Is there an issue with large libraries on iPod Classic 160 GB?

Question

I got a new iPod Classic a week ago. Have already taken it back and exchanged it once. The issue is that it works fine when I load , say, 20,000 songs onto it, but when I try to sync my whole library of around 31,500 songs it no longer works. All I get after the 'OK to disconnect' message has come up is the Apple logo. Attempting to reset doesn't work; reconnecting to the computer I get the message (some of the time) that iTunes has detected an iPod in recovery mode.
I can restore the iPod by putting into disk mode, but restoring doesn't solve the problem - it comes back again if I try to sync the full library.
So, I currently have a new iPod Classic with a big hard drive that is supposed to hold up to 40,000 songs according to specifications and what I was told by the expert in the Apple Store, but so far the behaviour of the two iPods has indicated that in reality it can't handle that many.
THis is not the first time I've seen this kind of issue with an iPod. I had exactly the same issue when the first 60 GB iPods came out - software only worked with a smaller number of songs.

Answer 1

I've been able fill up a 160Gb Classic quite happily, although at some point I recall finding my iPod started to crash as I got it filled up. One problem seemed to be that iTunes & Windows would get confused when trying to add a really large number for which this workaround helps during the rebuild.
*Break up large transfers*
In iTunes select the menu item *File... New Smart Playlist*. Change the first drop-down box to Playlist, the next to is and the next to Music or whatever playlist holds the bulk of the content you want on your device. Tick against *Limit to*, type in say 10, then change the drop-down to GB, and set the last drop-down to artist. When you click OK you can enter a name for the playlist, e.g. Transfer. Now sync this playlist to your iPod rather than your entire library. When the sync is complete modify the rule ( *File... Edit playlist* ) to increase the size by your chosen amount, then sync and repeat. You can experiment with different size increments, if it doesn't work just choose something a bit smaller until it works each time. Before long you should have all your music on your iPod. Once that's done you can move on to other media such as podcasts, videos, photos, playlists etc.
The other problem I found is that sometimes the iPod would crash on exiting or even on entry to an iPod game. After a number of restores I determined that the number and complexity of the playlists I was putting on was the cause of the problem. I believe these are loaded into working RAM, so use too much memory for these and the iPod struggles on any other memory hungry task.
tt2