Step 1: Backup
Back up your iTunes 7 settings, so that you can keep them around in case you want to go back.
Go into your My Documents folder, then your My Music folder. Copy the iTunes folder inside there to somewhere else. That’ll save your settings.
Note: That’s the default location, if you’ve moved things around it’ll be somewhere else. If you need help finding it, search for files ending in .itl on your hard drive.
Step 2: Uninstall iTunes 7
Now, uninstall iTunes 7. Go to your Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, iTunes and hit Uninstall.
Reboot as it asks you to when it’s done.
Step 3: Download iTunes 6.0.5
Download iTunes 6 from Apple:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloa...orwindows.html
Step 4: Install iTunes 6.0.5
Install iTunes 6 by running the installer.
Step 5: Try to run iTunes 6
You should get this error message:
The file "iTunes Library.itl" cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes.
Step 6: Restore your old library
Go back into My Documents/My Music. Now go into the iTunes folder. Rename your iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library.itl.old. Go into the Previous iTunes Libraries folder (which would be in MyDocuments\MyMusic\Previous iTunes Libraries). Take the newest file (for me this was iTunes Library 2006-09-14.itl) and copy it back up to the iTunes folder. Rename it iTunes Library.itl. Run iTunes 6 and you should be all set, with your library restored.
It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s better than losing your library entirely. Plus, since you’ve backed up your iTunes 7 library, when Apple releases an iTunes 7.0.1 you should be able to reverse the procedure above and use your most current library before upgrading to iTunes 7.0.1.
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