Trouble installing iTunes or QuickTime for Windows

Summary

If you are having trouble installing iTunes or QuickTime for Windows, follow the troubleshooting steps in this article.

Products Affected

QuickTime for Windows, iTunes 7 for Windows, iTunes 8 for Windows, iTunes 9 for Windows, Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, and Vista

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Important: Issues installing iTunes and QuickTime are successfully resolved a majority of the time after completing these troubleshooting steps. If one step does not resolve your issue, proceed to the next.

 

Solutions to common installation alerts and messages

Here are some common alerts and messages you may see when installing iTunes and QuickTime for Microsoft Windows. If you are seeing one of these, click it and follow the troubleshooting steps in the linked article:

If you are not experiencing the symptoms described by the articles linked above, continue with the general installation troubleshooting below.

General installation troubleshooting

1. Empty your Temp directory and restart

Windows XP:

  1. Choose Start > My Computer (or double-click My Computer on the Desktop).
  2. In My Computer or Computer, open the "C:" drive.
  3. Open Documents and Settings.
  4. Open the folder titled with your username.
  5. Open Local Settings.

    Note:  If you don't see the Local Settings folder, you may need to tell Windows to show hidden files and folders as shown below.

    1. Choose Tools > Folder Options.
    2. Click the View tab.
    3. Select the option to "Show hidden files and folders."
    4. Click OK.
  6. Right-click the Temp folder and choose Delete.
  7. In the confirmation dialog that appears, click Yes.
  8. If you are unable to delete the Temp folder, close all programs, especially those in the Notification area ("System Tray") of the Windows Taskbar, and repeat steps 6 and 7.
    Note:  If you are still unable to delete the Temp folder, open the Temp folder and delete as many of the items inside this folder as you can.
  9. Restart your computer.

Windows Vista and Windows 7:

  1. Choose Start > Computer
  2. In Computer, open the "C:" drive.
  3. Open the Users folder.
  4. Open the folder titled with your username.
  5. Open the AppData folder.

    Note: If you don't see the AppData folder, you may need to tell Windows to show hidden files and folders as shown below.

    1. Choose Organize > Folder and Search Options.
    2. Click the View tab.
    3. Select the option to "Show hidden files and folders." (In Windows 7 this option will be called "Show hidden files, folders, and drives").
    4. Click OK.
  6. Double-click the Local folder to open it.
  7. Right-click on the Temp folder and choose Delete.
  8. In the confirmation dialog that appears click Yes.
  9. If you are unable to delete the Temp folder, close all programs, especially those in the Notification area ("System Tray") of the Windows Taskbar and repeat steps 7 and 8.
    Note:  If you are still unable to delete the Temp folder, open the Temp folder and delete as many of the items inside this folder as you can.
  10. Restart your computer.

2. Completely remove iTunes and related components

Notes:

  • Songs you purchased from the iTunes Store or imported from CDs are saved in your My Music folder by default and are not deleted by removing iTunes.
  • You may need to remove and reinstall iTunes several times while following the steps of this article. Even if you've removed iTunes and its components before, it's important to do so again now that you've emptied the Temp directory.

3. Install the latest version of iTunes

Once you have completed the above steps to Empty your Temp directory and completely remove iTunes and related components, you can install the latest version of iTunes from http://www.apple.com/itunes/download.

Additional troubleshooting

After performing each of the steps below, you will need to completely remove iTunes and related components and then install iTunes again to determine whether the issue is resolved.

1. Make sure you have administrator account access

To install iTunes or QuickTime software, you need to be logged in as an administrator on the computer. If you're not sure if you have administrator account access, you may find this Microsoft article helpful:

Otherwise, refer to the Help documentation from Microsoft, contact your IT department, or visit support.microsoft.com for more information.

2. Make sure your folder names don't contain strange characters

If the iTunes installer (iTunesSetup) is not responding or appears frozen after launching it, then the folder where the installer is stored may contain unusual characters. If this is the case, either rename the folder or move the iTunes installer to another location such as the Desktop before launching it. 

3. Get the latest Windows updates

Make sure you have the latest Microsoft Windows updates installed. To get the latest updates, go to the Microsoft Windows Update page; iTunes for Windows requires Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 with the latest Service Pack installed.

4. Disable other conflicting software

In Windows, some background processes can cause issues for other programs and processes. These conflicts can prevent applications such as iTunes from installing. You can disable conflicting processes by starting your computer to a selective startup using MSConfig. See how to do this in the following articles:

Some security software made by other companies cannot be disabled using Selective Startup (MSConfig). Because of this, it may be necessary to disable or even uninstall such software while troubleshooting installation issues. If you have security software installed and you are still having issues installing iTunes or QuickTime for Windows, follow steps in iTunes for Windows: Troubleshooting security software issues.

Additional Information

If you only need to install QuickTime, or if iTunes installs but QuickTime installation did not complete

Try downloading and installing the standalone version of QuickTime from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/. Be sure you download the version that does not include iTunes.

If the steps outlined in this article don't help, you may be able to find a solution to your issue by searching the Microsoft support website.

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