7 Solutions for iTunes Not Working on Windows 10

Since the time iTunes was released by Apple, it’s been one of the most commonly-used music platforms out there, to the point that it even found its way into Windows. However, iTunes is also known by many as a despised music software, much of this is due to the fact that there are lots of errors on this platform.

One of those errors is the issue with iTunes not working on Windows 10. Despite this, we still can’t stop using it. Fortunately, there are ways to solve such issues, and that’s what this article will be all about. But before that, why did this problem occur in the first place?

Part 1: Why is iTunes Not Working on Windows 10?Part 2: Solutions for iTunes Not Working on Windows 10Part 3: Conclusion

Part 1: Why is iTunes Not Working on Windows 10?

There are many reasons for iTunes to suffer from damages and errors. iTunes not working on Windows 10, in particular, can happen in many ways. These are just some of the common causes of this problem in Windows 10 desktops:

• Recent update on the Apple operating system is incompatible
• System files downloaded are incorrect or duplicates
• Windows Installer was not registered properly

If you happen to encounter the issue with iTunes not working on Windows 10, then expect that it was caused by either of these three. Regardless of the cause, however, there will always be a way to fix the problem. With that said, let’s start with our first solution.

Part 2: Solutions for iTunes Not Working on Windows 10

Solution #1: Use a Specialized Software

Obviously, the first solution we’re going to tell you should be the easiest, and that’s what this solution is all about. This involves using specialized software designed to restore your operating system. There may be lots of them out there, but not all are as powerful as FoneDog iOS Data Backup & Restore.

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FoneDog iOS Data Backup & Restore is a software that allows you to create a backup of your iOS device including its apps, and that would mean creating a backup of iTunes as well. It allows you to restore iTunes in case any issues occur.

Without further ado, here’s how you can use the software. Let’s start by discussing the steps on how to create a backup of your operating system and restore from that backup the app data including iTunes.

Step 1: Setup Device

First of all, install the FoneDog iOS Toolkit on your desktop. Once that’s done, launch the software. On the first screen, you’ll see, select the iOS Data Backup & Restore option. This should be the step of preparing the data and recovery process. Next is the creation of the backup.

Step 2: Create Backup

The option you select in Step 1 would lead you to the selection of options wherein you should select iOS Data Backup. Here, select the mode which should either be Standard Backup or Encrypted Backup. They are almost the same, except that Encrypted Backup requires a password to access. Next, click on the Start button. There will be a list of data that you can back up. Select the data types then click Next. The backup process should start after this point.

Step 3: Select Backup

Now you’re in a situation that you need to restore your Windows 10 apps because of iTunes not working on Windows 10. First, do what you did in Step 1. Next, select iOS Data Restore instead of iOS Data Backup. Then you will see a list of backups. Simply select the one you created in Step 2 where iTunes is still fully functional. You can click View Now to check if iTunes really will be affected just to be sure.

Step 4: Finalize Restoring

Click on Select after confirming the selected backup. It should then start scanning for files. Just wait for it to finish. Once that’s done, click on Restore to PC to restore the files into your Windows 10. This should include iTunes 10.

These four steps should be sufficient for you to solve most issues that occur on your macOS or Windows, including the issue with iTunes not working on Windows 10. If it didn’t then perhaps another solution would be more suitable for your kind of problem.

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Solution #2: Force Restart iTunes and Computer

It’s important to remember that there is a tendency for apps to stay resident on the memory of the operating system. For that reason, closing the iTunes by force is recommended before you can restart it. To do this, you have to follow these steps:

Step 1: Launch Task Manager.

On your Windows 10, right-click on your taskbar then select Start Task Manager. If your computer is not responding, then simply press Ctrl + Alt + Del on your computer then select Start Task Manager.

Step 2: End Task.

On the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab. Here, select the iTunes app then click on the End task button located at the bottom-right corner of the window.

This should force close iTunes. Now all you have to do is open the iTunes app again in whichever way you like. In case this didn’t fix the iTunes not working on Windows 10 issue, then perhaps a more extreme solution is required. With that said, we suggest restarting your Windows 10 altogether. If this still didn’t fix your problem, then we have yet another solution for you.

