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iTunes will not update!

I haven't updated my iTunes in some time but went to download and install the 10.6.3 update a few days ago and am unable to do so. I receive no error message; when opening iTunes, the usual dialog box appears saying that there is a new version of iTunes available. I click "Download iTunes", the box disappears, but nothing happens. Sometimes, I can see a progress bar that reads "Accessing iTunes Store" very briefly but it disappears as well and does not appear every time I try to download the update.


I have seen many others with the same problem but no solutions and I am hesitant to uninstall and reinstall iTunes as I have seen many others with the same problem completely unable to use iTunes after doing so.


Please help!

Windows Vista

Posted on Jun 18, 2012 9:49 AM

Reply
140 replies

Jun 18, 2012 8:23 PM in response to RDF1173

I too am experiencing the verbatim EXACT same issue on both my Windows 7 64bit and Windows Vista 32bit systems. The odd thing is ,TODAY , my work computer(a Dell Optiplex running Windows 7 32bit) just did it's monthly Apple Software Update Utility check and, indeed, found that I needed an iTunes update - However, it did not find/select/update to version 10.6.3, rather to version 10.6.1.7. My theories at this point are that #1. iTunes version 10.6.3 has not fully matriculated out to the Apple Software Update servers OR #2. Apple has recalled the iTunes version 10.6.3 and is no longer allowing the software update utility nor the iTunes "check for update" utility to successfully find/download/install the 10.6.3 version - the reason I say this is that I've seen multiple posts in which people are complaining about a myriad of problems/issues that have occurred with the 10.6.3 version.

Jun 19, 2012 3:42 AM in response to Hadley16

Same issue over here. I'm located in Switzerland, running Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 2. iTunes (version 10.6.1.7) says that version 10.6.3 is available but cannot/does not download it.

Apple Software Update says there's an update but remains completely blank. I tried again, and it suddenly listed the updates/software. It downloaded 10.6.3, but when it wanted to install, an error box popped up saying that the signature was invalid. This happened twice more, then it returned to saying that there was an update and displaying a blank list.

Running the repair function of Apple Software Update, rebooting the computer and running DiskCleanup to clear temp files didn't help.

Maybe it's a server problem at Apple's end?

Jun 19, 2012 12:33 PM in response to RDF1173

At this point, I think it MUST be a problem from Apple's end. If it is, Apple is being annoyingly tight lipped about this issue. I've seen , literally, hundreds of people complaining about the exact same issue and not one peep from an actual Apple rep about a solution. I was considering just going to Apple's website and downloading the 10.6.3 itunes package and updating manually, but #1. I shouldn't have to do this - the software, if working, should do this automatically. #2. There's no guarantee that the manual install will work as I've seen many other people claim the install itself fails or the resulting itunes 10.6.3 program is faulty in one way or another and #3. There is no guarantee that the Apple Software Updater will be fixed by this manual install. If this is the case, we will have to manually install every new update in the future until Apple fixes the root problem.


I've seen a few suggestions from people like repairing the Apple Software Update program through windows control panel>programs & features - and I've tried this with no effect. There simply appears to be some inherent issue with this 10.6.3 update/install that is affecting a large number of people in one way or another(while some seem completely unaffected). Until I hear a definitive answer from Apple, I am just going to leave all as it is - my itunes 10.6.1 is working fine & doing everything I need for the moment.

Jun 19, 2012 1:07 PM in response to Imaginationist

This was my thought EXACTY Imaginationist. Most likely the update came out on June 11th, 2012. The early updaters started to report a massive number of problems to Apple so Apple disabled the ability for further auto-updates to be downloaded through the Apple Software Update tool. I can see why they would do this and it's probably a good idea. But I wish that, instead of hiding the fact that their 10.6.3 version is flawed, they would just openly make an announcement with a timeframe on a fix. If they would be up front about it, they wouldn't have all of us sitting here wondering what is going on, thinking that we possibly have a faulty Apple Software Updater, Windows Installer, Administrative privilege issue etc... and wondering what to do about it. Some people may end up taking drastic measures and really screwing up their OS for no good reason.


And this issue is not just limited to Windows users. Many, many Mac OS X users are complaining about similar issues with this update.

