10 Top iTunes Troubleshooting Tips & Tricks

itunes troubleshootingiTunes is one of those programs many of us love to hate. When it’s working well it’s okay, but when things go wrong it can get spectacularly bad. And quickly. Ever run into an iTunes issue that left you hunting all over the internet and Apple forums for a fix? I doubt there’s any iTunes users who haven’t spent time doing exactly this.

So, today we’re going to look at some of the best iTunes troubleshooting tips and tricks to fix the most amount of problems quickly. Let’s go through the quickest ways to get your iTunes setup behaving normally again.


Whether you’re using XP, Vista, Windows 7 or a Mac, these same tips will help you to troubleshoot iTunes (OK, Mac users do get let off a little sooner than PC users). Items might be in slightly different places, or be called slightly different things, but the gist is essentially the same.

Here’s the best iTunes troubleshooting ideas in the most effective, least painful order. See the Apple iTunes support pages for more specific instructions for your particular device.

Back Up First!

Before you start messing around with iTunes, do a quick backup of your entire library folder (especially the .xml and .itl files). In newer versions of iTunes (9.2), there’s a backup option you can use by going to File > Library > “Back up to Disc”. That will also backup any music you’ve downloaded from the iTunes store.

1. Is It Your iPod Or iPhone?

Sadly, a lot of iTunes problems occur when you’re trying to use iTunes with an iPod or iPhone. Some of the best troubleshooting methods for these troubles involve resetting or rebooting your iPod/iPhone device or updating the firmware for the device – all of which is different for each device, so see the Apple support pages. If you’re lucky, it can be fixed by upgrading iTunes.

itunes troubleshooting

2. Is It The iTunes Or Quicktime Install?

It’s possible your installations are faulty or need updating:

  • Re-install iTunes and Quicktime. This will both fix any faults and ensure you have the latest version.
  • Possibly delete Quicktime (Quicktime sometimes affects video and audio playback).

3. Is It Your Anti-Virus Software Or Internet?

Try these steps (check iTunes again after each step to see if it now works):

  • Disconnect computer from internet.
  • Check for viruses. Remove if required.
  • Update/remove virus protection software and virus definitions.
  • Disable internet filtering software.

4. Is It Your iTunes Library Or Account?

Things to try:

  • Create a new library (by holding down Shift when opening iTunes or by moving the old library before you open iTunes).
  • If the new library works, you might need to import your old library or re-create the old one. Slowly re-add files to see if it’s a problem with an individual file.
  • Create a new user account and run iTunes there (see if it’s broken just for your account).

itunes problems

5. Video/Audio Troubles Only? Enable The Highest Setting

Throughout iTunes troubleshooting documentation for video and audio troubles has one recurring theme: enable the highest setting.

Go into your sound or video settings and set things to maximum hardware acceleration, maximum screen resolution, enable 3D video etc. Rule of thumb, “turn it up”.

6. Check Your Plug-Ins

Remove all your third-party iTunes plugins.

7. It Might Be DirectX

If you’re using Windows (especially XP, 2000 Vista or Windows 7) and you have video issues, try updating DirectX or disable DirectX in Quicktime (change it to Safe Mode GDI instead).

8. Check Your iTunes Configuration

Close iTunes. Move the file you’re testing to a safe place. Restart iTunes. Replace the file if that didn’t help.

  • Temporarily remove the iTunes preferences files (try each file individually by moving it elsewhere and starting iTunes).
  • Remove the iTunes configuration files (delete the “SC Info.sidb” file).

The preference files for Windows Vista and 7 live here:

C:\Users\username\App\Data\Local\Apple Computer\iTunes
C:\Users\username\App\Data\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes

In Windows XP and 2000 the iTunes preference files are here:

C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes

In Windows XP and 2000 the iTunes configuration files are here:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\SC Info

Delete the “SC Info.sidb” file and restart iTunes.

