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User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
(274,788 points)

Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates

by:  turingtest2
Last modified: Apr 3, 2023 12:15 PM
338 709537 Last modified Apr 3, 2023 12:15 PM

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The aim of this user tip is to provide iTunes removal and repair steps along with related advice all in one place, and to help avoid a complete reinstallation where it is not necessary. The key steps are in various boxes below. Some may not apply to your computer, but if they do you may save yourself some work over the full removal and reinstallation instructions given in the second box. Scroll down or click the further information link for additional help with installing or fixing any post-install problems, or review the list of support documents at the end in case one of them may help you.


Sections:






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iTunes launch errors caused by QTMovieWin.dll

Open the folders C:\Program Files\iTunes or C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes if present.


Check for a file with the name QTMovieWin.dll in the above locations only - if found delete it.


Start iTunes. If it runs normally there is no need to repair your iTunes installation at this stage.

Applies to errors such as:

  • Entry point not found: videoTracks@QTMovie@@QBE?AV?$Vector@V?$RefPtr@VQTTrack@@@***@@$0A@VCrashOnOverf low@@***@@XZ could not be located in the dynamic link library C:\Program Files(x86)\Common Files\Apple\Apple Application Support\WebKit.dll
  • The procedure entry point ?fastFree@***@@YAXPAX@Z could not be located in the dynamic link library JavaScriptCore.dll



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The general troubleshooting advice when iTunes fails to install properly (and reinstalling or repairing it does not work) is to remove not only iTunes but all related components, reboot, remove the target installation folders and reinstall.



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Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components


If applicable, disconnect any iPod or iOS device and close Microsoft Outlook.


If you installed iTunes using the Microsoft Store find iTunes on the Start menu, press and hold (or right-click) on the app, then select Uninstall, reboot, then skip to the Installing section below. You might want to use the download links further down the page rather than the Microsoft Store.



Uninstalling


Go to Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs (Win XP) or Programs and Features (later).


Remove all of these items in the following order:

QuickTime (if present)

(see this note on QuickTime below)

iTunes

(see note 1 below)

Apple Software Update

(if this will not uninstall try repairing it first)

Apple Mobile Device Support

(see note 1)

iCloud (if present)

MobileMe (if present)

(see note 2)

Bonjour

(see note 1)

Apple Application Support (32-bit)

(see note 1)

Apple Application Support (64-bit)

(see note 1)


Reboot your computer.


Delete any of the following folders should they exist: (see note 3)

  • C:\Program Files\Bonjour
  • C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple
  • C:\Program Files\iPod
  • C:\Program Files\iTunes

also potentially on 64-bit systems:

  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Bonjour
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\iPod
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes

and where C:\ may need to replaced with the drive letter of your system drive if different. Program Files may also have a different name in some regions.


Delete any shortcuts to iTunes or other Apple software that may remain in the start menu, task bar or on your desktop.



Installing


Download the iTunes setup file and run it to install. Use an account with administrative rights. This can usually be achieved by right-clicking on the downloaded file and selecting Run as... or Run as administrator. In some cases a combination of Shift or Ctrl keys may be required for the option to show, or it may not be necessary. It may help to temporarily disable any anti-virus software while reinstalling iTunes.


If you deleted the iCloud Control Panel and reinstalling iTunes doesn't automatically reinstall it visit HT204283: Download iCloud for Windows (7 or later). iCloud support for Windows Vista has been dropped. See DL1687: Cloud Control Panel 2.1.3 for Windows Vista for an archived version of the relevant support document. There is no available download.

Some users may need to go through the above process more than once before it is successful.



Note 1#

Some users may find that a particular component such as Apple Mobile Device Support or Apple Application Support will not uninstall or generates a missing .msi error. In such cases try the section Missing MSI errors below, or continue to remove the components that will uninstall, then proceed to the named folder removals. Alternatively try the Microsoft troubleshooter at Fix problems that block programs from being installed or removed. Third-party AirPrint support services may also prevent Bonjour from being removed. If so these should be uninstalled first. It may also help to temporarily disable anti-virus software and/or the Windows User Account Control feature (Turn UAC on/off) while repairing software. See also HT3960: iTunes for Windows: Background processes installed on Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (archive copy) for a list of processes that might need to be halted while attempting to uninstall components of iTunes.



Note 2#

MobileMe is a discontinued service and the control panel should be removed if present. Not doing so could cause Microsoft Outlook to freeze and/or issue error messages. See HT2992: MobileMe: Uninstalling the MobileMe Control Panel for Windows for details (archive copy). The Microsoft troubleshooter at Fix problems that block programs from being installed or removed. may be able to remove MobileMe if you cannot find an entry to uninstall.



