Having installed iTunes again on your computer, you may encounter the error “The file“ iTunes Library.itl cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes ”. No matter how many times you try to restart a proprietary program from Apple, it will not start normally, and an error about the iTunes Library.itl file will appear in its place.
You are probably at a loss, since you have already installed iTunes on your PC, it worked just fine, and now it does not start, so some kind of error also appears. In this article, we will try to explain to you why this problem occurred and what to do if the iTunes Library.itl file cannot be read in iTunes.
Cause of error with “iTunes Library.itl”
In fact, the reason for the error is quite simple – the problem is in the iTunes Library.itl file, which, in fact, is emphasized in the message attached to the error. You may have used a newer version of iTunes on your computer before. You didn’t like something about it and you decided to return to the previous version of the program.
At this point, the problem arose: despite the fact that you uninstalled the new version of iTunes, the iTunes Library.itl file remained from it – and it simply cannot interact with the old version of the program. This, as it turned out, is the elementary reason. Where is the iTunes Library.itl file located? You can find this file in C: Users [ИМЯ ВАШЕЙ УЧЕТНОЙ ЗАПИСИ] Music iTunes … To immediately answer a question that may have arisen in your head: the iTunes Library.itl file contains data about audio tracks, as well as playlists you have created.
“ITunes Library.itl cannot be read …” error: solutions
Method # 1 Deleting the iTunes folder
The easiest way to solve the error with the iTunes Library.itl file is to delete the iTunes folder, which is located in the directory C: Users [ИМЯ ВАШЕЙ УЧЕТНОЙ ЗАПИСИ] Music … Delete this folder and then try launching iTunes again. So, what you just did, in essence, deleted the iTunes folder, which also contained the iTunes Library.itl file, and launched the program to create a new iTunes Library.itl file that matches its version.
Method number 2 Creating another library
It may so happen that the previous method does not cope with the error “iTunes Library.itl cannot be read …”. What should users do then? Well, you can simply create another iTunes library, which will create a new iTunes Library.itl file that will definitely match your version of the program.
So, creating a new library in iTunes is very, very simple: close iTunes, if it is currently running, hold down the button Shift on the keyboard and run the program again, whether through a shortcut or an executable file in the root folder – it really doesn’t matter. Instead of the usual opening of the program, a small dialog box with several options will appear in front of you.
Click on the “Create a new library” button and specify its new location (you can choose a standard one). As soon as you do this, Apple’s proprietary utility should start without any problems, and the iTunes Library.itl file should be readable by it. However, some users claim that the above two methods do not help them. Well, if luck is not on your side, you will have to tinker with iTunes a little more.
Method number 3 Reinstall iTunes
The third – and final – method for resolving the iTunes Library.itl error is the easiest of all. His idea is to completely reinstall the proprietary iTunes program, as well as all the software that was installed in the process. Know that it’s best not to downgrade to the old version of iTunes immediately after using the new one: clean your PC of the traces of the new version of iTunes, and then install the previous version if you prefer.
This way, you will be able to avoid all kinds of problems when launching iTunes. Among other things, you should be reminded not to listen to all the tips that recommend that you download iTunes Library.itl from third-party sources, and then replace the file that is on your system with it. Be aware that doing this can do great harm to your operating system. We hope that with the help of this material you were able to finally get rid of the error “iTunes Library.itl cannot be read …”.