"Original file could not be found" error

[sodacupkiller]

Is iTunes really just a sick joke devised by Apple to totally frustrate the unweary user?
Why is it all of a sudden out of the clear blue sky I receive an error telling me "The song bla bla bla could not be used because the original file could not be found" when I go to play a track. The library and all it's music files is still sitting exactly where it has been from day 1, the folder path in edit/preferences has not been changed in anyway, in short I've done absolutely nothing to provoke this godforsaken error.
Of course since all the files are still sitting in my music/itunes media folder I could just re-import them but that's not the point.
It seems as if iTunes isn't happy with just existing on your system, it has to remind you it's there with wonton acts of unprovoked vandalism from time to time.
If I didn't need it for my ipod I'd f**k it off all together.

[cjmnews]

I am not sure responding is worth the attitude, but here it goes.

Windows does odd things with devices that are added and removed. One possibility is that your library is on an external drive, and when you plug in your iPod it gets the same drive letter. So when iTunes goes to look for the file in the normal path on your iPod, it is not there. Not an iTunes problem, but a Windows problem. You can fix it by setting the drive letter for your iPod to a higher letter.

Similar issues occur for network attached drives, as well as the occasional Windows forgot that the drive was attached, or took too long to verify it's existence. Not much you can do about this, other than to have a process that accesses the drive periodically on your computer, but there is no guarantee that will work either.

Another possibility if you use the C drive for everything is that you access the file with both iTunes and WMP, allowing WMP to update the song information from the Internet, which could include subtle changes to the file name (remove extra spaces, add an apostrophe). This makes it so iTunes can not find the file. The fix for that is to disable WMP from updating your song files. Not an iTunes problem.

The last possibility is that you have been changing song locations or file names with Windows Explorer, which it does not sound like you did. The fix for that is to use iTunes to modify song names (changes the file name) or Album (moves the file) or Artist (moves the file). Also not an iTunes problem.

So, which of these fixes your issue?

If none of them, then maybe you can provide a bit more information and a little less rant. Where are your files located? Did you exit and restart iTunes? Did you reboot? Did you use the Sticky: http://forums.ilounge.com/itunes-mac...tion-mark.html to find out how many songs are impacted?