Apple tells iTunes users: don't upgrade to Vista

by Angus Kidman

Saturday, 03 February 2007

Apple has recommended that users of its iTunes software avoid upgrading to Windows Vista until a new version becomes available. Will the popularity of its iPod players be enough to stall the Vista upgrade juggernaut?

Beta users of Vista have long reported problems running version 7.02 of iTunes, the most recent release. Apple has now formally acknowledged that issue on its site, posting the following recommendation: "iTunes 7.0.2 may work with Windows Vista on many typical PCs. Apple recommends, however, that customers wait to upgrade Windows until after the next release of iTunes which will be available in the next few weeks."

Problems which Vista users can experience include an inability to play tracks purchased from the iTunes store, inability to synchronise calendars, random changes to iPod settings and occasional complete corruption of the device.

For anyone who made the unfortunate assumption that Apple would have ensured that iTunes worked with Vista during the five-year beta testing period for the new version of Windows, Apple offers a few crumbs of advice: unauthorise your existing iTunes account, uninstall iTunes, and perform a clean install rather than an upgrade. If that doesn't help, Apple is also offering a repair tool for Vista users that helps reauthorise purchased songs and videos.

iTunes remains an essential piece of software for owners of the market-dominating iPod, as without it music cannot be synched to the player. Whether Apple's announcement will see those users hold off -- or whether they decide to investigate a more Windows-friendly alternative -- remains to be seen. Microsoft can't gloat too much, however, as owners of its rival Zune player also reported issues working with Vista.
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