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A Look at iTunes, the iTunes Library, and the iTunes Library Genius

The iTunes application is a multifunctional program that is a free program for use with Macs and PCs. The iTunes application allows users to sync their iPods and iPhones, download music, play digital music, play digital videos, and more. Plus, all of this can be accomplished on a 24-hour a day basis.

The iTunes Library includes all of your imported music as well as all of your iTunes purchases. These purchases can include movies, podcasts, ringtones, TV shows, audiobooks, and games. It is possible to keep multiple iTunes libraries.

The iTunes Library Genius is a new feature in iTunes 8. This feature is designed to create the perfect playlist of songs. The user selects one song from the playlist and iTunes Library Genius is designed to generate an entire list of songs that play well with the song. The individual user can pre-select the number of songs to be generated from 25, 50, or 100 songs.

What Does iTunes error message 13026 mean?

After upgrading to iTunes 8, many users have reported encountering the iTunes error message 13026. The iTunes error message 13026 is displayed along with text stating that the iTunes application could not be opened. One or more files with this application are not working properly either due to a faulty installation or a faulty program design.

How Do I Solve iTunes error message 13026?

I can suggest two possible solutions for solving this issue. It is possible that when you downloaded your current version of iTunes, one or more of the files did not install correctly. Back up all of your files before doing so in order to safeguard all of your downloaded music, videos, games, etc. Try uninstalling and then installing again and your iTunes should work.

Some iTunes users have reported success with solving error message 13026 by removing the iTunes Genius file. This file is only an issue if you have enabled it. Therefore, if you haven’t enabled iTunes Genius, attempt an uninstall and reinstall of iTunes to correct the error.

I suggest you read the forums and make your own decision on this. Personally, I have not had an issue with the iTunes Genius file in my household, so I cannot verify that this fix will work. It might take more than one attempt to install the newest version correctly.

How to Delete the iTunes Library Genius file?

The iTunes Library Genius.itdb file is located in the iTunes folder. Simply access your iTunes folder to delete the file. Please note that if you have multiple iTunes Libraries, you will need to delete this folder from each one.

Additional Help with Tunes error message 13026

Contact the support department at Apple for help with this issue via the Apple.com website for help from their trained technicians. Additionally, if you are experiencing this error and none of the above solutions have helped to solve the problem, you can also contact live support at http://www.filetonic.com/support to receive help.

Apple has a great support base on their web site for many performance issues as well as instructions for accomplishing quite a few tasks such as adding songs, erasing files, etc. Most of the performance issues with their products are readily solved. A few tips are provided below that might solve the issue of the earphone problem with your iPod Shuffle.

The iPod Shuffle

The iPod Shuffle is a small digital music player that currently allows users to download as many as 500 songs onto it. It is wearable and colorful.

iPod Shuffle Performance Issues

iPod Shuffle performance issues can occur as the result of several issues. Among the more common ones are:

• The need to update the software
• Faulty components due to damage
• Faulty components due to normal wear and tear.

iPod Shuffle Updates

One of the first steps to take when experiencing difficulty with the iPod Shuffle is to check that you have the latest updates for it. In order to update and reinstall the iPod Shuffle software, you must download the latest version of iTunes to your computer, which you can do by visiting iTunes Downloads.

Next, once the download is complete, open the new version of iTunes. Connect your iPod Shuffle to your computer. Select your iPod Shuffle from the source list. Click the selection for “Check for Updates,” which you can find under the “Settings” tab. If the check determines that an update is available for your iPod Shuffle, iTunes will perform the update automatically for you.

iPod Shuffle Factory Restore

Although completing a restore to factory settings is one of the recommended strategies for troubleshooting iPod Shuffle problems, it apparently has not worked for you. The steps to complete a factory restore are located here: Factory Restore. Anyone who does intend to return their iPod Shuffle to factory settings, should be aware that this task will erase each song and file that you currently have on the disk. Therefore, you should back up all files and songs before completing the factory restore strategy. Save these files and songs to your iTunes Library so that you will be able to restore them to your iPod Shuffle.

iPod Shuffle Repairs at the Apple Service Store

In some cases, performance issues are related to accidental damage to the components of the iPod Shuffle. The headphone jack might have lost its connection to everything else within the iPod Shuffle. This can occur due to any of the following circumstances:

• It has been dropped.
• The headphone jack became disengaged when taking out head phones.
• Normal wear and tear or factory imperfection.

If none of the above solutions worked for you, visit the nearest Apple store. Their technician should be able to either fix it or give you a replacement iPod Shuffle. The fact that your iPod Shuffle works with your computer makes me believe that you need to have the headphone jack replaced. Good luck!

Troubleshooting iPods

You don’t say what kind of iPod or dock, or if this is a new problem, so I’m going to assume that everything has been working fine until now. I’m thinking that because you have several problems all at once that you will probably have to restore your iPod, but let’s walk through each problem individually.

iPod Docking Problems

If your dock is an iHome, you can reset it by holding down the Menu and center button at the same time. This may get your iPod to charge. Some older docking devices use firewire to charge, but new iPods only use USB voltage. In general, newer iPods work with newer iHomes, but they may not work properly if one is significantly older than the other.

iPod Earphone Problems

These are pretty obvious, but let’s run through them anyway. Make sure it isn’t your earphones and not the iPod. Wrapping the cord and life in general tends to shorten earphone life. Check for loose wires or connection problems. Try another pair. If neither pair works, then you can be fairly certain it is the machine itself.

