How to Reinstall iTunes

Last Updated: January 8, 2020 Tested

iTunes is a great program used for downloading music, videos, and games onto your computer or iPhone. Unfortunately though, it can sometimes be plagued by technical issues that cause it to go unresponsive or freeze often. To rectify this problem, you must uninstall and then reinstall the program onto your computer. Fortunately, this is an easy process requiring only a few steps and a little time.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:
Removing the Program Fully on a PC

1
Open your control panel. To reach this, go to the startup menu and find it on the right column. Click it, and the search for the “uninstall programs” link underneath the “Programs” header. Select this option.
2
Uninstall iTunes and associated software. To uninstall a program, right-click on the program and select “uninstall.” To uninstall iTunes correctly, you must uninstall all associated programs in this exact order:
- iTunes;
- Apple Software Update;
- Apple Mobile Device Support;
- Bonjour;
- Apple Application Support (32 bit);
- Apple Application Support (64 bit).
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3
Confirm that all the programs are uninstalled. Go to “My Computer” and select the Local Disk (C:). If there are shortcut folders for any of the programs you just uninstalled, delete them permanently here. If they cannot be found, then you have already completely uninstalled them.
4
Restart your computer. Whenever you uninstall a program, it is important to reboot your computer afterwards.

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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:
Removing the Program Fully on a Mac

1
Drag iTunes into the trash. Take the desktop icon and drag it into the trash, and follow this by emptying the trash. If the program does not seem to be completed deleted after doing this, take the next steps.
2
Launch the activity monitor. Locate the iTunes helper, and delete it from your Login items list.
3
Verify the removal. Go to the library/preferences folder and remove all items that are listed with com.apple.itunes at the beginning.
4
Delete the iTunes and apple mobile device service folders. These can be found in your library and deleted by dragging to the trash. Be sure to empty the trash after this.
5
Restart you computer. Once you have deleted every trace of any iTunes software or downloads on your computer, restart it. You can now begin the reinstall process.^{[1]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:
Reinstalling iTunes

1
Get the installer. Visit the Apple website to download the free iTunes installer. Download it onto your computer; this may take a few minutes. You may be asked to select a location on your hard drive where you would like to save the installer.
2
Run the installer. Once it has finished downloading to your computer, run the program. It will open as a dialogue box; click the “next button” until you get to the terms and agreements page. Then, agree to the terms and agreements, and select “next.”
3
Choose the installation options. The next few pages in the dialogue box will go over the basic setup options. Select if you would like to make iTunes the default audio player, the default language, and the destination of the folder.
4
Finish the installation. Once you’ve gone through the entire dialogue box, you will be given the option to “finish installing.” Select this.
5
Restart your computer. To finalize the installation. Restart your computer. Then, open iTunes when it is finished rebooting to test that the installation was successful.^{[2]
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