Note 3#

The utility Unlocker may be able to reveal which processes are preventing you from deleting folders and either close the locking handle or force delete the folder. Note that GoogleSafeBrowsing currently blocks this tool however checking at VirusTotal suggests this is a false positive. Autoruns is another useful tool for identifying and selectively disabling start-up processes. You may also find that you can delete the files or folders in question if you reboot the computer into Safe Mode.



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iTunes launch errors caused by iAdCore.dll

Open the folders C:\Program Files\iTunes or C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes if present.


Check for a file with the name iAdCore.dll in the above locations only - if found delete it.


Windows Vista & later: Open the Programs and Features control panel, select iTunes and click Repair.

Windows XP: Open the Add or Remove Programs control panel, select iTunes, then Change... Repair.

Applies to errors such as:

The procedure entry point ADiAdID_AquireMatchSlotIfNecessary could not be located in the dynamic link library iAdCore.dll



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Install missing components

For reasons that are unclear the iTunes installer may fail to install or update specific components such as Apple Application Support or Apple Mobile Device Support, even when undertaking a "clean" install such as that described above in Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components. In such cases it may help to extract the individual components from the downloaded iTunesSetup.exe, itunes6464setup.exe or iTunes64Setup.exe file using a utility such as 7-Zip, then install the appropriate .msi file for the missing/outdated component.


Even when such components won't install the standalone installer may provide useful error messages that were suppressed during the initial attempt. You can also try removing everything once more then installing the individual .msi components in alphabetical order however the iCloud component, if present, should only be installed on Windows Vista. Windows 7 & 8 users should download that from HT204283: Download iCloud for Windows.

Applies to errors such as:

Apple Application Support was not found. Apple Application Support is required to run iTunesHelper. Please uninstall iTunes, then install iTunes again. Error 2



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Missing MSI errors

The following steps should remove the reference to a missing .msi file that the Windows Installer Service is trying to access while installing iTunes.


  1. Press WinLogoKey+R, type Regedit in the Run dialog and press Enter/Return.

  2. Click Edit > Find, type in the name of the problem .msi file, e.g. itunes6464.msi, change the Look at boxes so that only Data is ticked, then click Find Next. You should find it somewhere like:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\{Long string of letters & numbers}\SourceList

  3. Right-click on the immediate parent key with the long string of letters & numbers that contains the SourceList with the reference to the .msi file and click Export, save it to say the Desktop with the name iTunes.reg so the data can be restored if removing it doesn't help. Now right click on the key again and select Delete from the context menu. This should stop the Windows Installer from looking for the .msi when you reinstall iTunes.



If the install still won't go through then double-click the iTunes.reg file you made to restore the data to the registry, then use the method shown at Install missing components to unpack the installer of your previous iTunes installation and extract the .msi file you require. Double-click this to attempt to uninstall the component. There are links to recent builds of iTunes in the iTunes installers section.

Applies to errors such as:

The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable.



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Further information:



If you have difficulty downloading the iTunes installer file try; unticking the "Keep me up to date..." box, clearing your browser's cache, changing pop-up blocker settings, right-clicking or ctrl-clicking the download button, using an alternate browser, or using these direct links:

Windows XP or Vista users cannot install iTunes 12.2 or later and should install version 12.1.3.6 from the iTunes installers section of this tip for iOS 9 support. Note that iTunes 12.1.3.6 is not compatible with iOS 10.2 or later. As of May 25, 2018 Apple will cease support of iTunes on Windows XP and Vista. Users will no longer be able to use the iTunes Store for new purchases or downloads. Perhaps iTunes Match will stop working too. See HT208104: About iTunes Store availability for details.


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iTunes 12.7

iTunes 12.7 drops support for directly managing apps, iBooks, and tones within the iTunes Library. Such items can be manually dragged and dropped from Explorer onto the device where it appears in the iTunes sidebar, but can no longer be transferred from device to library or downloaded directly from the iTunes Store. Any iTunes U content has been merged into Podcasts. See HT208079: Deploy apps in a business environment with iTunes or the iTunes installers section below to download iTunes 12.6.5.3 if you want integrated app management in iTunes, or need to work with iBooks or iPod clickwheel games. Windows should uninstall the current version of iTunes and other Apple components, and should also restore a pre-12.7 copy of the iTunes database as described in Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash. For more information see Managing apps with iTunes 12.7 or later.



iTunes for Windows (for older video cards) Deprecated

Some builds of 64-bit iTunes 12 would produce the following alert when you started iTunes. This alternate build was also a potential workaround for problems with iTunes6464Setup.exe such as crashes on launching iTunes, stuttering playback, loss of AirPlay, QuickTime support to add or play selected video content, or for 32-bit applications that didn't integrate with 64-bit iTunes. It was similar to releases of iTunes for 64-bit Windows prior to iTunes 12.1, being a 64-bit installer for the 32-bit core program.
User uploaded file

See DL1816: iTunes for Windows (64-bit - for older video cards) for more information.

