iTunes Keeps Pissing Me Off

So, it seems like every week iTunes has some updated version of the program they want me to download to upgrade to a difference I never actually notice. After always procrastinating (because I know something horrible will be the result), I give in to the constant reminders about the update and download the thing.

And what happens next? All my music gets deleted. Not the music files exactly, just iTunes ability to play said music by clickin on it in iTunes. Seriously, I'm not joking. The music is still in its file location on my external hard drive. The music is still viewable in my iTunes Library. But for some reason, the path connection is gone. If I look up the file location of a song in my library, the location is correct. But when I click play, a message box comes up to tell me that the file is unavailable and would I like iTunes to find my file for me?

It's so frustrating because this has happened to me now 10 times. It took me 4 times to put two and two together that this was indeed the catalyst for the problem. I'm usually an iPod person, very rarely and iTunes person. But lately, I've taken to listen to music while studying on my laptop (it helps me focus, don't judge me), so I finaly picked up on the center of the problem.

It's easily fixed by selecting File>Add Folder to Library...> then actually just choosing the Music folder in my external hard drive. That's not the problem. The problem is manually deleting all the music that shows up in my Library that cannot be played. I have to delete, manually, 3476 songs that have lost their ability to be played.

I am a logical woman (sort of). Maybe pragmatic is a better word. I am aware that iTunes may not be totally responsible for this. I could have a computer virus. It could be my Windows Vista causing the problem. or that iLike application I decided to add to my iTunes. It could be any number of things.

But I've decided to blame Apple and iTunes. I love Microsoft and Apple irritates me, except their commercials with Justin Long. I love him a whole lot. I also love my iPod with a large portion of my heart. But everything else about Apple irritates me. So, iTunes, please fix this issue and stop pissing me off, and wasting so much of my time. And reminding me I actually bought Ashanti's album. Grrr, anyone who will remind me of that needs to be very sorry.