I reread all the articles, and finally got the process to work.
I disconnected the iPhone from the computer, verified I had the most updated version of iTunes, then also checked to make sure I had the most updated versions of all other apps by following these steps since I got my iTunes from Microsoft Store:
(I just recently upgraded from Windows 10 to 11)
- Select Start > Microsoft Store.
- After you've opened the Microsoft Store app, select Library > Get updates.
- If there are updates, select Update all or choose which apps you want to update.
After I selected Update all, and updates completed, I rebooted the pc.
After the reboot, I opened iTunes again, quickly pressed the up volume button on my iPhone XR, then the down volume button then held in the power on button as i reconnected the iPhone to the cord connected to the PC.
Once that happened, I started seeing messages in the top message bar of iTunes that it was gathering information, verifying and downloading and restoring my iPhone.
I also started seeing a progress bar on the phone - which had not appeared in my previous attempt.
I think the whole process took maybe 30 minutes after the reboot of my pc.
I was pleasantly surprised that I did not lose any apps or information - my biggest fear was that it was going to reset my phone to factory settings and I'd have to reload everything. (Well, actually, my biggest fear was that the phone wasn't going to turn on at all and I'd have to go to an Apple store for their genius help.)
Fortunately, all turned out well, and I was even able to load songs I had transfered from CD to iTunes onto my phone with no problem.
Thanks to everyone in the community who contributed, I was able to get some direction and things worked out.