9. Check Conflicting Processes

Go through the list of current processes, disabling things sequentially to see if you can pinpoint the problem.

Here’s Apple’s guide for using MSCONFIG to check for processes conflicting with iTunes in Windows Vista and Windows 7.

10. Update PC drivers

Look at sound cards and video cards in particular and see if there’s an available update.

itunes troubleshooting

There’s a number of things that may go wrong with iTunes, and the exact details of the steps you need to take will always be device-specific, but these are the general troubleshooting ideas which will get you results fast.

If none of the itunes troubleshooting tips listed here worked and you’re a little over iTunes now, you could try Songbird and many ways to sync your iPod and iPhone without iTunes.

Good luck!

Tagged: • • •

Angela Alcorn

Ange is an Internet Studies & Journalism graduate who spends way too much time messing with social networks (see AngelaAlcorn.com or @smange).

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The comments were closed because the article is more than 90 days old.

If you have any questions related to stuff mentioned in the article or need help with any computer issue, just ask it on MakeUseOf Answers.

  • Marcus Steiner

    thanks for the excellent troubleshooting guide, already made us of it ;-)

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      Great to hear it. :)

  • Marcus Steiner

    thanks for the excellent troubleshooting guide, already made us of it ;-)

  • Angela Alcorn

    Great to hear it. :)

  • the Kuhn-ster

    I am tired of trying to figure out why iTunes is duplicating my entire library. Before you ask, I don’t have two of every MP3, and have trolled countless sites trying to figure it out. I was hoping this article would have the solution – sadly, no.

    Bueller? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone? Bueller?

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      Go to iTunes > Preferences > Advanced > General and de-select the option to “Copy library files to iTunes folder when adding to library. Should fix it. :)

      http://screencast.com/t/MGI0M2ZmM

      • http://www.makeuseof.com/ Aibek

        Yep, that should do the trick.

  • the Kuhn-ster

    I am tired of trying to figure out why iTunes is duplicating my entire library. Before you ask, I don’t have two of every MP3, and have trolled countless sites trying to figure it out. I was hoping this article would have the solution – sadly, no.

    Bueller? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone? Bueller?

  • Angela Alcorn

    Go to iTunes > Preferences > Advanced > General and de-select the option to “Copy library files to iTunes folder when adding to library. Should fix it. :)

    http://screencast.com/t/MGI0M2…

  • http://www.newtrent.com Newtrent

    great tips! must imp point take the backup first..

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      Definitely. You don’t want to lose your library!

  • Newtrent

    Very useful article.. i will keep in mind to take the backup first before playing around with itunes..

    http://www.newtrent.com has more on this.

  • Newtrent

    great tips! must imp point take the backup first..

  • Aibek

    Yep, that should do the trick.

  • Angela Alcorn

    Definitely. You don’t want to lose your library!

  • A

    On vista/7 it is /username/appdata/ not /app/data

    You can also do %appdata%/..

  • A

    On vista/7 it is /username/appdata/ not /app/data

    You can also do %appdata%/..

  • the Kuhn-ster

    Angela? The “Copy files to iTunes Folder” box isn’t checked & to my knowledge never has been. I should have told you that I am on a PC, though – if that matters at all.

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      Oh. In that case, I’m stumped for now. Maybe someone else reading this thread could pipe up with a suggestion..

      Good luck with it!

  • the Kuhn-ster

    Angela? The “Copy files to iTunes Folder” box isn’t checked & to my knowledge never has been. I should have told you that I am on a PC, though – if that matters at all.

  • Angela Alcorn

    Oh. In that case, I’m stumped for now. Maybe someone else reading this thread could pipe up with a suggestion..

    Good luck with it!

  • Rachelle

    Thanks for the list! My only problem is with the step before Step 1, do a “quick” backup. With nearly 7,000 songs, it would take a case of discs and a long, long time to do a backup. I know I am playing with fire here, what if my computer dies? Does anyone know of a good way to back up that actually is quick?

