HT201541: Update the software on your Mac

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FabioRosa
Level 1 (14 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Installed El Capitan and iTunes stopped working

I was reluctant to install El Capitan on my Macbook 2009 white. But it has been a while now, and I hoped that eventual fixes would already be placed. So I upgraded, but iTunes stopped working completely, even the icon on Dock appears wrong. App Store says that there is an update to iTunes 12.3.3; I ran the update but at no avail. Any ideas, guys? I already downloaded the same version from Apple's website, with the same results. The thing is that I use iTunes daily...

OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Mar 31, 2016 3:42 PM

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FabioRosa

Q: Installed El Capitan and iTunes stopped working

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 31, 2016 4:07 PM in response to FabioRosa
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Mar 31, 2016 4:07 PM in response to FabioRosa

    Please quit iTunes if it's running, then drag the icon up and out of the Dock. Open the Applications folder and drag iTunes back into the Dock. Any change?

  • by FabioRosa,

    FabioRosa FabioRosa Mar 31, 2016 4:22 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 31, 2016 4:22 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks for helping, but it did not change at all. iTunes.app from Applications folder has the same behavior. There is a dialog box saying "You can’t open the application “iTunes.app” because it may be damaged or incomplete." when I try to run it. Forgot to say this before, but the iTunes.app has a size of zero KB...

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 31, 2016 4:58 PM in response to FabioRosa
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Mar 31, 2016 4:58 PM in response to FabioRosa

    This procedure will delete certain temporary and cache files. The files are automatically generated and don't contain any of your data. Occasionally they can become corrupt and cause problems such as yours.

    Please back up all data.

    Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

    /var/folders

    Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

              Services ▹ Open

    from the contextual menu.* A folder with the odd name "folders" should open.

    Inside "folders" are several subfolders, each with a two-character name. Drag all the subfolders except the one named "zz" to the Trash. Don't delete the subfolder named "zz". You'll be prompted for your administrator login credentials.

    Restart the computer and empty the Trash.

    *If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination  command-C. In the Finder, select

              Go ▹ Go to Folder...

    from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

  • by FabioRosa,

    FabioRosa FabioRosa Mar 31, 2016 6:15 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 31, 2016 6:15 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks for replying. When I moved the folder (there was only one other than the zz) to Trash, and before restarting the Mac, the folder was recreated almost immediately. Restarted, but the app still doesn't work.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 31, 2016 6:20 PM in response to FabioRosa
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Mar 31, 2016 6:20 PM in response to FabioRosa

    If you don't already have a current backup, please back up all data, then reinstall the OS.* You don't need to erase the startup volume, and you won't need the backup unless something goes wrong. If the system was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you may need the Apple ID and password you used.

    There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.

    If you installed the Java runtime distributed by Apple and still need it, you'll have to reinstall it. The same goes for Xcode. All other data will be preserved.

    *The linked support article refers to OS X 10.11 ("El Capitan"), but the procedure is the same for OS X 10.7 ("Lion") and later.

  • by FabioRosa,

    FabioRosa FabioRosa Apr 1, 2016 2:26 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 1, 2016 2:26 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks again. I was really afraid I would have to reinstall the OS, but I have everything backed up with a Time Machine... Appreciate your help very much. Cheers!