'iTunes Library.itl' cannot be read...

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Level 1

6 points

'iTunes Library.itl' cannot be read...

Hello community,

First, and foremost, I have browsed through other discussions in ths forum, and other forums throughout the internet, and I have not come across a proper explanation for my problem that I have come across.

To begin, here are some specs:

MacBook 13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008

Processor: 2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo

Memory: 2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

OS: 10.9.2

iTunes: 11.1.5 (5) 64-bit

Now the issue:

When I open iTunes, via the icon, I get the message:

'The file "iTunes Library.itl" cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes. Would you like to download iTunes now?'

I have searched through my computer and only found one (1) 'iTunes Library.itl' located in (user)/Music/iTunes. I did not alter this at all, or make any other radical changes. I have, however, followed previous advice to load an older iTunes library file, and that worked for a while. I'm not sure when it stopped working, and can only assume it was after a software update.

The kicker to this issue is that when I locate 'iTunes Library.itl' and open it, iTunes starts up properly, and I can play all my music without issue. So from what I'm seeing here, iTunes cannot open up the library file on its own, but can read it when I open up the library file myself.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what's going on here?

Any suggestions on how to resolve this issue?

N.B. I want uninstalling and reinstalling/reloading all my music to be a LAST resort.

Posted on Mar 12, 2014 8:18 AM

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Answer 1

Limnos

Level 10

428,279 points

Mar 12, 2014 8:33 AM in response to NHanschke

Do a Spotlight search or browse through your computer to see if you have more than one copy of the iTunes application. You may have a copy of older version on there too.

If the "bad" iTunes starts, get info on it and see what version it reports you using.

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Answer 2

NHanschke Author

Level 1

6 points

Mar 12, 2014 8:51 AM in response to Limnos

You, good mac user, have solved my issue!

I have my frequent applications in a seperapte folder, and, usually, make alias' for each application, but did not in the case of iTunes. So a very silly mistake on my part.

Thank you very much for the help!

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Answer 3

Aug 4, 2016 6:03 PM in response to Limnos

iTunes 12.4.3 installed itself. I was unhappy with it, so I searched online, went to the Apple site and downloaded iTunes 11.4 [pls see screenshot and link]. I was able to access it. Now I'm getting the error msg. «The file “iTunes Library.itl” cannot be read...» I 'spotlighted' as per the instructions and rec'd the same error message.

F.Y.I. I deleted vers. 12.4.3 after vers. 11.4 was downloaded. I will attempt to remedy the question here myself, but any suggestion or help would be appreciated.

Thank you!

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