Solution #3: Run as Administrator

As we’ve said before, after force closing iTunes, you will have to start it again. However, simply launching it again would mostly not suffice. You have to launch it in special ways. And one of those ways is to choose the option ‘Run as Administrator’ when opening iTunes:

1. On your Windows 10, go to the Start you can do this by clicking on the bottom-left corner of the screen or by pressing the Win key on your keyboard.
2. Next, type in “iTunes” then right-click on the iTunes option.
3. From the dropdown menu, select Run as administrator.
4. There should be a dialog box showing up. Here, click on Yes.

Now iTunes should launch properly unlike before. This should also fix the iTunes not working on Windows 10 issue. The only downside is that you have to do this every time you want to open the app. Fortunately, you can set it by default to make it easier:

1. Follow steps 1 to 2 from what we previously discussed.
2. Instead of Run as an administrator, select Properties from the dropdown menu.
3. On the window that will show up, head to the Compatibility
4. At the bottom, check the box for Run this program as an administrator.

This will allow the system to automatically run the program with administrator privileges. This would be by default so you won’t have to do every time over and over again if you follow these steps. Now let’s head to yet another way to run iTunes so that iTunes not working on Windows 10 issue can be avoided.

Solution #4: Run in Safe Mode

Before, we discussed how to use the Run as administrator option. However, there’s another way to run iTunes in a special mode. This involves using Safe Mode. Safe Mode allows you to boot your computer without any extensions or plugins. In short, it’s like cooking a dish without any preservatives that can ruin the taste. To do this, you have to follow these steps carefully:

1. Locate the iTunes the way you did with Solution #3.
2. Once you find iTunes, highlight the iTunes
3. Then, press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to attempt to launch iTunes on Safe Mode.
4. There should be a confirmation message wherein you should click Continue.

These steps will lead to the launching of an app in Safe Mode. This can be done to any apps, though you should only use this if it’s an emergency, iTunes not working on Windows 10 for example. Of course, that doesn’t end this list of ways to run iTunes in special ways. There is another method of launching which involves using Compatibility Mode.

Solution #5: Compatibility Mode

Using ‘Run as administrator’ grants you access to the app and can bypass most issues related to privileges. Safe Mode, on the other hand, can remove extensions and plugins that might be causing the iTunes not working on Windows 10 issue. Finally, Compatibility Mode will fix compatibility issues. This is especially helpful with Windows 10.

Since there aren’t many apps that are compatible with the latest updates of Windows 10, there will often be compatibilities issues. So to fix this, you have to enter Compatibility Mode with the following steps:

1. Locate the iTunes app icon.
2. Right-click the iTunes icon then head to Properties.
3. Next, go to the Compatibility tab in the Properties window.
4. There should be a Compatibility Mode On the dropdown menu, select Windows 10 then check the box for Run this program in compatibility mode.
5. If step 4 still didn’t do the job, try out Windows 8 or other versions until it works. We suggest going from the latest version, which is Windows 10, to the older versions.

This is the third method for opening iTunes that will reduce your chances of encountering the issue with iTunes not working on Windows 10. If neither of the three worked, then perhaps it’s not about the bootup of iTunes, but because of a component.

Solution #5: Reinstall QuickTime

Why is my iTunes not working on my computer? There are tons of requirements for iTunes to run on your Windows 10. We call these requirements the components, and most apps have these. While there are other components, most of them are installed by default and rarely doesn’t suffer from problems.

QuickTime is one of the components of iTunes required for Windows 10, and it is perhaps the most problematic component of iTunes. Fortunately, you can easily fix any problems inflicted to QuickTime by reinstalling it, and here’s how you can do that:

1. On your Windows 10, go to your Control Panel.
2. On the Control Panel, head to Programs and Features.
3. There, you should see a list of programs including app components. Locate QuickTime from the list.
4. Once you find it, right-click on it then select Uninstall. Now simply follow the onscreen instructions to uninstall QuickTime.
5. After the uninstallation, install it again by heading to the official website of QuickTime, downloading the setup file, then following the on-screen instructions again.

