Q: iTunes 10.5.1 password irritation

For what it's worth: over on the Windows side I see one thread where someone is experiencing a signin popup about enabling automatic downloads every time they fire up iTunes, regardless if they sign in or just cancel out of the popup. 

Is that what you are experiencing, or is the language you are seeing just the normal Apple ID sign in dealie?

If it is that ~enabling automatic downloads~ popup, I was presented with that popup twice right after the update to 10.5.1 on the Mac.  After seeing it twice, I haven't seen it since.  I'm left wondering if  that popup is glitchy or whatever iTunes helper service those automatic downloads are tied to is buggy.

Details:

• I updated to iTunes 10.5.1 via Software Update late in the day on 11/15.
• iTunes loaded.
• iTunes seemed to already have my Apple ID noted in the upper right-hand corner where it normally is.
• Yet, in front of iTunes, was a popup window asking me to log in to enable automatic downloads.
• It looked legitimate and I did sign in, thinking that I'd use iTunes Match eventually and figuring that the popup was an opt-in bit necessary for either Match or the 10.5.1 update itself. 
• Then, after signing in, iTunes / the updater / (?) brought up the same popup a second time.  (????)
• It didn't seem to have any different language than the first, nor did it have a warning saying I'd fat-fingered my login the first time or the like.  So, gritting my teeth, I signed in a second time.
• That's the last I've seen of it. iTunes isn't asking me to sign in again when I quit / open the application or cycle the system. If I do sign out of iTunes and then sing back in, the signin popup is the normal one, not the one about enabling automatic downloads -- so after seeing that one twice, it's now MIA.
• Also, if that sign in popup is indeed legitimate (but just glitchy?), I'm wondering what it actually does -- the normal iTunes signin doesn't say anything about automatic downloads,  iTunes Match is something else you need to purchase, and within Preferences -> Store, the Automatic Downloads section just shows the three boxes of Music, Apps and Books as being unchecked.

Hopefully the others will have some ideas to help you out -- or similar experiences that may help shed more light on the situation.

I reported the bug to apple so it should get fixed soon.

Another bug in this version of itunes, ever since "upgrading", when I open itunes, and after signing in TWICE, it tries to seach for purchases in my wifes library (which it never completes), then when I click on her library on the sidebar, it disappears.  So now I can't access her library.

This update has been a complete pain in the butt

Same here with the sign in, each time iTunes is launched...

And something to note. I don't think that Safari's preferences will have any effect on iTunes, whereby "Block pop-ups" is checked. That will be for the internet and all things Safari, and not iTunes.

As per, all things Lion, waiting on another fix to correct dodgy programming and a somewhat buggy OS...?

Hmmmmpf!

Hopefully they'll get that taken care of with the next release.

Last night I finally had a chance to update iTunes on my Windows 7 system as somewhat of a comparison experiment.  I expected it to ask me to log in to enable the automatic downloads like it had on the Mac -- and I wondered if it'd ask me twice, or send me into the loop.  Except ... it didn't ask me at all.  iTunes just loaded up and still had me signed in.  Signing out and signing in didn't trigger it either.  Er...

That is all well and good (not being caught in the loop and all), but it has me wondering why that sign in to enable automatic downloads thing popped up (twice) when I updated iTunes here on the Mac earlier this week. 

Here's some pure speculation: I've got two computers 'authorized' for my account.  Perhaps the two sign-ins it asked me to do on the Mac reflected that -- one for each authorized computer -- and (more speculation) since it successfully talked to the Apple mothership (?) or I got lucky and it made note of it properly locally on the Mac (?) earlier this week, it hasn't pestered me since and didn't need to ask me to do it on the Windows side last night.

Ah, computers.

It's a thought, and quite valid on speculation.

However, I only run one Mac and therefore, the repeated sign in/iTunes load up problem would appear to be a bug and somewhat unrelated to your reasonable suggestion.

Hopefully the next update will fix, address the issue.

I have three computers authorized, and still have to sign only twice. 

A follow up on accessing my wifes library. Now I can't access her library at all.  The strange part is, both my son's computer and my wife's computer can see each other AND share each others library, but I can't see either one of them.  Now you would expect that to be a network issue with my PC, BUT, we also have Apple TV2 and it accesses my library and streams media without any issues at all.

I think I had something similar, but I found ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.WebFoundation.plist was the cause of it.

On OS X Lion, you have to hold option and click the Go menu in the Finder to get to the Library folder.

If moving that to the desktop fixes your issue, awesome.

Good luck!

I have noticed the sign in twice bug several times after updating from 10.5.0 to 10.5.1 via download full installer and updated.  I am on 10.6.8 as well.  It seems to go away for a bit if I deauth and reauthorize my MBP and also sign out and into the itunes store.  Didn't see this bug come about until the very first open of iTunes after updating.  The very first time I saw it, I had to login in twice, after that, it's only a one time log in when I see that pop up.

something else I have tried is to turn on syncing just books, saving , then turning it off to perhaps force a refresh of the settings.

UPDATE: nope, didn't make a difference.

so basically, iTunes just seems to be forgetting that your signed in...eventhough you are...

one more thing to try, which has worked for me so far (but maybe just might happen later), is that I opened iTunes Preferences, Store Tab, unchecked always check for available downloads, then closed iTunes, reopened, then went to that tab and re-checked that box. Maybe refreshing that setting has helped. I'll report back if the bug creeps back up. So far, after doing that, I haven't seen it. But, it's worth a try.