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How to downgrade from iTunes 11 to 10.7 (Until the next iTunes 11.xxx release)

SO... This is a Repost of a Different thread that I started at 12:39pm Seattle, Wa time... (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4558052?answerId=20450510022#20450510022) Below is My straight to the point responce to the new iTunes 11 Release, It seemed to unstable to me. (Before downgrading please check out this users posts: (https://discussions.apple.com/profile/mjcm_nl?view=overview) Just to make sure that downgrading is the correct choice. Alot of the information there was not available when I started having problems...


=======================================================

ANYWAYS,

=======================================================

How I successfully ended up going back to 10.7 (following is the process I used to do it, as well as the references I used)


WARNING: By attempting to follow the procedures that I used... you acknowledge that if there are any purchases lost during the downgrade you take sole responsibility... I took the risk because I have my music on CD's, I regularly backup my apps to CD... and if I lose anything I will replace it myself (even if I have to repurchase it)


-It took a while, but it worked out...


1. I downloaded the iTunes 10.7 installer (iTunes 64bit: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1577).

[ iTunes 10.7 32bit: (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1576) ]


2. I uninstalled iTunes 11 and restarted my computer.


3. I installed iTunes 10.7 (when installed I was unable to run because the "iTunes Library.itl" file in my computer was from the iTunes 11 program) I did a file search for "iTunes Library.itl" and opened the file location (my file was located in: C:/Users/Spencer/Music/iTunes)

-[Note: Community thread that gave me the info I needed to resolve the "iTunes Library.itl" error: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4557592?answerId=20447382022#20447382022]


4. I "right clicked" on the folder Named "Previous iTunes Libraries" and opened in new window.


5. I located the most current file (prior to the 11 upgrade) and drag and dropped it into the location of the "current" .itl file renamed it to "iTunes Library.itl" and replaced the one that iTunes 11 created. (if you DO NOT delete/replace the .itl file that 11 created with a 10.7 version, iTunes will not open. IF done RIGHT your iTunes should open and you'll immediately see your playlists where they belong)


-If done right, it should be sucessfully rolled back to before the upgrade.



Resources:




iTunes 10.7 64bit: (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1577)

iTunes 10.7 32bit: (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1576)



and a thread on this community about the "iTunes Library.itl" error (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4557592?answerId=20447382022#20447382022)

iTunes-OTHER, Other OS, Windows 8

Posted on Dec 1, 2012 1:16 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 1, 2012 1:26 AM

In step (5) where I said "IF done RIGHT your iTunes should open" I meant, "If done RIGHT,you can now open iTunes"... and see your playlists where they belong. 🙂 (iTunes will not open on its own 😁 )

97 replies

Dec 16, 2012 10:59 PM in response to scaredcrow

Sorry it took so long to respond... I only uninstalled the Itunes program (since that was the only one I was trying to change) If I had come across any other errors or problems I would have mentioned it in my original post.


I am surprised at how many views this post has gotten ("5282 Views") WOW... I appreciate all the Thanks, but if apple didn't release their "upgrade" without testing it thoroughly then there wouldn't need to be a post like this.


---->I made a comment to: "Am I the only one to HATE the new iTunes?!", and My inbox has now been flooded with emails with people respondint to that thread, so I had to send ALL those to a different folder... and for some reason, the replies for this thread ends up there as well... 🙂 so Now that I know, Ill try to keep a closer eye on that.<----

Dec 16, 2012 11:19 PM in response to nmradiance

Sorry, I hope that you got it resolved. 😟I'm not sure why it wont download it as an .exe file 😕. I have Win8 as well, and I didn't have that issue. If you still have troubles I could probably email my copy of the exe to you.


Just make sure you don't post your "Primary email" so that you don't get any unwanted spam. I have a couple secondary emails that I use for that purpose. (avoiding spammers)



been a while since I checked this thread, I accidentally posted to a thread about people dislikes on the iTunes 11 and had to differ all emails from Apple communities to a folder other. (I didn't know that this thread's email would go there as well since I tried blocking only the subject of the other threads, and not the apple community itself.)

Dec 22, 2012 12:08 PM in response to spencer1181

Well I bought a new I pad and when I opened Itunes it asked me if I wanted to download the latest version (11) so I thought what the heck new Ipad may as well have the latest version of Itunes. Bad Bad Bad decission. Version 11 would not work so how to get back to where I was with Itunes V 10.7.

I followed all instructions in your post and was able to open Itunes in V10 but None of my music or playslits were there.

I then Added music using the feature when I first started Itunes 10. I then went to the previously created librairy folder and selected the .itl file which was before I installed v11. It tells me "itunes Library 2012-10-18.itl cannot be imported because it does not appear to be a valid exported file" I am at a delima. I have >132,000 songs in my library because it imported every mp3 file in my system. It got them from my music folder plus an itunes folder and lots of different places. No Playlists though. Can you or anyone help because I do not want to spend hours recreating all my playlists.

