iTunes 7.1 (#4): Files modified by this update; Lines through album covers in full screen Cover Flow (cont.); iPod sync issues;

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 1:06 a.m. PT

3 min read

[posted Thursday, March 8th]

Files modified by this update iTunes 7.1 is a relatively passive update, affecting only the iTunes application itself, help files and a single kernel extension. Files modified (overwritten with new versions) by the update include (an asterisk [*] indicates modification of multiple files in the given directory):

/Applications/iTunes.app (the iTunes application)
/Library/Documentation/Help/AppleTVHelp.help (a new help file for the Apple TV)
/Library/Documentation/Help/iPodHelp.help (an updated iPod help file)
/System/Library/Extensions/iTunesPhoneDriver.kext (the kernel extension that controls iTunes' interaction with mobile devices)

Based on the files modified, it is unlikely that major system functions external to iTunes itself could be adversely affected by the updated. Still, as discussed in our "Direct and indirect problem causes after system updates," seemingly unrelated problems can occur.

Lines through album covers in full screen Cover Flow Users continue to report an issue where there are vertical lines of distortion when using the Cover Flow function in full screen mode. The majority of cases involve PowerPC-based Macs that make use of ATI Radeon 9000 series graphics cards.

One reader writes:

"Ditto here. PowerMac G4 Mirrored doors, OS 4.8 and ATI Radeon 9000 Pro. Diagonal lines in the full Cover Flow window. No problem with the MacBook Core 2 Duo."

It appears that Apple is looking into this issue and may issue a fix.

iPod synchronization issues Some users are reporting problems transferring music to iPods after applying the iTunes 7.1 update.

"I have a PowerBook G4 and when I installed itunes 7.1 I can no longer sync to my i[pod. Anytime I connect it it hangs after coping 10 -15 songs. I have restored the ipod but that is no good, as now I cannot reload my music. Also when this happens itunes fails to load so I have to reinstall it."

Potential fixes
Delete true duplicates Select the playlist(s) that you synchronize with your iPod. Navigate to the "View" menu in iTunes, and select "Show Duplicates." Delete any files that are true duplicates. In other words, you don't need to delete files with the same name that are actually different tracks -- only those that are exact data duplicates.

Alternatively you can use a utility like iDupe to find and remove duplicate tracks.

Next, restore your iPod, then re-attempt synchronization.

Repair the iPod disk Connect your iPod to your Mac and select the iPod in the left-hand source pane. Click the Summary tab and make sure the "Enable disk use" option is checked.

Mount your iPod. Launch Disk Utility (located in Applications/Utilities), select the iPod volume, then use the "Repair Disk" option. Re-attempt synchronization.

Create a new account with U.S. English setting In some cases, it appears that this issue is restricted to non-US-configured Mac OS X user accounts. Try creating a new user account (per this tutorial). Next, open the "International" pane of System Preferences, and click the "Language" tab at the top. Press the "Edit List..." button and uncheck all languages except English.

Click on the "Formats" tab and select "United States" from the "Region" menu. Restore your iPod and re-attempt synchronization from the new user account.

Improvements While iTunes 7.1 has introduced issues with lines of distortion in full screen Cover Flow mode, it also appears to have resolved some issues with cover flow on some systems.

One reader writes:

"I've been having problems using Cover Flow since iTunes 7.0 on my Titanium PowerBook G4/550 running Mac OS X 10.3.9. It would hang iTunes both in "Grouped With Artwork" view and in Cover Flow view and require a force quit of iTunes to get back to normal.

"The 7.1 update apparently fixed this. Both views work GREAT now! I can't believe what I was missing with Cover Flow! Of course I had to update much of my artwork with larger, better-looking versions, but it was worth the time."

Previous coverage:

Resources

iTunes 7.1

"Direct and indirect problem causes after system updates,"

iTunes 7.1 (#3): Problems ...

iTunes 7.1 (#2): Problems ...

iTunes 7.1 released: Inclu...