iTunes 7.7 (#3): stalls with a spinning beach ball on iPod connection, missing GUI

Stalls upon iPod/iPhone connection The iTunes update has caused numerous users to experience hangs upon attaching an iPod or iPhone to the computer. When the device is attached the spinning beach ball will pop up and iTunes will become unresponsive, prompting users to force-quit the application. As described by Apple Discussion member cutcoMike:

"iTunes 7.7 seems to work fine until I connect my iPhone and then it just freezes up the whole computer, but when I disconnect my iPhone it goes back to working just fine. It just doesn't seem to like it when I connect my iPhone."

Users have found the following fixes to be helpful in solving this problem.

• Ensure your iPod is disconnected before starting iTunes This allows iTunes to update the local library files before managing iPod synchronization. Test out iTunes and ensure it functions normally before plugging in your iPod and attempting to sync your data.
• Wait it out Even though the application may appear to be nonfunctional, users have found that this hang can be a temporary problem while iTunes first gets running. This can take a few minutes before iTunes begins functioning again, but when it does the problem for some users seems to cleared itself. Test the application and ensure you can copy a file or two to the iPod, and hopefully the problem will be gone; however, if it persists then try the next steps.
• Run drive checks on the iPod and permissions fixes on the hard disk Using Disk Utility, check the drives to ensure they are intact, as disk problems could definitely lead to software hangs.
• Restore the iPod and re-sync it Following Apple's instructions, reset the iPod to factory default settings and then plug it into the computer. You will need to re-sync your library, contacts, and calendars again, but iTunes should no longer hang after this.

Missing GUI For many iTunes 7.7 users, the interface hangs and becomes unresponsive or does not appear at all when the application is first launched. For some users this has occurred when they've attached iPods to their computers, but for others it has happened with the initial opening of the program.

It appears the iTunes update needs to take some time to catalog the files in your library. If it hangs on this process, it could corrupt the library and require a library restoration. Additionally, if the library is corrupt to begin with then it could lead to a hang when iTunes tries to access it. Regardless, the following fixes have worked for some users:

• Restore a backup iTunes library file and allow iTunes to update it Reinstall iTunes via the direct download, but do not immediately open it. Next, copy your "iTunes Music Library.xml" file (it may be called something different, but is the only xml file in the folder) out of the ~/Music/iTunes folder and restore a previous version from a Time Machine backup (or some other backup). Finally ensure your library is available to iTunes (i.e.: attached and mounted if on an external drive) and run iTunes and allow it to take its time to read the library. For some users this has taken 5-10 minutes, so be patient and the GUI should eventually load.
• Create a new library If you have your library organized by artist and album as iTunes does by default, then you should be able to remove the iTunes library files from your "~/Music/iTunes" directory and then open iTunes. From there you can drag the "iTunes Music" folder to the iTunes window to add all the files back and create a new library file. NOTE: this will erase the album ratings, play counts, and other meta data that iTunes applies to the library, so only do this if those items are unimportant.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage:

• iTunes 7.7 (#2): erased drive data, empty library, unexpected quits; more
• iTunes 7.7: causing major iPod/iPhone connectivity problems, other issues

Resources