You can install Quicktime as a separate piece. Are you on Windows or Mac? On both platforms iTunes relies on Quicktime to do the actual audio decoding. I don't see how that's any more ridiculous than windows media player not working if you delete Direct Sound, or not working with certain file types if you are running an old install of DirectX.

You can just reinstall Quicktime. Maybe that will bring back iTunes without destroying anything.

This is on my husband's computer. Last night I tried to get rid programs he wasn't using (the PC is on its last legs). What happened so far is that when he tried to open iTunes, it said, "you can't open iTunes w/o QT. Uninstall and reinstall iTunes." He tried to just install QT -- it just installed another clean copy of iTunes, replacing all his playlists and settings, but not the music (not that it found his music, of course).

This is the nth time IME that iTunes has done something like this -- I don't understand why this software is like this.

Also this is my fault for not making sure his music was backed up.

On both platforms iTunes relies on Quicktime to do the actual audio decoding. I don't see how that's any more ridiculous than windows media player not working if you delete Direct Sound, or not working with certain file types if you are running an old install of DirectX.

I didn't know that, but the way that it appears to a casual user like me is a software that is separate from iTunes, but is generally bundled with it. I wouldn't expect Word to stop working and lose all my settings if I uninstalled Excel.

Bon, I know nothing about PCs but I think it's weird that it would delete his music. Maybe it's still there in the music library but the new iTunes doesn't know it's there?

The music is there. Part of the problem I am having is trusting Bob's version of what has happened, since he is fatalistic about software failure, and just assumed that the music was gone since the new version of iTunes didn't have it. I will try to fix it from here.

I asked because I had something like that happen with my photos and iPhoto once. I forget how I did it but there was some way to import the library. I had a Mac, but it may have been as simple as drag and drop the folder into iTunes (which I don't think would work on a PC).

No, you can drag and drop folders into iTunes on a PC.

{pops head in, looks around fearfully}

I has question. The internal hard drive in my laptop died yesterday. I has ordered a replacement...but it'll be days before it arrives. My netbook is great, but not an adequate substitute. I have an external hard drive that i've been using for storing documents, music, photos...tried hooking it up and turning it on but the system won't allow it. Is there some trick for convincing the computer to boot off an external drive or am i SOL because it doesn't have the startup configuration or something like that?

Might be in the bios/cmos to allow boot from USB, and needs to be turned on.

If I knew what model the laptop was, I could look up the command. In the mean time, try booting holding down the escape key, or del or the like.

it is a dell inspiron 5150 laptop. booting while holding the function key sends me into diagnostic mode....everything else brings the same failure.