iTunes playback stuck at 0:00, tracks won't play

Allen A,

Thank you so much for replying! (That is most kind of you!) Let me answer your questions, and then provide a little additional context. (Hopefully I won't muddy the waters. 🙂 )

Are you trying to stream music from Apple Music? or

Nope, no streaming. All my music is ripped from my CDs. (Yep, I do have a lot of CDs that I've bought over the years.)

Are you trying to play music that you have either downloaded from the iTunes Store/Apple Music or that you imported from other sources?

(Sorry, I can't re-number the questions.) Yes, I am trying to play my MP3s ripped from my CDs. My music is (are?) all MP3s, that I have ripped from my CDs. (OK, a little redundant.) Generally, I like to 'have a CD in hand', and I don't download music. (I have downloaded a few apps from the iTunes Store. Not relevant, but just sayin'.) I'm not particularly a fan of new music, and the music I like I have on CD. (Yes, I'm one of those. 🙂 Generally, my CDs are 'Greatest Hits' type of compilations. I'm at around 17,000 tracks.)

If this is downloaded or imported music, where is it stored--directly on the computer, or on an external drive?

My music is on an external drive. (Western Digital, 500GB, USB) A very long time ago (i.e. years ago), I used to have my MP3s on my laptop. When I needed/wanted to upgrade my laptop I found it very difficult (not easy) to move/transfer my MP3s from the older laptop to the newer laptop. At that time I did move my music to an external drive. (Also, at that time, I noticed that my music was taking up a lot of space. Back when disk space was more expensive.)

A little more background: (TMI?)

For years now, I have had my MP3s on an external drive. Through out all this time, I have been able to play, listen to, my MP3s from within iTunes. (I rip a CD, add the tracks to iTunes, then listen to the tracks to rate them [5 Stars for the ones I really like, and so forth], then add those tracks that I like to the appropriate Playlist.)

About a month ago, iTunes would no longer play (i.e. Stuck on 0:00 time) my tracks/songs. I had not done anything to my laptop. iTunes just stopped. I just updated to the latest version of iTunes, before posting this question. So, I was able to have my ripped CD music, as MP3s, on my external hard drive, play on my laptop. (I can still play my MP3s in Windows Media Player, but can not manage them very well in Windows Media Player. [acknowledged: Windows Media Player is not designed for management and syncing of music.]) I can also navigate, in Windows, my external drive. iTunes will still sync tracks onto my iPhone, without a problem. Play Counts will still increase with the sync. (Therefore, I think that there is no problem with the connection of laptop to drive. Nor is there a problem, with iTunes 'seeing' my music on my external drive.)

Anyway, thank you for listening. I have rambled on (I think) way too long. 😀

Thanks again!

It appears that I can still do everything within iTunes except play a track.

Nuje,

Thank you for your suggestion!

I gave it a try. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to resolve the issue that I am having.

I have iTunes 2 folders. One is on the external drive, and one is on my laptop's internal drive.

I first went with my external drive, as that's where all my MP3s are at. (And I closed iTunes.)

- There was a iTunes Library.xml file.

- There was no iTunes Library.itl file. There were/are iTunes Library Genius.itdb, and iTunes Library Extras.itdb files. So, I moved all those (3) files to the desktop. I restarted iTunes, all the music and playlists were there, but in playing a track, iTunes will still be stuck on 0:00. (Bummer.)

I then went to the internal drive (Users/<me>/music/iTunes), and found the iTunes Library.itl file. There was no iTunes Library.xml file. But there was an iTunes Music Library.xml file. Then I removed the iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Music Library.xml files. When I restarted iTunes, it was all blank. (Kind of the 'Welcome to iTunes' mode/feel.) No tracks, no playlists, a blank/empty slate as it were. So there were no tracks to play. I then restored/returned the (2) files back to the iTunes folder, and all was well. The tracks/songs, ratings, and playlists are all back. And, still, whenever I play a track it will be stuck at 0:00.

Thanks so much for your ideas! (It was fun giving it a shot. 😀 )

P.S. It appears that the .xml file is created when the .itl file is present. Also, iTunes will create a .itl file if it is missing.

tt2,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my predicament. I tried the 'Playback' option, and it does not seemed to have done anything. (Playing a track is still stuck at/on 0:00.)

I think I may be a little hesitant to do the iTunes tear down. I've got thousands of songs (17,000+) in many playlists. I'd really hate to lose all that work. (Various songs in various playlists. Play Counts - which I use in my Smart Playlists. Last Played - which I use in my Smart Playlists. Ratings - which I use in my Smart Playlists. And Smart Playlists - which I use in other Smart Playlists.) Again, I would hate to lose all the data. It does appear that that 2nd box is very thorough in describing the tear down and rebuild. (And is very detailed. I'll note that it's nice to know that QuickTime can be removed.)

Again, thank you. (I'll think about the reinstall.) Although, seeing that iTunes still works, i.e. starting up, closing down, sorting, syncing, editing Playlists/Smart Playlists, etc. (everything but playing a track), I still a little reluctant.