iTunes 7.6.2: fixes for distortion, slowdown, and problems installing

Disable plug-ins to eliminate audio distortion If you are experiencing audible clicks, blurs or other distortion after installing iTunes 7.6.2, try removing any third-party audio plug-ins from the following directories:

• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/
• ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/

then restarting.

One potential culprit named by several users is Volume Logic, which is located in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL.

Random slowdown -- fix If you are experiencing random slowness (typified by a spinning pinwheel progress indicator) in iTunes 7.6.2, try recreating your iTunes library via the instructions in this Knowledge Base article.

Also, try removing any third-party QuickTime codecs from the following directories:

• ~/Library/QuickTime
• /Library/QuickTime

Use the standalone download, not Software Update Why does MacFixIt continually recommend usage of standalone download updates rather than Software Update? Let's pass the mic to reader Len W:

"I successfully updated only Quicktime with Software Update, then rebooted. Then I used Software Update to unsuccessfully update to iTunes 7.6.2. The Finder completely froze up while the installation was occurring (waited about 30 minutes),  requiring me to force the power off with the On/Off button, as Force Quit wouldn't launch. Rather than try to launch iTunes (which Get Info said was at v. 7.6.2), I downloaded iTunes 7.6.2 from Apple downloads [...] I rebooted the internal hard disk in Safe mode (held Shift key down) and ran the downloaded ITunes 7.6.2 Installer, with no problem. iTunes 7.6.2 launched with no problem, and appears to be operating properly. The lesson learned is to not use Software Update, but always use the correct downloaded updater."

Here's the 45MB iTunes 7.6.2 download.

Issues with burned CDs Some users are reporting problems with audio CDs burned in iTunes 7.6.2. MacFixIt reader Ron writes:

"My Honda Accord CD player won't even play at all and my truck CD player will only play some tracks but very poorly. The burned CDs play fine on my G5 tower via iTunes 7.6.2 though. [...] iTunes 7.4.2 that my original Leopard DVD (i.e. 10.5.0) installed burns CDs just fine. And they play great on my car's CD player. My advice would be to upgrade iTunes 7.6.2 on a backup of your system and see how they play on CD players you will be regularly using (other than your computer). To repeat: don't assume that iTunes 7.6.2 is burning CDs correctly simply because they play great on your computer."

If you are experiencing a similar issue, please let us know.

Previous coverage:

• iTunes 7.6.2 released; improves audio quality, Apple TV problems

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