Technically Easy

Category: Software

  • Restoring a Previous Version of Your iTunes Library

    Restoring a Previous Version of Your iTunes Library

    I recently received an e-mail from a user who had installed a newer version of iTunes, but then went back to the previous version. When they started the previous version they received an error on the screen related to the “ITunes Library.itl” file. This error prevented iTunes from launching.

    I did some research into the issue and managed to find an easy solution to the problem. After describing the steps to correct the problem, the user informed me that iTunes was once again working. In this post I’ll describe the solution.

    Restoring Your ITunes Library File

    If you decide to revert back to a previous version of iTunes, you may receive the following error:


    ITunes Library.itl cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes.

    This error prevents iTunes from launching. The library file was modified to work with the newer iTunes version, so it is no longer compatible with the previous version. The good news, however, is that Apple does backup the iTunes library file into a subdirectory that you can use to revert back to the previous version.

    To recover a previous version of the iTunes Library.itl file, use the following steps:

    1. Open up your My Documents\My Music folder.
    2. We will first backup the current version. Rename iTunes Library.itl to something like iTunes Library.itl.bak.
    3. Go into the My Documents\My Music\Previous iTunes Libraries folder.
    4. You may see several files that start with iTunes Library and have a date included in the name. Copy the newest file in the folder.
    5. Go back to the My Documents\My Music and paste the file from the previous step.
    6. Rename the new copied file to iTunes Library.itl.

    Your library should now be restored to the previous version of iTunes, and you should no longer receive the message.

    Related Posts

    iTunes Issue: Windows Keeps Configuring iTunes When Starting

  • iTunes Issue: Windows Keeps Configuring iTunes When Starting

    iTunes Issue: Windows Keeps Configuring iTunes When Starting

    I have recently been experiencing problems with Vista, which is no surprise there. My wife likes to use iTunes, and uses it on a daily basis for listening to music and renting movies. Recently, however, she has been experiencing problems with iTunes. She has been unable to launch the application because Windows Installer opens up and states that Windows is configuring iTunes. After prompting for a reboot, which was granted, she would start iTunes again and was faced with the same message. It was an endless cycle that wouldn’t allow her to access iTunes.

    I decided to uninstall and then reinstall iTunes. Unfortunately, the problem still persisted. I checked the EventLog of Vista and found an error relating to a component that couldn’t be repaired. After doing a search online, I found a solution that fixed the problem. I outline the solution in this post.

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  • How to Create a PDF for Free

    How to Create a PDF for Free

    When I visit web sites I notice many of them are offering e-books. These are usually books in a PDF format that can be downloaded and viewed with a reader. The most popular reader is Adobe’s Acrobat Reader. The once nice thing about PDF documents, and probably the reason they were chosen for e-books, is that the document will look the same regardless of the reader’s computer. Other formats, such as Microsoft Word, may look different depending on whether the reader has the same fonts installed.

    Many tools that are used to create a PDF document cost money, but I use a tools that is free. So if you are interested in creating your own e-book, or would just like to create a PDF document, then I’ll talk about the tool you can use for free with pretty much any application.

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  • Using Winzip to Archive Large Files

    Using Winzip to Archive Large Files

    I recently had to archive large files on a DVD and used Winzip to accomplish this task. As many of my regular readers know, I am obsessed with archiving my digital photos. I have written several posts regarding my experiences with archiving, including my workflow. While I mainly talk about archiving my photos, I also have been archiving my home videos. This is where I encountered a problem.

    I archive my data onto Taiyo Yuden DVD+Rs, which can hold up to 4.7 GB of data. The problem with some of my videos, is that I have downloaded an entire DV tape, which produced video files that are 12 GB in size. I have tried to split the video into separate videos (there is more than one on a tape), but haven’t had much luck. I decided to instead just split the file into smaller pieces so it would fit on several DVDs. I’ll explain how I did that in this post.

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  • Free Software that can Replace Your Expensive Software

    There are many great software packages on the market that can help you do pretty much anything you need with a computer. The problem is that the software can cost anywhere from $100 to over $1000 dollars, depending on the software.

    While the software you purchase will do what you need, many people don’t realize that there is similar software you can download online. The best part about this software is that the price is great: free. This post will provide a list of some software that you can use to replace some of the more expensive software for free.

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  • How to Connect to a Network Printer in Windows XP

    How to Connect to a Network Printer in Windows XP

    For most home users it is very easy to connect to a printer. Older printers are usually connected to the parallel port, while the new printers are connected to the USB port. Once the printer is connected and drivers loaded you can easily select the printer from the list and begin printing.

    For those on a network that have printers you can use, you have to take different steps to connect to the printers. While the steps to connect to a network printer are different than connecting to a local print, they aren’t complex and can be performed very easily.

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  • What are Batch Files?

    I recently was in charge of creating a silent install for an application. While many installations include a silent option, this one was a bit different. I had to also run other installs, as well as import registry settings, and also copy files.

    To help me with this task I used a batch file that was easily able to handle everything I needed. If you haven’t used batch files before, then this post will explain what they are and how they can be used.

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  • How to Map a Hard Drive to a Directory

    In my last post I mentioned that I have been exploring the option of backing up my data online. In that post I mentioned two services, Carbonite and Mozy. Although both were similar, Mozy was the only service that could backup data located on an external hard drive.

    During my test with Carbonite, I managed to find a method of backing up my data from an external hard drive. This method involved mounting my external hard drive as a directory on my C drive. I will explain how I did that in this post.

    Drive Letters and Paths

    When you connect an external hard drive to your computer, Windows will assign it one of the unused drive letters on your computer. Unless you change drive letters of your devices regularily, Windows will continue to assign that drive letter to that hard drive.

    If you choose to, you can assign another drive letter to that hard drive, or even a folder on another drive. In the case of Carbonite I assigned the drive to a folder, while still keeping the original drive letter. To assign a drive to a folder, use the following steps:

    1. Create a new directory on your computer. For this example, I created a directory called Backup on my C drive (C:\Backup).
    2. Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop and select Manage from the popup menu.
    3. On the left, below Storage click Disk Management. A list of all the drives connected to your computer should be displayed on the right.
    4. Right-click the drive you want to map to the directory created in the first step and then select Change Drive Letter and Paths. A dialog box should open.
    5. Click the Add button.
    6. Select the Mount in the following empty NTFS folder option, and then enter the path to the folder, in my case I would enter C:\Backup. Alternatively you can click the Browse button and navigate to the folder.
    7. Click the OK button to save and close the window.
    8. Click the OK button on the next window to close that window as well.
    9. Open windows explorer and check the directory you have created. The contents of the directory should now be the same as the hard drive.

    I found that this method worked with Carbonite to allow me to backup my data that was located on an external hard drive. It is important to note that you won’t be able to access the directory if the external hard drive is not powered on. Also, the drive letter that was assigned to the external hard drive will still be assigned to the hard drive. You will now have a directory and drive assigned to that hard drive.

    Summary

    While testing two online backup services (Carbonite and Mozy) I noticed that Carbonite didn’t allow data on an external hard drive to be backed up. I then mapped the external hard drive to a directory on my C drive and Carbonite was able to backup the files.