Update: From iTunes 12.5.1 this update should no longer be necessary with iTunes 12.4.3 being the last version to have this alternate installer. If you have seen this message previously try installing the all 64-bit version of iTunes for Windows instead. If you still have older video files in your iTunes library that won't play with the current release contact Apple Support for further advice.



Device backups

The uninstall and reinstall process will preserve your iTunes library and any iOS device backups. You should check your preferences after reinstalling to make sure nothing has changed. Ideally you would backup the library and your other important personal documents and data on a regular basis. See the user tip Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a suggested strategy. See Archive iPhone backup in Windows for a method to make security backups for iOS devices.



Missing content

In the unlikely event that content is missing from the library following the reinstallation of iTunes, or you see the error message 'The file "iTunes Library.itl" cannot be read because it was created with a newer version of iTunes', see Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash. If any of your original media has been deleted from your hard drive, and you don't have a back up, or if you need to change the computer you use to manage your devices without being able to Move your iTunes library to a new computer, see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.



Error applying transforms

If an iTunes installation fails with the message "Error applying transforms. Verify that the specified transform paths are valid." this likely indicates that your language and regional preferences are not supported by the active iTunes installer. Temporarily changing to a supported language should allow the installation to complete. Supported languages should be: Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. This was an issue that affected Arabic and Portuguese (Portugal) users and the iTunes 12.2.2.25 installer, but could potentially recur in another release.



An internal error occurred

Should you get "An internal error occurred" warning when reinstalling try repairing and then removing Apple Software Update, then try to install iTunes once more, right-clicking on the installer and using Run as administrator. Alternatively create a new user account with administrative rights and try installing iTunes using that account.



VC80 errors

The message "An error occurred during installation of assembly 'Microsoft.VC80.CRT, type="win32", version="8.0.50727.6195", publicKeyToken="1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b", processorArchitrcture=..." may occur because a particular library file is not included in the distribution package supplied with iTunes or won't install for some unspecified reason. Installing the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package MFC Security Update before attempting to reinstall iTunes may help.

There are three files to choose from so you need to select the one that matches the processor architecture of your system, which should be noted in the error message.

  • vcredist_x86.EXE - 32-bit systems
  • vcredist_IA64.EXE - Itanium processors
  • vcredist_x64.EXE - other 64-bit systems



Missing api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-0.dll or api-ms-win-crt-heap-l1-1-0.dll errors

Try installing the Update for Universal C Runtime in Windows, then try installing iTunes again.



Could not open key errors
For "Could not open key/write value" errors when reinstalling try b noir's user tip:

"Could not open key: UNKNOWN\Components\[LongStringOfLettersAndNumbers]\
[LongStringOfLettersAndNumbers]" error messages when installing iTunes for Windows.

The technique can be applied to the branch of the registry mentioned in the error message.



Object already exists/access denied errors

For "Object already exists" or "Access denied" errors when installing try opening Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates then checking for Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB2918614). Uninstall if you have it, then reboot and try installing again.



Key not valid errors

For "Key not valid for use in specified state" errors try moving the folder RSA from C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA to say C:\RSA (just in case there should be a need to restore it) then try installing again. This folder appears to act as a cache and should be rebuilt automatically as required.



Invalid drive errors

For "Invalid Drive" errors when uninstalling or reinstalling try b noir's user tip:

"Invalid drive X:\" install errors.



CD Configuration folder errors

If you see an "iTunes cannot locate CD Configuration folder" error it may be that you have installed iTunes on a different drive and some files have been incorrectly installed on the C: drive. In particular look for the folder C:\Program Files\iTunes\CD Configuration and copy it to the matching path on the drive where you have installed iTunes.



Anti-virus problems

In some cases third party anti-virus software can interfere with the iTunes installation. It may help to temporarily disable the real-time scanning component of any non-Microsoft antivirus software during reinstallation. In some cases some products have had to be completely removed before iTunes could be successfully installed.



