Downloading and Installing iTunes on a Windows PC

It can be better to download a copy of iTunes from the Internet to install it on your computer even if you have a copy on the iPod CD. That’s because the application is periodically updated. When you download a copy from the Web, you get the latest and greatest version. When you install a copy from the CD, you get the latest and greatest version when the CD was produced, which might not be the current latest and greatest.
If you want to download and install a copy of iTunes, perform the following steps:

1. Open your favorite Web browser, such as Internet Explorer.
2. Move to http://www.apple.com/itunes.
3. Click the Download link. You will see the Download page.
4. Scroll down the page until you see the Download iTunes section
5. Click the Windows 2000 or XP radio button.
6. Enter your email address if you want to subscribe to any of Apple’s iTunes newsletters; if you don’t, you can leave this blank.
7. Enter your first and last name if you want to (this is optional information).
8. Choose the area in which you live in the drop-down list.
9. Check the boxes for the Apple newsletters you want to receive (or uncheck the boxes for any Apple newsletters you don’t want to receive). For example, the New Music Tuesdays newsletter lets you know about music that has been added to the iTunes Music Store.
10. Click Download iTunes. In most cases, you will see the Security Warning dialog box. If you don’t have your Web browser configured to present this, you will move directly to the Save As dialog box, in which case you can skip the next step.
11. In the Security Warning dialog box, click Yes to indicate that you want to install and run the iTunes Installer. The InstallShield Wizard will open and start the installation process. After a moment or two, you will see the iTunes for Windows window
12. Read the information in the Installer window and click Next.
13. If you have a lot of time and patience, read the license agreement; when you are done, click Yes if you agree or No if you don’t. (Of course, if you don’t agree, you can skip the rest of these steps and the rest of this part of the book because you won’t be able to use iTunes.)
14. In the resulting Information window, you can read information about iTunes, such as what it can do and what you need to install it. Because you have this book, you don’t really need to read this information, but it can’t hurt to do so! When you are done reading, click Next. You’ll see the Setup Type window (see Figure 13.3) .
15. Check the following options to make them active or uncheck them to make them inactive:
• Install desktop shortcuts—This option places a shortcut to iTunes on your desktop. Unless you don’t like desktop shortcuts for some reason, you should usually leave this option checked.
• Use iTunes as the default player for audio files—This option causes iTunes to be used to play most audio files that you will access on the Internet, your computer, CDs, and so on. If you prefer to use another application, such as Window Media Player, uncheck this check box. However, I recommend that you leave it checked for now. You can always change the default application to be something else after you have become comfortable with iTunes (not that you’ll want to!).
• Use QuickTime as the default player for media files—If you choose this option, the QuickTime Player application will be used when you view video or other multimedia content. Just like the previous option, if you prefer to use a different application, uncheck this check box.
16. Click Next. You’ll see the Choose Destination Location dialog box.
17. If you don’t want to accept the default installation location (which is C:\Program Files\iTunes\), click the Browse button and choose the location you do want to use. Then click Next. You’ll see a window advertising the iPod.
18. Click Next. As the Installer starts to work, you will see the Setup Status window. This window provides you with information about the installation When the process is complete, you will see the Installation Successful window.
19. Click Finish to restart your computer and complete the installation process. When your computer restarts, iTunes will be ready for you.