Jun 19, 2012 5:31 PM in response to RDF1173

Let me join the list of "can't update" !! I agree - there is definitely something wrong with it and the best suggestion - is don't try anything - leave it alone. If your current ITunes is working then you don't need to rush to update it ! I defintely wouldn't try to download ITunes again --- people are having even MORE problems doing that! I DID update my Quick Time Player, because I checked that and it was an old version, so thinking that might have something to do with it, I updated it. ...Now my ITunes 10.6.1 is working strangely... it's working but I've found a few things that changed the way it does things! So I guess the old phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" has some merit to it!

Jun 19, 2012 8:05 PM in response to RDF1173

Ok, just as a controlled experiment, I decided to attempt to actually download and install the iTunes 10.6.3.25 manual installer from the apple website. I chose to do this on my Toshiba laptop running Windows Vista 32 bit Home Premium because I barely, if ever, utilize this laptop to run iTunes - and I figured if something did go drastically wrong, I could simply use the system restore feature to return the OS to the time previous to the attempt. Just as a reminder, the laptop was exhibiting the exact same behavior as my windows 7 64 bit Desktop(I.e. iTunes version 10.6.1.7 installed with Apple Software Date Tool not working as weak as the iTunes help>check for download finding the new version but being unable to proceed any farther - basically the same boat everyone seems to be in). I had seem a fair amount of people for which the manual download/install process worked sufficiently.

Anyway, I downloaded the 32 bit Windows iTunes 10.6.3.25 installer(the only one offered since Apple sensed I was downloading to a 32 bit windows OS). I made sure to right click on the installer file once downloaded and run the file as an Administrator. The process took much longer than I expected and I got quite worried during it as the installer seemed to be performing the same processes (i.e. validation, copying, removing, updating registration, etc...) over and over again. I was , at a time, worried that the installer was stuck in some type of vicious loop that it would be endlessly trapped inside. Finally, success! A screen appeared stating iTunes had been successfully installed and I had to do a restart. I was afraid that my songs/apps/movies/playlists/etc... would be lost or need to be reimported, but this was not the case. When I opened iTunes everything was exactly as I had left it with all my data exactly in the same place. My apple ID was running upon opening and the iTunes store was easily reachable. All iTunes functionality I have tested(so far) seems AOk. And the iTunes version correctly shows as 10.6.3.25...nice. The major thing I was afraid of, however, did occur - that being the new iTunes version install did NOTHING to change the situation with the clearly broken Apple Software Update tool. This tool is still performing exactly as it did prior to the 10.6.3.25 install. So it looks to me, at this point that Apple may have been tinkering with iTunes over the past 2 to 3 days to get it up to snuff, but the Apple Software Tool needs to be addressed by Apple.

Jun 20, 2012 6:45 AM in response to markarich159

Thanks for performing that controlled update.


This thread is the best info I've seen on the web. I was going to do a manual update to 10.6.3.25 but I'm going to hold off until Apple sorts out EVERYTHING with EVERYTHING iTunes, Software Update Tool, etc.


I'm going add some anecdotal information that "repairing" the software udpate tool in Windows 7 64 does nothing to rectify the situation, and it also screws up the icon lib database entry for Apple Software Update on your start menu. You can tell that it's screwed up in the database entry because the option to modify it is greyed out under properties.


The link works but the icon will be missing after you reboot. You'll literally need to go find the Apple Software Update EXE and make a new shortcut to get it back to nornal.


That's really a small deal, but if you like to run an organized desktop, it'll drive you crazy.


So, DON'T "repair" Apple Software Update to attempt to rectify this issue. It won't do anything but mess with stuff.

Jun 20, 2012 12:22 PM in response to markarich159

Just as an addition to my previous post. I will NOT be manually updating itunes on my main Windows 7 64bit Home Premiun Desktop. As FrankViturello said, I will be waiting until Apple sorts out ALL the issues with the Apple Software Update Tool and the whole auto-updating problem they seem to be currently having. I am certainly happy that the manual itunes 10.6.3.25 update I attempted on my secondary laptop seemed to work, but I cannot afford to have my main computer not function properly because of a failed manual itunes update attempt. As I stated prior, itunes 10.6.1.7 is working fine on my main desktop and I am not willing to risk screwing that up until Apple comes out with a definitive solution for this issue.

iTunes will not update!

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