Cannot connect to iTunes music store

There were other posts, some people got that in their hosts file from downloading a program named BAD APPLE.

I have been reading this thread, and many others trying to figure out why the iTMS is unavailable on the computer my kids use. It is a Compaq tower and it turns out they have not been able to access the store since the upgrade to v.6 of iTunes.

This is not a Rogers problem, neat coincidence, but no. I don't believe this is an Apple Problem. This is a problem with the Windows sytem and all of the stuff that goes on in XP and how that talks to the outside world.

I have 5 computers in my home, all on a wireless network. 4 of them work perfectly with the store and can access and buy music at normal speed. Those 4 are all Macs. 1 computer cannot even access the store, let alone download, it can't access. That computer is a Compaq with XP and SP2 installed.

I am ready to pull my hair out as there are two Nanos under the tree and two kids who will be wanting to use them.

I didn't have the "127. XXXX phobos " line in the Hosts file, so that's out.

I did have LAN settings right.

I have allowed exceptions in the firewall for iTunes, etc.

Just can't connect to the store.

Frustrated.

It seems since I downloaded the new iTunes I cannot access the music store either. And I, like Jim, have children with Nano's for Christmas...this is a BUMMER. I even took Macafee off my computer...and still I can't connect.

I am in same situation as most of you trying to connect to itunes music store for music download. I get same "network connection reset" error with no numerical code associated with it. I am running 2 Windows XP SP2 machines through a Linksys router. The desktop pc for the kids will not connect to itms but will connect to itunes. My laptop will connect and download perfectly. I have disabled Zone Alarm(firewall) and Norton AV, checked network settings in LAN and tried most of suggestions in the thread and still cannot access itms. I haven't had to do anything to the laptop. I have called Apple tech support and they also could not resolve the problem. I am on Verizon DSL and since I can connect on Laptop, I don't think my problem is associated with ISP. Was wondering if anyone has found the specific problem?

Thanks & desperately looking for a fix,
D-Biker

Windows XP

As there was a tonn and a half of discussion on this thread about a particualr isp, and that does not seem to be the problem in your case, I'd suggest posting to a new thread, with the details you've described above, and checking to see if perhaps a firewall on the kids' computer is preventing that computer from reaching the iTunes music store.

This worked for me, Thank you to the person that solved the problem.

I finally found a fix for my problem. I was getting the network connection reset error. I tried all suggestions here and nothing worked. I decided to check what was different between my laptop that would connect, and my desktop PC that wouldn't.

Open IE and click on "tools" in the toolbar, click on "internet options", next click the "advanced" tab. scroll all the way down and see if "Use SSL 3.0" is checked. If not, check this and click OK. Close the internet options window and try itms again. This worked for me.

Good Luck & Happy New Year!

Windows XP

I had this same problem and what I noticed all my files were under the winnt directory and not the windows directory. This is normal for windows2000 not XP. Not sure why this is... But if you change the properties of Itunes to use windows2000(right click on icon and choose properities,then click comapatibility. Choose windows2000 and hit apply.), I was able to acces the music store and buy tunes. You will also have to open up SSL 2.0 and 3.0 and ITS from internet options and the advanced tab. Just click on each one and hit apply. So basically the music store was looking for the files for 2000 instead of XP. You can easily check where your files are. They are either under windows or winnt when looking for the host file.

I just typed in cmd and viewed the phobos.apple.com and next to it, it says time wait in the state column. And I was unable to find the phobos.apple.com listing in the hosts file when viewed with wordpad. Any help with this dilemma would greatly be appreciated. My ip address begins with a 69.

by windows explorer you mean the internet, right? if so, how can I move to the file you specified? it seems you're solution works for lots of ppl, so please tell me.
Thanks!

I have followed the various instructions and still cannot get Itunes or Quicktime to remain open beyond a flash. The "host" solution did not work. Although the 127.0.0.1 appeared but it was not related to any Apple file. I deleted it anyway but the problem remains. I have disabled Norton but hat was no help either. I was able to get in on my laptop that has an XP operating system and Norton as well. I have been on the phone with tech support but they clearly are as lost as me. Any new ideas for the new year?

Thanks

try the above or what I have also done is to change a
Windows operating system file. This could cause you
problems if not done correctly.

Using Windows Explorer move to the following folder
'C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc'. In this folder is
file called 'hosts'. Open it using Wordpad.

In this file on my pc there was one long line. At the
end of this line was '127.0.0.1 phobos.apple.com'.
phobos.apple.com is I believe the web address for the
music store. What '127.0.0.1 phobos.apple.com' is
doing is telling the pc to look for the web address
only on the computer rather than the internet. By
remove this section of the line and saving the
changes I can now access the music store without any
problems.
good luck
b

My computer doesn't have that "long line with 127.0.0.1 phobos.apple.com

I have had the same problem since I bought my ipod last week. I came to this forum & groaned-all the "help" I read was so PC LOL. Mac's OS is elegantly simple, while PC...isn't. I tried everything, which included calling my Mac people-you know, the ones who don't know how to turn on a PC? So, I reinstalled even though I thought the program was fine. Then I remembered that I have 2 firewalls-Mr. Gate's & ZoneAlarm. I shut down the Zone(already stopped Windows) & the connection is fine. Since I am more of a PC person & intend to import my own things to the Pod, I don't believe a short time period without a firewall will create much havoc. But I think, in the future I will look for Windows glitches first. Re:you're dealing with Mac after Windows. Hope this helps.

I downloaded some songs last night and turned off my computer and went to bed. Today I can't access the music store. I was going to try shutting down the norton firewall. I noticed that you said to open norton internet security. Where would I find this? I have opened norton, but can't find that. Could you please help me. I don't know why this happened since it worked last night. I'm just getting so frustrated. Please help

D-Biker,

Well played my friend. The "Use" SSL 3.0 worked for me too. Shame that your post wasn't near the top of this list 😀

It does seem odd that Apple wouldn't put this into some FAQ or something.... but hey.