What is Bonjour??!

Question

Level 1

15 points

What is Bonjour??!

What the heck is Bonjour? I can't find it in my Firewall settings in order to block it. When I first installed iTunes 5.0, I lost access to the Internet. Restored system later, uninstalled using the recommended Windows Install Clean Up which appears to be very efficient, btw, I now have internet access, but iTunes won't even start - I get the dreaded "encountered a problem" message. Wish that was going to Apple instead of Microsoft - I've sent it dozens of times now!!!!
Any help in locating this mysterious component would be appreciated!
Yours
Eyestrained Nosila
x

Posted on Sep 22, 2005 1:51 PM

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Answer 1

Rachyl

Level 4

2,135 points

Sep 22, 2005 1:59 PM in response to Nosila

I am no expert, But Bonjour is apple software that you need to have to use the newest version of iTunes. It enables discovery of computers, Devices, and services on IP networks according to Apple. To quote Apple, "Bonjour uses industry standard IP protocols to allow devices to automatically discover each other without the need to enter IP addresses or configure DNS servers."
And' "
If you have a firewall enabled, you will need to ensure that UDP port 5353 is open for Bonjour to work correctly. Certain firewalls will only partially block Bonjour packets, so if you experience intermittent behavior, check the firewall settings and verify that Bonjour is listed as an exception and is allowed to receive incoming connections. Bonjour will configure the Windows firewall appropriately during installation on Windows XP Service Pack 2 and above."
So, for your iTunes to work, you need to download it. Good Luck

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Answer 2

Katrina S.

Level 7

24,131 points

Sep 22, 2005 1:59 PM in response to Nosila

Bonjour is a service program that allows iTunes sharing.

Go into Control Panel > Services and stop it.

[EDIT: didn't see R's post. iTunes doesn't really need Bonjour unless you are wanting to share music with other PCs on your same subnet. So, it is OK to stop it and change it from Automatic start to Manual)

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Answer 3

Sep 22, 2005 2:01 PM in response to Rachyl

Do I have to download it separately, or is it bundled with 5.0.

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Answer 4

Tim Evans

Level 1

140 points

Sep 22, 2005 2:03 PM in response to Nosila

Bonjour is to windows what rendevous is to Macs.
It scans the network for other iTunes shares.
Here is how to get to disable Bonjour.
Click the start button -->Settings-->Control Panel-->Administrative Tools -->Services
Right click Bonjour - click properties - click on
stop service, then set the startup type to disabled.

The key to fixing my Itunes 5 problem was to uninstall Itunes 5, uninstall quicktime - go into the program files and delete the itunes and quicktime folders (yep despite being uninstalled they were still in the folders) Then I rebooted, got the standalone Quicktime 7 - installed it. Then installed Itunes. Works fine now.

The Quicktime 7 standalone can be downloaded from here:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/standalone.html

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Answer 5

Sep 22, 2005 2:57 PM in response to Tim Evans

Tim and the others have posted good info in trying to help you out. As far as what Bonjour is...

Bonjour is what Apple calls it's implication of universal network auto configuration, that allows computers, printers, and other devices make auto connections and share data. In Mac OS 10.3 it was called Rendezvous. More info here.

In the case of Windows computers it is the channel that allows Windows iTunes users to share with other iTunes users (Mac and Windoze).

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