iTunes library keeps asking for downloads

[Tienenaar]

Hello. I do have a problem with iTunes (12.9.0) on my MacBook Pro 13' base model 2017 (10.14.1).
I do have my iTunes library on a separate hard drive.

Each time I connect it to my laptop it shows all my music and movie's are gone and prompting me to re-download them (the cloud symbol is standing next to each movie/music). But all my own music or movie's I personally added, don't even show in iTunes.

When I check the hard drive it is still all there, even the personal movie's and music.

Is there something I'm doing wrong or is there a update I don't see (everything is updated to the latest possible build).

 

[Partron22]

Seems like Apple doesn't like people taking music out and about.
Consider making a second library that has just your music. That might confuse iTunes enough that your tracks will show up.

 

[Tienenaar]

Seems like Apple doesn't like people taking music out and about.
Consider making a second library that has just your music. That might confuse iTunes enough that your tracks will show up.

Doesn't work, even creating a library on the laptop with a few songs and keeping my external harddrive with everything isn't working. Each time I switch over to the harddrive to see movies or music it is prompting me to download everything again without even showing my own movie's which are in the library.

 

[Partron22]

You might consider down dating your iTunes, maybe to 11 something.
I've gotten iTunes 10.4.1 running on Mojave, alongside 12.9.
You might be happier running an 11 or early 12 version, as iTunes seems to keep getting more restrictive.
There are lots of threads here on how to do a downdate. I've actually gotten 9.something to work through Yosemite.
But one of my minis maxes out at Lion (2005), so until that dies 10.7 is my upper limit if I want easy transfer between Macs.
If the new version is making your life hard, you don't have to put up with it.

Apple appears to have prohibited some of the recent versions, but if you go back far enough, things start working again, at the expense of a messed up library.

 

[iGobbleoff]

I’m on Mojave with my iTunes library on an external drive, there are no issues. I’d check that it’s mounted first properly before opening iTunes?