Time zone issues

The error message "The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142)" may be due to an incorrect adjustment for your time zone. A workaround is to change your time zone to another which has the same offset from UTC +00:00. For example: change UTC +07:00 Barnaul, Gorno-Altaysk to UTC +07:00 Novosibirsk.

Thanks to CR3STOM for posting this tip.



Relocated files

If you followed advice in an article to move certain .dll files to the desktop and have reinstalled iTunes then these can be safely deleted.



Shortcut issues

Should you find that all of your desktop shortcuts have turned into links to the iTunes application download and apply the lnk registry fix from www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/19449-default-file-type-associations-restore.html.



Apple Software Update server missing

If you see the error message: "The Apple Software Update server could not be found. Check your Internet settings and try again." open Control Panel > Network and Sharing > Internet Options > Advanced > Security and uncheck "Do not save encrypted pages to disk".



Device not shown

For device connectivity issues see one of the following:


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Software Update Required

If you see the message "Software Update Required" in an error message telling you that you need to update Windows when you are using Windows 7 or later then you are likely running a build older than 12.7.2.58 and the message should be telling you to update iTunes. Apart from 12.6.4.3 all other builds with a lower version number than 12.7.2.58 have outdated encryption support and are no longer able to connect to the iTunes Store for account management purposes. See About App Store and iTunes Store availability - Apple Support for more information. Install a more recent version of iTunes from this list of iTunes installers.



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QuickTime:


QuickTime for Windows is no longer supported by Apple - Remove unless actively required to support older content

It is worth noting that iTunes no longer relies on QuickTime in the way that it used to. It hasn't been bundled with iTunes since version 10.5 and is no longer being patched by Apple against security vulnerabilities. Unless you have some obscure file formats or applications that absolutely require QuickTime support, and you understand the risks, then you you should remove this component from your system. If you still have a requirement for QuickTime then you should install the 7.7.9 version as this will uninstall the legacy QuickTime web plugin which may enhance your security somewhat. You may also find that for QuickTime to work with iTunes you need to install the iTunes for Windows (64-bit - for older video cards) version (deprecated as of iTunes 12.4.3/12.5.1).

See the following support documents for further informaton:



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iTunes installers:



If you are unable to get the current version of iTunes to work on your computer you may wish to try reinstalling a previous build from the links below after going through the removal steps once more. In order to roll back to an older version of iTunes you may also need to restore the pre-upgrade library as described in Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash. Having rolled back to an older build on the first run it is likely to tell you there is a new version of iTunes, tick "Do not ask me again" and then click "Don't Download" to avoid reminders until you choose to upgrade again. Some users have also reported success with using System Restore to revert to a pre-upgrade snapshot of their system. Mac users can see iTunes for Mac installers for a similar list.


N.b. iTunes 12.2 and later versions require Windows 7 or later.

N.b. The 32-bit versions listed below require Windows XP SP3 or later, the 64-bit versions require Windows Vista or later.

See also http://support.apple.com/downloads/#itunes for selected older versions of iTunes.



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Support documents:



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Comments

User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
(274,788 points)

Dec 8, 2017 11:05 AM

Cheers. It has just had a little overhaul to make a few things clearer, repair dead links caused by Apple retiring help documents, and update changed titles for those that remain.


tt2

Dec 8, 2017 11:05 AM

User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
(274,788 points)

Dec 14, 2018 5:01 AM

Following changes to Apple Support Communities in December 2018 I can no longer edit this user tip without breaking the format of it. Links to new builds of iTunes for Windows will be added below.


tt2

Dec 14, 2018 5:01 AM

User profile for user: Katrina S.
Katrina S.
User level: Level 7
(24,151 points)

Apr 20, 2019 3:20 AM

Thanks so much! Just switched from iPhone 5 to iPhonexR, and for reasons known only to me, I refuse to go beyond iTunes 10. Got a 3rd party package, iMazing, to transfer my data to the new iPhone, and it broke iTunes dlls.Your explanation reminded me of what I'd forgotten. Always uninstall Bonjour. Blast from the past, thanks again!

Apr 20, 2019 3:20 AM

User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
(274,788 points)

Nov 11, 2019 9:44 AM

Users having iTunes launch issues in Windows 10 could try right-clicking the iTunes icon in the start menu and setting compatibility mode for Windows 7. This may be an alternative to reinstalling iTunes as the administrator.


tt2

Nov 11, 2019 9:44 AM

User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
(274,788 points)

Nov 23, 2020 3:51 AM

Note that iTunes 12.11.0.26 and later require Windows 10. Those running Windows 7 or 8 should use iTunes 12.10.10.2 from the links two comments above this one.


tt2

Nov 23, 2020 3:51 AM

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