Here's how I got my problem fixed. First of all my problem was that the songs I had purchased in the past were bought under a different user name (and it was an AOL account, not an Apple account) on a different computer. The AOL account had "expired", meaning the credit card attached to it was no longer valid. After deleting the SC Folder as directed in another discussion the matter got worse.
I went to the iTunes support site (
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/) and selected "Authorization" from the "Get Customer Service" list and then "Troubleshooting authorization problems" then clicked on "email us". I explained my issue and the next day I had a response from Apple. I was told I had to convert the AOL account to an Apple account by trying 'to sign in to the iTunes Store three (3) times using your AOL screen name and password.
After the third sign-in attempt, the iTunes Store will ask if you would like to
transition your account to an Apple ID. Click Convert and follow the onscreen
instructions.
As part of this transition, the credit card information in your AOL wallet is
automatically imported into your iTunes Store account. From then on, your iTunes
Store purchases will not be charged to your AOL wallet.
If the credit card for your AOL wallet has expired, or if you have canceled it,
the transition from AOL to Apple ID won't work. In that case, I can convert your
account for you. Before I can do this, however, Apple requires that you provide
the following for security reasons:
- The billing address listed on the account
- Your permission to reset the password
...as well as one of the following:
- the last four digits of the credit card used for your iTunes Store account
- or the order number of your most recent purchase
- or the name of any item you've purchased using this account
Upon receiving your response, Apple will verify your information, convert your
account manually, and send you an email with your new password.
Once you're able to authorize your computer to play purchases made using that
account, you can transfer the items from your iPod to the computer without any
issues.'
Since my credit card had expired I had to send the information and they sent back a
Hope this helps.