Why does iTunes delete my itunesprefs.xml?

Ex_Brit,

Thank you for the update, when you know the ETA for the McAfee update can you let us know, and what version we should be looking for to confirm the update was sent out (version of secruty center, av, firewall,or whatever module is being update to address this). This way we can test, and stop having to use the work-a-round?

Finally, can you post the link, or bug number for the bug report you are going to submit on the Apple Dev site, so we can follow along there as well?

Again, thank you for staying on top of this!

racerx

I didn't use bug reports, just the online form to file with Apple so have no idea now what that number was, if any, sorry as I did it right after my previous post.

The McAfee fix will just happen, they never tell us Moderators what's coming down the pipe except when there's a major upgrade on the way.

It was fixed previously until an iTunes update scuttled that. but if I hear anything at all I will post.

Sadly even if you file a bug report with Apple there is often not much in the way of direct feedback from them. A report might be closed as a duplicate, but without any way to follow the progress of the other report. 😟

tt2

Thanks for all your work on this topic everyone! I hope it's fixed soon! Is there anyway that it could be related to this?

EDIT: btw: sorry turingtest2, I forgot you had put your 2 cents in with this in the past.

I have the exact same problem but I've never run McAfee. I use MS Security Essentials instead.

I just found this thread, after doing some searching when I started having to accept "Terms & Conditions" for my iTunes every time I start my computer. I have iTunes 11.1.2.32 and McAfee LiveSafe 12.8.856. The computer in question is a replacement for a defective unit. The previous one had shipped without antivirus and I had an extra download from a previous Norton subscription, so I was using that with no issues. I don't really want to remove McAfee at this time, because I now have a 1-year subscription.

Thanks to Ex_Brit for the updates.

I noticed x_racerx_ mentioned a workaround? There are 11 pages in this thread...can anyone give me a heads up as to said workaround? It would be much appreciated, as I wouldn't have to dig through the entire thread. Thanks!

The easiest method I've found it to temporarily disable the real-time scanning of your A/V, then close iTunes and re-enable afterwards.

I've been told that this appears to be a problem with the way Apple have coded iTunes making one process too slow or wrongly coded for the shutting down process and A/V scanners simply prevent the code from being written.

Apple should really be fixing this instead of every A/V company in the world having to do it for them.

Work around is to turn off real time scan - do the iTunes thing - then turn it back on. Sadly that is terrible. I finally uninstalled McAfee even though i did have a paid sub and installed Norton. I do not have any issues now. It may be worth your lost $$ to McAfee to get rid of the headache. CJ Green

jhlgreen is correct on the work around. I spent two hours on the phone with McAfee support only to have them acknowledge a problem in their software that their developers are working on.

The temporary fix on our end is to turn off real-time scan "only when you are closing iTunes". Once iTunes is closed, you can turn real-time scan on.

jhlgreen wrote:

Work around is to turn off real time scan - do the iTunes thing - then turn it back on. Sadly that is terrible. I finally uninstalled McAfee even though i did have a paid sub and installed Norton. I do not have any issues now. It may be worth your lost $$ to McAfee to get rid of the headache. CJ Green

Well good luck. I believe Symantec was doing the same thing at one stage and there's no guarantee it wont again. AVG, Avast too and even MSE.

It's like removing the head to cure the headache....Apple's to blame for this.

All the affected A/V's are fixing it or working on a fix, but with every update it breaks again. McAfee has now fixed it twice and now it's broken again. Ridiculous and the A/V's are not to blame.

YIKES - I did not know that Norton had the issue at one time!!! Apple will probably never fix their problem! Thanks for the heads up. CJ Green

Thanks, Ex_Brit and others for the super-quick replies and for the information. I just did a trial run of the workaround you all suggested, and iTunes started up normally after the reboot of my computer. This situation is annoying, and I may eventually switch from McAfee (I actually like Norton - my sense is that the newer versions are not nearly as intrusive/resource hogging as it was in the past, and I have an available subscription), but I'll probably wait a bit to see if there is a fix.

jhlgreen, when you uninstalled McAfee, how did you do it? What I mean is, there is the "uninstall program" function, but I feel like I've seen a lot of references to having to run some additional tool to completely remove it.

Thanks again!

Interesting. I have been running Norton on my desktop, my previous laptop, and the new laptop that ultimately had to be exchanged for my current unit, and I don't think I ever had this problem with iTunes.

In any case, if this is a recurring issue with Apple's code, it would be nice if they would fix it.

Thanks again, all, for the info.

You are right. I am not technical enough and got help! You uninstall but then have to run a removal tool. McAfee can give you the link. Good luck! CJ Green

jhlgreen wrote:

YIKES - I did not know that Norton had the issue at one time!!! Apple will probably never fix their problem! Thanks for the heads up. CJ Green

Keep your fingers crossed it'll be OK.