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      It’s mainly the iTunes library files (.xml and .itl files) that need backing up before trying to fix iTunes – much smaller than backing up all your mp3s.

      However, you should really back up your mp3s every now and then too. For doing this, look into getting an external hard disc. It’ll take a while to back up via USB, but it’ll be relatively safe while disconnected from your computer.

  • Rachelle

    Thanks for the list! My only problem is with the step before Step 1, do a “quick” backup. With nearly 7,000 songs, it would take a case of discs and a long, long time to do a backup. I know I am playing with fire here, what if my computer dies? Does anyone know of a good way to back up that actually is quick?

  • Angela Alcorn

    It’s mainly the iTunes library files (.xml and .itl files) that need backing up before trying to fix iTunes – much smaller than backing up all your mp3s.

    However, you should really back up your mp3s every now and then too. For doing this, look into getting an external hard disc. It’ll take a while to back up via USB, but it’ll be relatively safe while disconnected from your computer.

  • the Kuhn-ster

    I HAS FIX’D IT!!

    Yeah, I know – I am rather surprised myself! How did I fix this nagging duplication problem? Read on!

    One of the things I noticed was that iTunes was making duplicate song title entries for the same MP3 file – a quick CTRL > I “Get Info” check confirmed the “Where:” was the same path for both of the song titles. After some research, I found out that iTunes uses two types of files to organize & sort the song library: “library.xml” and “library.itl”. This may not be the revelation to some that it was to me, but bear with – I am no Genius for this kind of thing.

    Anywho . . . I basically wanted iTunes to recompile the music I already own (and yes, I did upgrade to the most recent version, just after this week’s press conference). So, I deleted the XML file first – no change (anyone else see the step I didn’t take?). I went to the recycle bin & restored the file, just in case – then I deleted the ITL file. This forced iTunes to re-boot itself (?) – like a very clean first time installation. Problem is, all my songs were gone **GASP!** – a quick check to my large internal hard drive confirmed that the songs were there, and that this was just a forced clean reboot for iTunes. I dragged the entire library (6k items, 30GB) back into iTunes, where it recompiled the library. Now, I has one song title for every MP3 file – the way it should be. .

    What step did I miss? Well, first of all I didn’t back up my entire music library – stoopid, stoopid, stoopid. This was a bit of a shock – I won’t do that again! The bad news is that my podcasts have to be manually reloaded – all 33 of them. However, I was smart enough to print out a list of the podcasts & will manually download them again today.

    I hope this helps some one out there. It was a vexing & long lasting problem for me with a rather simple fix.

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      The podcasts should still be there, but the library just doesn’t link to the files. Have a look in your iTunes library for a “podcasts” folder.

      Glad you fixed it!

      • the Kuhn-ster

        You are right, of course – but it was still strange. When I wrote this post originally, the podcasts were NOT there. After monkeying around with iTunes a bit, they magically appeared. No complaints here, though!

        Keep up the great work!

  • the Kuhn-ster

    I HAS FIX’D IT!!

    Yeah, I know – I am rather surprised myself! How did I fix this nagging duplication problem? Read on!

    One of the things I noticed was that iTunes was making duplicate song title entries for the same MP3 file – a quick CTRL > I “Get Info” check confirmed the “Where:” was the same path for both of the song titles. After some research, I found out that iTunes uses two types of files to organize & sort the song library: “library.xml” and “library.itl”. This may not be the revelation to some that it was to me, but bear with – I am no Genius for this kind of thing.

    Anywho . . . I basically wanted iTunes to recompile the music I already own (and yes, I did upgrade to the most recent version, just after this week’s press conference). So, I deleted the XML file first – no change (anyone else see the step I didn’t take?). I went to the recycle bin & restored the file, just in case – then I deleted the ITL file. This forced iTunes to re-boot itself (?) – like a very clean first time installation. Problem is, all my songs were gone **GASP!** – a quick check to my large internal hard drive confirmed that the songs were there, and that this was just a forced clean reboot for iTunes. I dragged the entire library (6k items, 30GB) back into iTunes, where it recompiled the library. Now, I has one song title for every MP3 file – the way it should be. .

