Installing iTunes on a Windows PC

Over the years, Apple has produced a few applications designed for both Windows PCs and Macintoshes. Thank goodness for Windows users that iTunes is also in this group. (Few of Apple's other attempts are worthy of much mention, but iTunes is definitely a crossover hit!)

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In case you are wondering, about the only other successful application Apple has produced for Windows computers is the database program FileMaker Pro. This originally was developed by a subsidiary of Apple called Claris. Claris spun out from Apple and is now known as FileMaker, thus giving the company the same name as its most popular product. Apple has also produced a technology that is widely used on Windows PCs: QuickTime.

To use iTunes on a Windows computer, you must be running Windows 2000 or Windows XP. If you are running Windows 98, Me, or 95, you are out of the iTunes game. (Of course, those older versions of Windows are really old and you should be using a newer version for more reasons than just the ability to run iTunes!)

You have two primary ways to get a copy of iTunes and install it on your computer. (The good news is that neither way will cost you any more money than you have already spent.) First, if you have purchased an iPod, which is a likely case given that you are reading a book about iPods, a copy of iTunes is provided on the CD included with every iPod. Second, if you don't have an iPod or don't have the CD that came with it for some reason, you can download iTunes from the Internet.

Downloading and Installing iTunes on a Windows PC

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For information about installing iTunes from the CD included with iPods, refer to "Installing the iPod's Software on a Windows PC" on page 22. If this is the option you chose, you can skip over the rest of this section and move ahead with launching the application, as I explain in "Launching and Performing the Initial Configuration of iTunes on a Windows PC," on page 196.

Even if you have a copy on the iPod CD, it can be better to download a copy of iTunes from the Internet to install it on your computer. That's because the application is periodically updated to add new features and bug fixes. 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 Free Download link. You will see the Download page.
4.	Scroll down the page until you see the Download iTunes section (see Figure 14.1). Figure 14.1. Downloading iTunes is easy and free; what could be better?
5.	Click the Windows 2000 or XP radio button.
6.	Uncheck the boxes for the Apple newsletters you don't want to receive (they are both checked by default). For example, the New Music Tuesday newsletter lets you know about music that has been added to the iTunes Music Store. If you want that information, leave its check box checked.
7.	Enter your email address if you left either of the check boxes checked; if you unchecked both of them, you can leave this blank.
8.	Click Free 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 two steps.
9.	In the Security Warning dialog box, click Run to indicate that you want to download and run the iTunes Installer. You'll see yet another Security Warning dialog box.
10.	Click Run. The InstallShield Wizard will open and start the installation process. After a moment or two (if you connect to the Internet with a dial-up connection, it might be quite a bit longer than a moment or two), you will see the iTunes Installer window (see Figure 14.2). Figure 14.2. Working through the iTunes Installer is mostly a matter of reading and clicking Next.
11.	Read the information in the Installer window and click Next.
12.	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. (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.)
13.	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 14.3). Figure 14.3. As you install iTunes, you have several options, such as whether you want iTunes to be the default player for audio files.
14.	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 you 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 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 select 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.
15.	Click Next. You'll see the Choose Destination Location dialog box.
16.	If you want to accept the default installation location (which is C:\Program Files\iTunes\), skip the rest of this step. If you want to change the installation location, click the Browse button and select the location you do want to use. When that location is selected, click OK.
17.	Click Next. You'll see a window advertising something, such as the AirPort Express Base Station or the iPod. (Even with as much as I like these products, it doesn't seem quite right to stick in an ad that stops the installation process, but what can you do?)
18.	Click Next. As the Installer starts to work, you will see the Setup Status window. This window provides information about the installation process (see Figure 14.4). Figure 14.4. Here, you can see that the iTunes Installer is currently installing QuickTime. When the process is complete, you will see the Installation Successful window.
19.	Click Finish. iTunes will be ready for you to enjoy.

Launching and Performing the Initial Configuration of iTunes on a Windows PC

Whichever path you have taken to this point, I am sure all is well and you are ready to start cutting your teeth on iTunes.

To open the application and perform the initial configuration (which you need to do only the first time you open the program), follow these steps:

1.	Open iTunes. You have several ways to do this. You can use the desktop icon to open it (assuming you chose to have an icon placed there). You can also select Start, All Programs, iTunes, iTunes to launch the application from the Start menu. Or, you can click the shortcut that was conveniently placed in the taskbar for you. tip If you find yourself opening iTunes every time you use your computer and you probably will consider adding it to the list of startup programs so it will open automatically when you turn on your computer. After you have used one of these methods, the iTunes window will open. The first time you launch the application, the iTunes Setup Assistant will appear (see Figure 14.5). The helpful assistant will guide you through the few configuration decisions you need to make before you start working with the application. As with other assistants, you will move through the iTunes Setup Assistant by reading its information, making choices, and clicking the Next button. Figure 14.5. The iTunes Setup Assistant appears the first time you open the application; get a good look at it because you won't be seeing it again.
2.	Click Next to move to the Find Music Files screen. The purpose of this screen is to indicate whether you want iTunes to search your Music folder to find any existing music and then add that music to your iTunes Library. If you have music in this folder, I recommend that you let iTunes add it to your Library. note After the first time you launch iTunes, you won't ever need to access the Setup Assistant again because you can configure iTunes using its Preferences command. If you want iTunes to search for music on your computer, click the Yes radio button (which isn't really necessary because it is the default selection) and then click Next. If you want to skip this search, click No and then click Next.
3.	Use the Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized window to indicate whether you want iTunes to automatically rename and organize the music in your iTunes Music folder when you change that music's information (such as genre). Unless you have a very specific reason not to want this feature, click Yes and then click Next. If you do have some reason why you don't want iTunes to rename or move your music files, click No and then click Next.
4.	Use the iTunes Music Store window to determine whether you want to move to the iTunes Music Store immediately after the Setup Assistant is done. Because you will learn about the iTunes Music Store in detail in Part III, "The iTunes Music Store," click the No radio button and click Finish. The Setup Assistant will run and you will see the iTunes window (see Figure 14.6). If you indicated that you want iTunes to find any music in your Music folder and add it to the iTunes Library, you will see the music the application found. Figure 14.6. Okay, so the iTunes window doesn't look so exciting yet; soon, there will be lots of great music to listen to. Now you are ready to learn about the major elements of the iTunes window. Unless you also have a Macintosh on which you also want to install iTunes, you can skip ahead to the section "Getting to Know iTunes" on page 201. However, because my writing is so scintillating (don't you love that word?), I wouldn't blame you if you read the next section even if you don't have a Mac!