Download older version of itunes

"I believe the ability for iTunes to self identify the system and make recommendations may be broke right now and is causing issues."

It gets worse ... I just ran iTunes on my old XP box and immediately got this:

If any of the dev teams that I work with allowed something to go through QA and UAT and be released to production with a prompt inviting users to download an update that won't work on their system then they - and probably I - would be looking for a new job.

What OS is the old computer running? iTunes will generally not allow you to download a version of iTunes that will not run on your computer. iTunes will also not support 32-bit Windows computing and XP either. Which version did she download and what is happening that makes you believe it is not supported?

See the Further Information area of Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates for download advice and direct links to current or older builds if required. Review the rest of the tip if you have problems with the install.

tt2

"iTunes will also not support 32-bit Windows computing:"

Oh yes it will - I have 12.2 running on Win7/32, Win7/64, Win8.1/32 and Win8.1/64. ! iTunes 12.2 requires Windows 7 or later, 32- or 64-bit (the Apple download pages are still confused/confusing with respect to this).

iTunes 12.1.2 is the last version to work with Windows Vista (and XP) - direct links to the installers as follows:

• iTunes 12.1.2.27 (32-bit) - iTunesSetup.exe
• iTunes 12.1.2.27 (64-bit) - iTunes6464Setup.exe
• iTunes 12.1.2.27 (64-bit "for older video cards") - itunes64setup.exe

The third of these - which is actually the 32-bit application with a 64-bit installer - should be used if you get a warning about video card incompatibility when you install the standard 64-bit version, but also may resolve issues with playback, QuickTime compatibility, and problems with some third-party applications (including Outlook). I haven't tested yet on my one remaining XP box, but I suspect that http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ may redirect to the 12.1.2 page rather than 12.2.

I am aware of the issue with using the older video card version, as the latest iTunes broke my sync with Outlook. I believe you may be correct about the redirect, because after I removed iTunes the first time after the problem with Outlook and downloaded iTunes, even though I'm using Windows 7 on a 64-bit computer, it downloaded and installed an older version. That really messed things up when it would not open my iTunes library, saying it had been created with a newer version of iTunes. My statement had to do with the statement on iTunes regarding 64-bit support only. It was also a guessing game as to what computer the OP was describing. I'll not use the 32-bit statement in the future, but I agree the iTunes download page can be confusing, since I can read it once and see the requirements only list 64.bit.

I wish I had heeded the warning on the screen when starting the new iTunes the first time when it said it would not support video playback. It would have saved me a great deal of time and effort with multiple removals and installations of iTunes, and trying to fix sync issues with Outlook.

Just for fun, the iTunes 12.1.2 for Windows (32 bit) and iTunes 12.1.2 for Windows (64-bit) pages which should self-correct for international users seem to point to the current iTunes/Download page, or in some cases an older build, rather than the most recent compatible build. 😮

I've added this to my earlier report, but it is the weekend, and Independence Day, so I don't expect anything to get fixed quickly.

tt2

Nope, I was wrong ... Apple's download page serves 12.2 even when accessing it from an XP system:

(I note in passing that this page still doesn't have any indication that the installer is for 32-bit systems). If you ignore or don't see the "for Windows 7 or later" message and click on Download you get the 12.2 installer, so it only throws an error after the installer has been downloaded and starts to run:

Maybe Apple don't realize that you can use client-side JavaScript to determine the version of Windows being used 😮

"I'll not use the 32-bit statement in the future, but I agree the iTunes download page can be confusing, since I can read it once and see the requirements only list 64.bit."

I don't think that you or anyone else can be blamed for getting the wrong idea about this, since the d/l page for the 32-bit version of 12.2:

• doesn't say "32-bit" anywhere
• includes the statement "64-bit editions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 require the iTunes 64-bit installer; for more information, visitwww.itunes.com/download" ... which is, of course, the page you're on 😟 and is completely irrelevant if you're on a 32-bit system

Yes, I believe the ability for iTunes to self identify the system and make recommendations may be broke right now and is causing issues. Too much for us to have to deal with here as helpers. Think I need a raise!! 😝

You may be right, but I'd have hoped that a company of Apple's size and reputation for marketing would at least be able to put the right text on the right web pages. It seems to have taken them several days to update some of the country- or region-specific sites such that that they don't assert that 12.2 works with XP and Vista.

I also saw where turingtest2 had reported some of the other translated pages still list Windows XP in other languages. It reminds me of some of the textbook companies I deal with as a college professor. I teach Windows and Office and when some minor changes are made and they have someone work to modify their provided PowerPoint slides, they are very careless about replacing text. I had one example where they made global changes in a PowerPoint that talked about Windows XP, then moved to Vista. Some clerk just went in, clicked on find and replace, selected XP without clarification, selected Replace All, then saved and sent them out. Well, anywhere the text string xp appeared, it was changed, including the word explain......can you imagine my disbelief when my slide came up saying eVistaplain????

hhgttg27 wrote:

Maybe Apple don't realize that you can use client-side JavaScript to determine the version of Windows being used

I suspect they do, but perhaps they haven't covered all of the bases yet. FWIW I found a nifty tool called User-Agent Switcher for Chrome as I had been struggling to locate the direct link for the 32-bit download now that all the machines I have routine access to are 64-bit.

tt2

Thanks - duly noted. Fortunately (?) I still have a 32-bit machine as my primary iTunes box at home.

I followed the above advice but nothing will work. When I download 12.1.2.27, the previous version, it won't open on my computer because I downloaded the latest version 12.2.0.145. I've now reinstalled the latest version 12.2.0.145 in the hope that in the next update it will return my playlists. I think it's a disgrace that Apple introduces features that I don't want and have no interest in only to lose all of the playlists that I've worked so hard to create. It's not acceptable and the support that's offered by Apple isn't good enough. I will NEVER update iTunes again!

Sounds like you have a different issue - the OP was, I think, seeking a resolution to the incompatibility of iTunes 12.2 with Windows XP/Vista. If you've found that your library has gone missing after upgrading to 12.2, see turingtest2's user tip on Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash; you should be able to restore your playlists, etc., using the copy of the library database file that iTunes creates during some upgrade processes. In the rare cases where database corruption does occur, rolling back to an earlier release won't fix this - nor will any future release.

In general, an iTunes library is unaffected by software updates; however (as with any software installation) it is advisable to take a backup if your library before applying the update.