One thing I do have is an Ipod Classic with 160GB of songs and most of the playlists that matter to me on it. Thanks and I'll be much more careful before I download the latest version of any program before I research it in advance. Bob

Dec 23, 2012 11:04 AM in response to rab23465

@ rab23465


First I want to reiterate my WARNING:


By attempting to follow the procedures that I used... you acknowledge that if there are any purchases lost during the downgrade you take sole responsibility... I took the risk because I have my music on CD's, I regularly backup my apps to CD... and if I lose anything I will replace it myself (even if I have to repurchase it)


===============================================================================

When your trying to restore your previous Library w/Playlists, You will Need to:


1."Delete" the "iTunes Library.itl" In your Library Folder.
--->(Located: C:/Users/**user name**/My Music/iTunes)

2. Go to the "Previous iTunes Libraries" folder
--->(Located: in the iTunes folder mentioned above)


3. In your instance you will "Right-click" the File named "itunes Library 2012-10-18.itl" and Select "COPY"


***Leaving everything else alone...***



4. Go back to the iTunes Folder

--->(where you deleted the "iTunes Library.itl" file)


5. In the iTunes folder, "Right -Click" in on an empty spot and select "Paste"


6. Now there should now be a new file in the iTunes folder named "itunes Library 2012-10-18.itl"


7. All you need to do now is to rename that file (That you just "Pasted")
------>From: "iTunes Library 2012-10-18.itl"


------>To: "iTunes Library.itl"


(Basically just deleting the Date)

==============================================================================

Sorry, I'm editing to say that you cannot "import" or "Add" your "previous iTune Library" because it is a type of database file that iTunes uses. (It is not a playlist or a file format supported for the "add" feature [Audio: .m4a, m4b, m4p, mp3 ect... Video: .mov, mpeg, avi, mp4 ect...])


Hope this helps 🙂


Message was edited by: spencer1181

Dec 24, 2012 7:47 AM in response to spencer1181

Spencer, you may just have saved my sanity. I too downloaded and installed ITunes 11 and immediately regretted it. I was prepared to give it a go to see if it grew on me but, sadly, it didn't. I liked "Display Duplicates" and the album art view in the bottom left-hand corner in previous versions and missed them in iTumes 11. I was all set to uninstall it and reinstall all of my music (35000 tracks stored on an external hard drive), when I read your solution. It took about 10 minutes, was completely stress-free and all I "lost" was last week's podcasts (which I had already saved to my hard drive, just in case). Please may I take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah or any other seasonal greeting of your choice!

Dec 24, 2012 3:24 PM in response to Itunes7

@Itunes7


...IF, you only have a few hundred songs, and no playlists, or don't care if your iTunes looses your play counts, or if you loose your playlists then yes. That would be easier. In fact if someone does not care about the just mentioned content, then they only need to delete the "iTunes Library.itl" and then when they open 10.7 it will creat a new one. (Then you can add all your music back)


...But some like me have thousands of songs and hundreds of albums, and dozens of playlists. So to keep all the playlists, and save hours of adding tracks, downloading album art, updating genius, recreating playlists, Then the directions I posted will work best.


I do appreciate that you pointed out that if you don't need that stuff, then it IS quicker and easier just to uninstall, delete the .itl file, and reinstall iTunes 10.7 :) Thank you

Dec 27, 2012 5:38 PM in response to spencer1181

Spenser Thankyou very much. I was away for the past few days but when I go t home a few minutes ago I followed your instructions more closely and I have all my music and playlists as before. I failed to delete the date of the previous library file and also delete the .itl file created byt my re-install of Version 10.7. You are a saviour and have saved countless hours of creating playlists. Thanks again. Bob

Dec 28, 2012 3:30 AM in response to spencer1181

I don't like itunes 11 and a couple of days ago downgraded to 10.7 based on the suggestions here. iTunes 10.7 works, playlists and all, but now my iphone is not recognised by itunes! I cannot put any songs on it, all my apps disappeared and I cannot download any further apps. I get error 42408. After trying all sorts of things over the past few days, I have given up and gone back to version 11 just so that my iphone can work properly. Very frustrating. Just wanted to add this nugget here as nobody has mentioned problems with recognising iphones after the downgrade.

Dec 28, 2012 6:31 AM in response to spencer1181

I found an alternative solution to downgrading to 10.7. It works for me. iTunes can access to the store correctly now and my iphone is synchronizing again.


I found it here (throug the reference given in the first post) : https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4555900?start=30&tstart=0


Copy of the solution given by user gn_id :

"ok, I finally stopped being lazy and fixed this (in my case at least). First, I ran a watch tool (Microsoft sysinternals - procmon - amazing tool) and saw that the crash happened just after iTunes tried to access this file: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\t2embed.dll.