This should solve any problems regarding QuickTime. Unfortunately, as we’ve said before, there are other components. With that said, let’s proceed to another component of iTunes.

Solution #6: Restore iTunes Libraries

Many people might not know what iTunes libraries are, but it is fairly important to iTunes. That’s all you need to know about it to understand that you need to fix problems related to it. With that said, here’s how you can restore iTunes libraries:

1. Locate the iTunes app icon like what we’ve been doing up until now.
2. Press the Shift + Enter key on your keyboard.
3. From the popup window that will show up, select Create Library…
4. The default library will be named “iTunes” which can be found on the Music folder. Simply type in a suitable file name like “iTunes New” then click on Save.
5. Exit iTunes.
6. Now open the previous iTunes library then move the files to the desktop.
7. Head to the New iTunes Library then move the files from the desktop to this folder.
8. Again, press the Shift + Enter key on the iTunes icon then select Choose Library.
9. Select the new iTunes library you just created.

With this, you will be able to open iTunes once again since most issues should be fixed by fixing the libraries. However, if using this solution still didn’t solve the iTunes not working on Windows 10 issue, then it must either be due to other components or the iTunes app itself. Coincidentally, there’s a way to solve both these problems.

Solution #7: Configure iTunes

Configuring iTunes means changing it in any way. This can be through reinstalling a component just like we did before, uninstalling the whole app, or even downgrading it. Either way, most of the methods for configuring iTunes can solve issues that Solution #5 wasn’t able to solve. Without further ado, let’s start with our first configuration.

Update

It’s important to understand that iTunes is undergoing frequent updates. So if you want to avoid compatibility issues, not only do you need to find the compatible operating system to use like what you did in Solution #5, you also have to make your iTunes compatible.

Usually, in order to update iTunes, you simply have to click on the notification shown by iTunes. After that, just follow the onscreen instructions shown since it should be different every time.

However, if there’s no alert, you can do it yourself by using Apple Software Update which should come pre-installed along with iTunes. This tool normally does the update automatically by first searching for an update, downloading it, then installing the update.

Repair

Updating will solve compatibility issues, but what if your iTunes app is really not functional. This often occurs when there is a virus or a bug that cannot be solved with an update. In that case, you have to repair iTunes, and you can do that with these steps:

1. On your Windows 10, head to the Control Panel, then to Programs and Featuresjust like what you did before.
2. Locate iTunes from the list of programs then right-click on it.
3. From the dropdown menu, select Modify.
4. There will be a new window popping up with options Repair and Remove. Select Repair then clicks on Next.
5. The process will be automatic. All you have to do is click on Finish once it’s completed.

This should be easy since you already know how to use the Control Panel’s Programs and Features. Now we head to our third configuration.

Reinstall

Repairing iTunes might solve the iTunes not working on Windows 10 issue, but it’s not as thorough that it can solve most issues. Even after repairing apps, there will be leftovers of the issues that existed before. If you don’t want that, then reinstalling might be more suitable. This will be easier now since you already know how to repair.

The only thing you have to do is do what you did for repair, but instead if selecting Repair on the Modify window, select Remove. Once iTunes is deleted, install it again by downloading the setup file from Apple’s official website, then just follow the instructions as you go.

Downgrade

We’ve gone through lots of fixes through configuration, but there is one configuration that most people don’t know about. It is given that updating can solve bugs, so downgrading was never an option for many when solving issues with iTunes not working on Windows 10. However, there are actually lots of perks with downgrading.

Either way, you can downgrade iTunes by doing what you did with reinstalling, except that you just have to select an older version of iTunes after you uninstall it. That’s the last one in this solution and hopefully, this would be enough.

Part 3: Conclusion

Many people wonder why they are facing issues with iTunes not working on Windows 10. However, this is actually something that every old user have experienced, much of this is attributed to how sloppy the staff of iTunes is. Fortunately, you can solve such issues in many ways, and that’s enough for us to be grateful.

We’ve discussed seven solutions for the aforementioned issue, but it is still important to take care of your iTunes even before such issues occur. After all, prevention is better than the solution.