Why is music sync freezing all the time since 8.1 update?

[WPCentral Question]

I've had nothing but freeze after freeze after freeze when I try to re-sync my phone since I updated my Lumina 1020 to 8.1. Restarting my PC seems to help (sometimes), but when it does finally sync I get the ^%$#@! duplicate Playlist bug. Typically the freeze occurs on the first MP3 that the WinPhone app tries to sync - waiting does nothing; after 15 minutes of waiting I have to kill the .EXE manually to get it to stop.

I'm honestly about ready to call my Windows Phone experiment a failure - every update seems to make the entire phone experience worse, and this is dangerously close to being the last straw. If I can't use my phone for music (a daily use, usually multiple times a day in fact) them it's basically a paperweight.

Can anyone recommend something to try? The complete and utter lack of error messages gives me little to go on, and searching Forums and MS Help threads has so far been a total zero... Thanks in advance.

 

[TechFreak1]

It would be easier to drag & drop your music onto your phone with a USB cable as the sync app is below sub par imo.

Also it is not Lumina it's Lumia .

 

[ImagoX]

I use Playlists that the WinPhone app picks up to organize my music files, so simple dragging/dropping isn't an option. And honestly, I shouldn't have to manually work-around something so basic - this isn't 2002. Sync worked great on the day I bought my phone, and has been deteriorating with every "update" - is this just what life with a WinPhone looks like now?