How do I replace a corrupted iTunes file on iCloud?

My MobileMe cross-linked apple ID problem was the issue. That was the problem and it was Apple's. Read the posts. The issue was with purchases originally from that early ID which is not used any more. That is why the delete, re-download did not work. The apple ID I have been using for the last 5 years did not recognize an album from an earlier purchase. If Apple's "cloud" (whatever you want to call it) did not corrupt the album, this would have never been a problem either because it would not needed to have been deleted then re-downloaded. My confusion came from the fact I have been using these albums all these years with no problem. It was not until the delete / re-download did not work before I finally remembered about the phantom apple ID being the actual owner of the album. Do you remember every web login and password you used 5+ years ago? If you do, it is because you are stupidly using the same user/password combination everywhere.

Apple is still unable to merge the apple ID's, they apparently don't have the tools for making that happen. But, again both of these issues were on Apple's side; the duplicate ID's thanks to MobileMe, and the album corruption on the "cloud".

I am typing this response v e r y s l o w l y because it is obvious you are having problems reading the posts.

"...his belief in his fallacy..."

Here, let me help you out:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fallacy

Maybe not the word you were looking for?

And yes, it is all resolved. No thanks to anyone on here.

Hmmm. Maybe if you had put it as "my belief in my infallibility", meaning I think I am incapable in error which is the exact opposite of what you said. But no, my failing was in thinking that Apple fixed the MobileMe problem several years ago, i.e. I could access all my albums again. My other failing was in thinking that since it was fixed and all my albums worked for the past five years, the iTune troubles were long behind me and I could forget about that multiple ID problem.

My third failing was thinking that Apple had learned its lessons from MobileMe and I could trust the infrastructure enough for something as mundane as a music collection (not something irreplaceable such as family photos).

My fourth failing was thinking that if I posted here I would get cogent, respectful advice. Similar to what I get on other forums. Ahhh, I forgot this is the domain of the fearsome Apple Fan-Boys, where no possible sleight on Apple can be permitted without retribution.

So, there. Four failings, so maybe you are right (which would make it five). I recognize I don't know all, unlike the Mighty Fan-Boy Guardians of the Apple Forums.

The original problem for the duplicate ID was MobileMe. That was acknowledged by Apple to me at the time, however they could not completely correct the issue at the time by merging the accounts (and still can't). Fine. They were able to get it where I could use all the albums I had purchased up to that point even if they were not merged. That was good enough for me and I have been happily using everything for the last 5 years using only one of the apple ID's. The incomplete fix, that being the old ID that was really still there lurking in the background with some of the albums still attached to it, only resurface when the combination of the two issues happened:

1) the iTunes Match / iCloud / cloud / [whatever you want to call it] corrupted the entry whereupon I could not download it to play on any of several devices.

2) seeing that it somehow got corrupted, I thought fine, I will do what others had done on the forum and simply delete it, then re-download (since I had already purchased).

The album was not detected as being already purchased (due to the old ID I had long forgot about), and I was charged again.

If I was alone in these issues I would say "Dumb me, this setup works perfect and I need to read the directions better". If you search around you will see zillions of other people with these issues and more.

As far as my confusion with the iTunes and iCloud you will find the following on Apples website (including this from a simple Google search):

iTunes in the Cloud - Apple

Hmmm. I don't know where in the heck I would I get the impression there was any connection.

"And if it was truly a corrupt download, why so quick to blame apple? The data transfer would be going through probably a dozen+ servers not owned by apple. It could be your ISP or anything in between."

If you knew anything about software engineering you would know that yes, the internet is an unreliable thing. In fact, that is why the internet came about in the first place largely as a way of getting data from one point to another through various paths in case of node failures. ARPANET and many other packet switching networks (CYCLADES, Tymnet, etc.) were created to address expected failures. As part of the whole network stack concept, if you want reliable communications and persistence you have to put multiple checks at the different layers, including the persistence. If you get corruption and you don't check for it, resending if it doesn't check correctly, it is your fault as a programmer, not the fault of the devices along the way that you KNOW are going to periodically fail.

I guess my frustration is due to my complacency with Apple. Apple's hardware and client side software is so seamless and trouble-free for me that when another piece gets tacked on which is not so seamless and trouble-free I am shocked. It is like a completely different mindset of people oversee their server side efforts as compared with their hardware and client side software.

"You do realize that you are posting to yourself i assume (you being the expert)"

Yeah, but it is so fun now 🙂