Some companies seem to be in the pocket of the RIAA.
I'm told that Gateway strongly discourages LW, and also frequently suggests that a p-p program was the cause of the problem (they removed LW from my friend's computer without her consent!).

I suggest that when your pc is running correctly, dump WMP and switch to Burrrn (and Mr Question Man, from the same site, provides a detailed list of all your MP3s; interesting if not useful). For a player, I recommend GOM Player, or VLC Player (both are free). You'll find your system less bloated, and you won't have to wonder what WMP is reporting to Microsoft.

With the recent wave of increasing complaints about iTunes, you can find a multitude of free alternatives for loading and playing music, videos, and pictures on your iPod (and for easily playing iPod files on your pc).