. Yes the captains of doing it right jacked you up. Just as they have been doing with Quick time since its inception.
If you are fool enough to use an iPod with a computer running an operating system that is directly competing with Apple's other products you got exactly what you deserved.
The same goes for people who were surprised with Microsoft support for the Macintosh version of Office was a little lacking.
On the positive side just remember, if it wasn't for Apple ripping of Xerox, followed by Microsoft ripping off apple you wouldn't be here today. So be thankful to both companies.
These things usually follow updates. Usually there's an Apple (among other non MS software providers) update shortly following a Windows update, which tend to work around the associated wrenches thrown in gears which prevent the MS stuff from playing nicely with the non MS stuff. What's really fun (but not really) is when the non-MS software happens to be the accounting and inventory software at work, in the last week of December. Raised the tension in the office a bit, that did. We learned our lesson, and check with our business software provider before installing any MS updates.
Just to throw a little Apple user perspective into the ring, I'm writing this from a G3 imac. It'll turn 10 years old next year. Boring? Yep. Like one of our friends says about his motorcycles; old Motoguzzi's aren't for people who like motorcycles, they're for people who like to work on motorcycles. We don't like to fix computers, so this is what we use at home for our personal and internet stuff. Not that we're raving Apple fans, we just wound up with this thing somehow and it never died. Even Apple lets us down, like when later versions of Safari weren't available for our ancient OS and the old Safari eventually went buggy on java heavy sites. Yay for Camino, keeping our old beater running a little longer!
"If you are fool enough to use an iPod with a computer running an operating system that is directly competing with Apple's other products you got exactly what you deserved"
You know, I like my Linux and OS X stuff better than I like my Windows stuff, but what kind of an ass do you have to be to think that this is a reasonable response to a request for information about a software malfunction?
I've seen people dressed up as giant furry animals at science fiction conventions who were better-behaved than that.
Limewire.
And years later, STILL SUCKS!
And I have been forced to leave the UNIX world for this piece of s....! Dear God....Help me!