iTunes Not Responding? Here’s How to Fix it

Last Updated on November 15, 2019 by Jay

iTunes, like any other program, isn’t perfect. There are times where it may bug out, for a number of different reasons, and that’s where you’ll see the “iTunes not responding” notification. 

Thankfully, there are also quite a few tricks that we can use in order to fix this. And with that being said, let’s get right into it!

1: Try Rebooting the PC

First things first, try rebooting your computer. That’s the classic “Try turning it off and on” approach and you should always give it a try when something goes wrong. 

It’s fairly easy and simple to do. But, it actually works more often than we’d like to admit. That’s mainly because there are a lot of things that can go wrong – not only with an app – but also with the PC itself. 

So, rebooting it and starting everything from a clean state can fix a lot of issues. To do that on Windows 10: 

1. Click on the Windows icon at the lower left part of the screen
2. Click on the power icon
3. Select “Restart”
4. And wait for a few minutes until the PC is back and running again

Now you can try launching iTunes again and, hopefully, this time, you won’t encounter the “iTunes not responding” issue. 

2: Try Force Stopping the Program

If iTunes is stuck on “iTunes not responding”, you could try force stopping it then launching it again. That can be done by using Windows’ task manager and it often works for numerous programs. 

To do that: 

1. Right-click on the dock
2. Select “Task manager”
3. Left-click once on iTunes
4. And select “End task”

After that, try launching iTunes again and we can only hope that it’ll work normally. This is more or less the same concept as restarting the computer. Everything starts from a clean state and that’s why this method tends to solve a lot of problems. 

The only difference is that instead of restarting the whole computer, you’re only restarting a single app. Speaking of which, this works for pretty much every other app/program in Windows 10 as well. So, do definitely keep that in mind as it can come in handy. 

3: iTunes Not Responding? Try Re-Installing the App

This is another easy fix that commonly fixes such issues. To re-install iTunes, simply uninstall it, download it, then install it again. And, hopefully, that will make iTunes work normally again. 

Do keep in mind that you’ll have to use your login credentials again. But, that’s a small price to pay. In any case, this is how to re-install iTunes step by step: 

1. Click on the Windows icon at the bottom left corner of the screen
2. Select the gear icon “Settings”
3. Go to “Apps”
4. Find iTunes
5. Select “Uninstall”
6. And wait for the uninstallation process to complete

You could also try using the “Repair ” tool by selecting “Modify” instead of “Uninstall” first. But, to be honest with you, re-installing the program from scratch is much more likely to work. 

4: Launch iTunes With Administrator Privileges

This isn’t very likely to work. But, at this point, we’re running short on options. So, we might as well give it a try. 

To launch iTunes with administrator privileges: 

1. Open Windows’ search bar at the bottom left part of the screen (Right next to the Windows icon)
2. Type “iTunes”
3. Right-click on the program
4. And select “Run as administrator”

If you’re not the administrator of the Windows account that you’re using, then you’ll have to insert the administrator’s password as well (If there is one). 

5: iTunes Not Responding Still? Try Launching it in Safe Mode

Launching iTunes in safe mode means that no add-ons will be loaded. If that works out fine for you, then there is a very good chance that one of the add-ons is to blame for this whole issue. 

So, to launch iTunes in safe mode: 

1. Open Windows’ search bar at the bottom left part of the screen (Right next to the Windows icon)
2. Type “iTunes”
3. Hold down the CTRL + Left Shift buttons
4. Launch iTunes
5. And select “Continue”

Again, if that ends up working just fine for you, then chances are that a plugin that you recently installed is the one that’s causing this issue. We’d recommend finding it and removing it. 

Installed iTunes plug-ins can be found at C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes Plug-ins. 

6: Try Updating the Program

There is a small chance that you’re not the one that messed up. Sometimes, the manufacturers are the ones who release a buggy update and this is what causes the “App not responding issue” until they push another update that fixes it. 

The same thing can be said about iTunes. So, if you recently installed an update and started facing this issue soon after, then your only option is to wait until another update comes out that’ll fix this problem. 

Do keep in mind that it’s possible to update iTunes even if the program itself can’t be launched. After installing it, another program comes bundled with it which is called “Apple Software Update”. 

This program can be used to update iTunes and any other Apple program that’s installed on your computer from a single place. So, all you have to do is: 

1. Open Windows’ search bar at the bottom left part of the screen (Right next to the Windows icon)
2. Type “Apple Software Update”
3. Launch the app/program
4. Wait until it finishes looking for updates
5. And if there is an update for iTunes, tick the box on its left to select it
6. Then click on the “Install” button at the bottom right part of the window

In the example that we’re showcasing above, the only available update is for iCloud. So, if you find yourself on the same boat, just wait for a day or two and try again until Apple fixes the issue (If it’s a faulty update that caused this). 

Alternatively, you could also try installing an older version that has been known to work. 

Conclusion

If you tried everything that we mentioned above and the issue still persists, then there’s not much more that we can do about it. We included pretty much every trick in the book. 

You could also try resetting the computer. However, that’s going to erase everything – including settings and files such as photos, videos, games, etc. Not to mention that you’ll also have to set up everything from scratch. 

That’s all for now. If you found anything else that worked, then let us know about it in the comments section. If you’ve got any questions, feel free to ask as well and we’ll try to answer.

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George Kasiouras

Editor at Why The Lucky Stiff

George has been reading smartphone reviews since the days where single-core devices and Android 2.0 were a thing. And while he never expected to be the one to write them, here we are today. When he is not writing about tech, you'll find him writing novels, playing games, watching shows or anime, or maybe even soloing with his guitar.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-k-8246a1169/

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