    What step did I miss? Well, first of all I didn’t back up my entire music library – stoopid, stoopid, stoopid. This was a bit of a shock – I won’t do that again! The bad news is that my podcasts have to be manually reloaded – all 33 of them. However, I was smart enough to print out a list of the podcasts & will manually download them again today.

    I hope this helps some one out there. It was a vexing & long lasting problem for me with a rather simple fix.

  • Angela Alcorn

    The podcasts should still be there, but the library just doesn’t link to the files. Have a look in your iTunes library for a “podcasts” folder.

    Glad you fixed it!

  • the Kuhn-ster

    You are right, of course – but it was still strange. When I wrote this post originally, the podcasts were NOT there. After monkeying around with iTunes a bit, they magically appeared. No complaints here, though!

    Keep up the great work!

  • Phil H

    I just downloaded 3 songs. They all look like they are there on iTunes, but when I try tp play any of them, I get tis error message: The song “XXX” could not be used becase the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?”

    However, the music file is nowhere to be found. ???

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      Have you got write access to the iTunes folder? It’s not protected? Have you got a virus checker that’s maybe blocking downloads?

      It sounds like for some reason the actual file save hasn’t worked, even though iTunes has done its bit in downloading the files for you.

  • Phil H

    I just downloaded 3 songs. They all look like they are there on iTunes, but when I try tp play any of them, I get tis error message: The song “XXX” could not be used becase the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?”

    However, the music file is nowhere to be found. ???

  • Angela Alcorn

    Have you got write access to the iTunes folder? It’s not protected? Have you got a virus checker that’s maybe blocking downloads?

    It sounds like for some reason the actual file save hasn’t worked, even though iTunes has done its bit in downloading the files for you.

  • Laceman

    I am tearing my hair out……I have a new Windows 7 64 bit PC & am getting the error that itunes doesn’t recognise my 3gs iphone device or my touch. I have uninstalled ALL apple stuff, used different usb ports directly on the PC & not on monitor or keyboard, I have stopped & restarted in services the ‘apple mobile device’, and have also rebooted my iphone & none of this has worked! :(

  • Laceman

    I am tearing my hair out……I have a new Windows 7 64 bit PC & am getting the error that itunes doesn’t recognise my 3gs iphone device or my touch. I have uninstalled ALL apple stuff, used different usb ports directly on the PC & not on monitor or keyboard, I have stopped & restarted in services the ‘apple mobile device’, and have also rebooted my iphone & none of this has worked! :(

  • Aibek

    Try asking it on MakeUseOf Answers, http://www.makeuseof.com/answe…

    Make sure to list what you have done to resolve the problem so far.

  • Angela Alcorn

    Have you tried getting the iPhone into restore mode? It’s not the same as rebooting – it takes it back to factory settings.

    Apparently this might work for 3GS http://forums.macrumors.com/sh…

    Here’s another thread I found, but it looks like you tried all these ideas: http://forums.techarena.in/por…

    I was having a similar problem with an iPod which was fixed by enabling disc use. Maybe something like this will work for the iPhone too? Details here: http://www.last.fm/user/smange…

    Good luck!

  • Steffy101

    Hi Guys, I am having a problem and I wonder if anyone can help. I upgraded to itunes 10 and all of my podcasts have gone out of date order. I have selected to sort by release date but they are still all mixed up. I have no idea what to do!

    Stef

  • Steffy101

    Hi Guys, I am having a problem and I wonder if anyone can help. I upgraded to itunes 10 and all of my podcasts have gone out of date order. I have selected to sort by release date but they are still all mixed up. I have no idea what to do!

