diff --git a/apps/settings_list.c b/apps/settings_list.c
index 1bf8b4202f..0ea6026346 100644
--- a/apps/settings_list.c
+++ b/apps/settings_list.c
@@ -354,6 +354,31 @@ static const char graphic_numeric[] = "graphic,numeric";
 # endif
 #endif
 
+/*
+ * Total buffer size due to this setting = max files in dir * 52 bytes
+ * Keep this in mind when selecting the maximum - if the maximum is too
+ * high it's possible rockbox could hit OOM and become unusable until
+ * the config file is deleted manually.
+ *
+ * Note the FAT32 limit is 65534 files per directory, but this limit
+ * also applies to the database browser so it makes sense to support
+ * larger maximums.
+ */
+#if MEMORYSIZE >= 16
+# define MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_DEFAULT   5000
+# define MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_MAX       100000
+# define MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_STEP      1000
+#elif MEMORYSIZE >= 8
+# define MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_DEFAULT   5000
+# define MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_MAX       40000
+# define MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_STEP      500
+#else
+/* historical defaults, only for 2 MiB targets these days */
+# define MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_DEFAULT   1000
+# define MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_MAX       10000
+# define MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_STEP      50
+#endif
+
 #if LCD_DEPTH > 1
 static const char* list_pad_formatter(char *buffer, size_t buffer_size,
                                     int val, const char *unit)
@@ -1028,13 +1053,10 @@ const struct settings_list settings[] = {
                   "max files in playlist", UNIT_INT, 1000, 32000, 1000,
                   NULL, NULL, NULL),
     INT_SETTING(F_BANFROMQS, max_files_in_dir, LANG_MAX_FILES_IN_DIR,
-#if MEMORYSIZE > 1
-                  1000,
-#else
-                  200,
-#endif
-                  "max files in dir", UNIT_INT, 50, 10000, 50,
-                  NULL, NULL, NULL),
+                MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_DEFAULT, "max files in dir", UNIT_INT,
+                MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_STEP /* min */, MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_MAX,
+                MAX_FILES_IN_DIR_STEP,
+                NULL, NULL, NULL),
 /* use this setting for user code even if there's no exchangable battery
  * support enabled */
 #if BATTERY_CAPACITY_INC > 0
diff --git a/manual/configure_rockbox/system_options.tex b/manual/configure_rockbox/system_options.tex
index 336b0dd84d..ba80a6e6e4 100755
--- a/manual/configure_rockbox/system_options.tex
+++ b/manual/configure_rockbox/system_options.tex
@@ -102,18 +102,21 @@ This sub menu relates to limits in the Rockbox operating system.
   \begin{description}
     \item [Max Entries in File Browser.] This setting controls the limit on
     the number of files that you can see in any particular directory in the
-    file browser. You can configure the size to be between 50 and
-    10,000 files in steps of 50. The default is 400. \opt{HAVE_DISK_STORAGE}{
-    Higher values will shorten the music buffer, which can negatively affect
-    battery life by forcing the disk to spin up more often. Increase this
-    setting \emph{only} if you need to.}
+    file browser. \opt{HAVE_DISK_STORAGE}{Higher values will shorten the music
+    buffer, which can negatively affect battery life by forcing the disk to
+    spin up more often. Increase this setting \emph{only} if you need to.}
+
+    \note{This setting also affects the maximum number of tracks that can
+    be handled by the database browser. If you find that long lists are not
+    being sorted correctly in the database browser you may need to increase
+    this setting.}
 
     \item [Max Playlist Size.] This setting controls the maximum size of
     a playlist. The playlist size can be between 1,000 and 32,000 files,
     in steps of 1,000 (default is 10,000). \opt{HAVE_DISK_STORAGE}{Higher
-    values will shorten the music buffer, which can negatively affect battery
-    life by forcing the disk to spin up more often. Increase this setting
-    \emph{only} if you use very large playlists.}
+    values will shorten the music buffer, which can negatively affect
+    battery life by forcing the disk to spin up more often. Increase this
+    setting \emph{only} if you use very large playlists.}
 
     \item [Glyphs To Cache.] This sets the default memory allocation size
     for fonts in unique glyphs. This should be set to the number of unique