Choppy audio music playback after Itunes 12.1 update on Windows 8.1

Solved my problem too... brand new laptop. Thanks.

I tried this too & it worked for me also 🙂🙂

HUGE THANKS!!!!

When I tried to run the alternate installer recommended by hhgttg27I get the windows error message "itunes64setup.exe is not a valid Win32 application". Any suggestions?

The alternate version is only relevant for 64-bit editions of Windows. If you are running 32-bit Windows, as the error message reported suggests, you should be fine with the standard installer you get by accessing http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/. If you have any problems with downloading via that page (which does occasionally seem to happen - you go straight to the "Thanks for downloading ..." page but don't get the installer) you can get it directly here:

iTunes 12.1.0.71 for Windows (32-bit) - itunessetup.exe

yes it works !!!!!!!🙂

Thanks for your response. Yes, I'm running 32-bit Windows, so thanks for pointing out that the alternate installer won't work for me. So does anyone have any other suggestions to fix my choppy audio problem? It's only choppy when I'm simultaneously running other programs like Google Chrome If itunes is the only thing happening it plays ok. Also, I don't have this problem when listening to music in other apps like Spotify, or Windows Media Player, or winamp. Just itunes. It's aggravating that I can't listen to music and surf the net at the same time.

That's definitely strange, as all the reports I've seen or people I've spoken with since 12.1 was released associated playback issues with the "full" 64-bit version. My primary iTunes setup runs on 32-bit Windows 7, typically with multiple Chrome windows (sometimes IE as well), Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, etc. open and active at the same time and I've yet to hear any playback issues. In your case I'd suggest rolling back to 12.0 - turingtest2's notes on Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates describe you to uninstall all of iTunes' components as well as direct links to the 12.0 installers.

I have this same issue with windows 8.1 Enterprise since I upgraded to iTunes 12.1. It's choppy at times and plays about a second of three or four songs until finally settles into one. Then, it freezes. Sometimes the popup add comes up but their is only a black screen which causes me to have to close out of iGoonz and reopen. No problems prior to the update.

I have this issue too on my 64bit Windows 8.1 Pro. I see people have been installing the "for older video cards" installer, but I have an EVGA GTX 970, which doesn't exactly apply as an older video card. Should I still be using this alternative installer or is there another solution?

Thanks for any help.

From evidence here and elsewhere the age of your video card is not relevant. Most people encountering the playback issues with the "full" 64-bit version of iTunes 12.1 have found that the "for older video cards" version (which is actually the 32-bit application with a 64-bit installer, same as most previous "64 bit" versions) addresses these problems, even on systems with recent video cards / up to date drivers. Installing the "for older video cards" version is probably the right option, though you could also try rolling back to 12.0 and wait until a future 64-bit release is reported to have resolved playback issues.

Turingtest2's notes on Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates includes steps needed to remove all the components of previous iTunes installations as well as links to the installers for version 12.0.

I agree. It has nothing to do with the graphics card really.

The true 64-bit version has a playback problem and it does not offer the DirectX option either.

Apple please fix!

I also had the issue with 12.1. I installed the "older video card" version. It did not work until I also changed the Play Audio Using: setting from Windows Audio Session to Direct Sound. Now everything is playing fine but definitely a frustrating experience that needs to be resolved.

hhgttg27

FIX WORKED -

DL'd (iTunes version for older video cards) and switched playback to direct audio.

- For others interested it wasn't necessary to uninstall. I just installed over top and I didn't have to redo my entire iTunes library that I was worried about.

INFO:

Had same issue Windows 8.1, 64 bit system with high end specs. Skipping Audio during playback of all tracks regardless of Hard Drive or mp3 quality. The symptoms were also made worse by having Chrome open as stated by others

Thanks - that confirms what others have found. In many cases it should not be necessary to uninstall a prior version, but given the seemingly large number of users who encounter installation issues it may be advisable to do so. I'll admit, though, that I've never found it necessary to do so - I'm not sure whether its specific to the configuration of the systems I use or just plain good luck, but in 10+ years of using iTunes I've not once had an issue with installation or updates 😉.

Likewise, though installation or update shouldn't affect your library it is always a good idea to make sure you have an up to date backup of your library before you start the installation process.

A big thank you to hhgttg27 -- that solution worked for me as well. That was truly helpful and ended a big annoyance.

Wonder how long it will take Apple to rectify this? I'm surprised they'd put out an update with so widespread a flaw (maybe I shouldn't be), and that this much time has elapsed without their fixing it.