    Stef

  • Lee Kingham

    Itunes wont let me connect to library…. claims that I am not connected to the net when I am??

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      Is your firewall blocking iTunes? Is the computer with the iTunes library you’re trying to connect to set up to share with all other users on the network?

  • Lee Kingham

    Itunes wont let me connect to library…. claims that I am not connected to the net when I am??

  • Sweet_pumpkin9

    Only some of my music will play. There are others that won’t. How do i fix that?
    I tried reloading them back into itunes, but they won’t go back onto itunes.

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      Is the music that won’t go back in WAV or some other format that’s different to the ones that work?

      If so, you might need to tell iTunes to convert them on import.

  • Sweet_pumpkin9

    Only some of my music will play. There are others that won’t. How do i fix that?
    I tried reloading them back into itunes, but they won’t go back onto itunes.

  • Cassiobury1969

    Can someone tell me what the exclamation point next to some of my tracks means?

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      It means the library doesn’t know where the files are. Maybe you moved them or re-named the folder they were in?

      Try right-clicking on the files to edit them and it will ask you to find the file and re-associate it.

  • Cassiobury1969

    Can someone tell me what the exclamation point next to some of my tracks means?

  • Bates1282

    Everytime I go to watch a video I purchased, it won’t let me watch the whole thing, plus its really choppy. how do I get it to work properly?

    • http://netsavoir.com/ Angela Alcorn

      Did you try deleting Quicktime? Re-installing or deleting DirectX? Sometimes they affect video playback in iTunes.

  • Bates1282

    Everytime I go to watch a video I purchased, it won’t let me watch the whole thing, plus its really choppy. how do I get it to work properly?

  • Angela Alcorn

    Is the music that won’t go back in WAV or some other format that’s different to the ones that work?

    If so, you might need to tell iTunes to convert them on import.

  • Angela Alcorn

    It means the library doesn’t know where the files are. Maybe you moved them or re-named the folder they were in?

    Try right-clicking on the files to edit them and it will ask you to find the file and re-associate it.

  • Angela Alcorn

    Did you try deleting Quicktime? Re-installing or deleting DirectX? Sometimes they affect video playback in iTunes.

  • Angela Alcorn

    Is your firewall blocking iTunes? Is the computer with the iTunes library you’re trying to connect to set up to share with all other users on the network?

  • Angela Alcorn

    This one has stumped me, sorry! Try asking it on MakeUseOf Answers, http://www.makeuseof.com/answe…

  • Anonymous

    It’s helpful.

    First the First! …That’s true, you have to backup your iTunes regularly.
    More ways to sync your iPod and iPhone without iTunes by the transfer software.

    More info about iPod transfer and sync, on this site http://www.ipodmactransfer.com

  • SebaNob

    It’s helpful.

    First the First! …That’s true, you have to backup your iTunes regularly.
    More ways to sync your iPod and iPhone without iTunes by the transfer software.

    More info about iPod transfer and sync, on this site http://www.ipodmactransfer.com

  • Nyrang2294

    hey, I am having an issue I have never seen before. Everything about iTunes is working ok on my PC-Laptop, except the CD import. As soon as I try to import a CD, I get the “This program has stopped working” message. Import seems to be the only action that does this, and its still doing it after repairing the installation (via re-downloading and running the setup). Any suggestions?

  • Nyrang2294

    hey, I am having an issue I have never seen before. Everything about iTunes is working ok on my PC-Laptop, except the CD import. As soon as I try to import a CD, I get the “This program has stopped working” message. Import seems to be the only action that does this, and its still doing it after repairing the installation (via re-downloading and running the setup). Any suggestions?

  • Rafael_alonso

    my itunes keeps frezzing…anybody can help i would really apreciate it.!

  • Rafael_alonso

    my itunes keeps frezzing…anybody can help i would really apreciate it.!