Now, the issue is that this file is involved in the famous Duqu flaw in Windows (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duqu) and MS issued a temporary fix to lock access to this file to prevent the exploit back in 2011. An update has since been released through Windows Update and once it is applied, this fix is safe to undo according to the Microsoft info at these links:


http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms11-087


Enable/disable here (linked from the above page):


http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2639417


Scroll down and use the FixIt links to enable/disable.


I always run Windows update and keep my system current, so I ran disable and iTunes now works fine.


Hope this helps someone. WARNING WARNING WARNING: If you do not keep your system up to date by running Windows update for all patches, do that FIRST before applying this fix or your system WILL BE VULNERABLE TO EXPLOIT.


Good luck and please update this thread if it works!"

Dec 28, 2012 9:30 AM in response to pm22

@pm22:

"iTunes 10.7 works, playlists and all, but now my iphone is not recognised by itunes! I cannot put any songs on it, all my apps disappeared and I cannot download any further apps. I get error 42408." "I have given up and gone back to version 11 just so that my iphone can work"


Sorry, but I did not have an issue with my phone not being recognized... when I look up Error: 42408 I get refered to: iTunes:


Advanced iTunes Store troubleshooting (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3297)


On that referenced Page I selected: "Specific Conditions and Alert Messages: (Mac OS X / Windows)" Then on the bottom it has a references for: "Error 42023" through "Error 42408".


It appeares that that error "42408" is dicribed as: "These alerts might occur when trying to authorize iTunes or during launch when iTunes checks for authorization information"


Sorry to hear that you had Problems, and had to go back to iTunes 11 just to get it to recognize your phone. I initially posted the directions for the downgrade because on Day 1 It took me several hours to try to resolve my issues on iTunes 11, and a couple more trying to go back to 10.7 when I found that (at that time) iTunes 11 would not work on my PC (Win-8)... That is why I decided to post the directions that worked for me (so that if anyone else had the same issue, they wouldn't waste as much time as I did to get the program to work again).


===============================================================================

In the aforementioned link to:


Advanced iTunes Store troubleshooting (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3297)


It says:


"Error 42023" through "Error 42408"

These alerts might occur when trying to authorize iTunes or during launch when iTunes checks for authorization information.

  1. Install the latest iTunes from apple.com/itunes/download/
  2. Remove the SC Info folder.
  3. If that does not resolve the issue, see iTunes: "Error 42408" or "Error 42404" after upgrading to iTunes 9.0.3.

================================================================================
WARNING: By attempting to follow the above procedures... you acknowledge that you take sole responsibility... I take the risk because I feel conforable enough with my ability to navigate my PC, and I regularly run backups and save to disc and or my External drive... If I lose anything I will replace it myself (even if I have to repurchase it)


...and of course that link does reference to iTunes 9.0.3. so this has been an issue before... Hope this helps.


.

Dec 28, 2012 9:55 AM in response to xelag

xelag wrote:


I found an alternative solution to downgrading to 10.7. It works for me. iTunes can access to the store correctly now and my iphone is synchronizing again.


I found it here (throug the reference given in the first post) : https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4555900?start=30&tstart=0

Here is the Direct link to that Solution: Re: iTunes 11 crashes when opening the store - no error message by gn_id




I Posted the Direct link so people can it in its full context.


I hope that when you say that you found it in the reference in the first post, that you meant my Reference to user: mjcm_nl😉 that user was in a lot of troubleshooting conversations at the beginning (Day 1 of the iTunes 11 release). It is just good to know that some people are at least checking that reference to see if a downgrade is needed.

Dec 28, 2012 5:48 PM in response to spencer1181

Spencer, thank you for your reply. I had already searched the apple forums and read those articles. All they point to is a problem with authentication. I filed a support request with Apple and got pointed to the same KB articles. I also discussed this with a specialist at the Apple Store - he had never come across this error and any case of somebody downgrading from itunes 11 to 10 - obviously, as Apple does not support that step and folks who do it are stepping outside the apple support environment.

The one point which none of the commentors here have mentioned is connecting the iphone back to itunes 10.7. When I first did it, I got the message that the phone needs to be 'restored'. I assumed that would be safe and went ahead and restored the phone. After that the music and apps disappeared but the contacts, notes, calendars were okay. I could not transfer any new music or apps onto the phone and I started getting the 42408 error from itunes store. I haven't found anything on the web so far that fixes this error, so I went back to itunes ii :-( .

I am now thinking that I should not have restored my phone. Just ignore that message. I am tempted to re-try the downgrade to 10.7 again ;-)

How to downgrade from iTunes 11 to 10.7 (Until the next iTunes 11.xxx release)

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