Resetting the iPod

This is the least drastic method for fixing your iPod problems and is worth trying first. Press and hold the Menu and Select (the button in the middle of the wheel) buttons at the same time, keeping them pressed for about 10 seconds. Try this when it is not connected to anything and then again when it is sitting in the dock.

Erasing Your iPod

If none of these solutions are working for you, you need to go for drastic measures. This will cause your iPod to lose all of its data - make sure you have your music backed up someplace else. Connect your iPod to the computer and follow these instructions:

Erasing your iPod for Mac:

1. Go to MacIntoshHD, then Application then Utilities.
2. Select iPod in Disk Utility.
3. Press Repair.
4. Press Erase to erase the hard drive.

Erasing your iPod for Windows XP:

1. Go to My Computer and find IPOD in the drive (usually C)
2. Right click and Choose Format.
3. Select FAT32 and then Format
4. Reboot

Erasing your iPod for Vista:

1. Right click on My Computer.
2. Go to Properties, then Hardware.
3. Device Manager will be listed as USB controller.
4. Click on the device and you will get to the drive.

Restoring Your iPod

1. Connect your iPod to the computer.
2. Open the newest version of iTunes. Download a newer version if necessary.
3. It may prompt you to install new software, or you can select iPod from the Source column on the left hand side.
4. Click Restore.
5. When the factory settings have been restored, unplug the cable from the iPod.
6. The iPod will tell you to reconnect, so plug it back in. It will update and restart.
7. It will say “Automatically Update”. This is set by default, and you can deselect this if you want.
8. Click Done. The download status will display.
9. Quit when done.

If none of these work, the iPod makes a good doorstop. Okay, not funny. If it’s under warranty, you can easily get it fixed or replaced. If it isn’t, you can try getting it repaired by an iPod repair tech; but if it is an older model, you might want to spring for a new one.

When the iPhone downloads photos onto the computer, it randomly places them into folders that are labeled F01, F02, F03, and so on. Unless you have installed an application that will convert the .ithmb files or thumbnails into readable files, you will not be able to access them from these folders on a Windows-based computer.

The .ithmb file contains the full color thumbnails that have been downloaded from an iPod or iPhone. Thumbnail images are smaller versions of an image that can be clicked to access a larger version of the image. While .ithmb problems do not generally occur on an iPod or iPhone, they do arise when the files are transferred from the accessory onto the computer. The problem lies in the fact that the .ithmb file has not been converted into a file that the computer can read such as a TIFF file. Therefore, you can’t access the thumbnails for viewing. This seems to be a common problem that occurs frequently and for most first time users of the iPod or iPhone. Programs that convert the files to TIFF are mainly restricted to Mac operating systems. Therefore, the following two options might be easier and less expensive for you.

The easiest strategy to have followed would have been to set the iTunes preferences to the setting labeled “Include full resolution photos”. This setting makes full sized images accessible on the iPod/ iPhone from the beginning. Therefore, when you transfer the photos to the computer, the photos are full resolution ones that are recognized and accessed readily enough.

Try the following:

• Connect the iPhone to the computer.
• Open the “photos” section of your iPhone.
• Turn on the “Include full resolution photos” setting.
• If the full size photos appear, retransfer the photos to your computer.

Try the following:

• Turn on the “Include full resolution photos” setting.
• Connect the iPhone to the computer.
• Select the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard to download your iPhone photos to your computer. Once you click on the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard, you should be able to view all of the photos from your iPhone. Select the ones that you wish to download.

Do you mean that the webpage is too big for your computer screen? If you are installing your iPod software or iTunes on your computer, it sounds like the page you are using is somehow too large to see on your computer or browser screen. Is this problem confined to this particular installation process or is it affecting your web browsing generally? It is possible that your web browser settings were changed, either intentionally or inadvertently, to zoom in and increase the display size of a site.

If this is the case, the fix is simple. In Internet Explorer version 7 there is a new page zoom tool that is able to adjust the display size of text, images, charts, tables and frames with easy keyboard shortcuts. To zoom in, press the Ctrl (Control) key at the same time as the + key. To zoom out, use Ctrl and the - key. You can try this a couple times to see if zooming out will get the whole page on the screen. There is also a shrink-to-fit type shortcut that will size the data for the screen by simultaneously pressing Ctrl, Shift and the ‘p’ key. And Ctrl and ‘0′ will set the zoom at full size.

If the problem is that the computer isn’t able to load all the install software that came with your iPod, you can try using the View tab in the tool bar at the top of your computer screen, then adjust the layout, text size or page display settings. If none of this is getting at your problem, you might want to double check that your computer meets the system requirements for the iPod Nano. If you are using a Mac, you need an OS X operating system version 10.4.11 or later and iTunes version 8 or later. If you are using a Windows based system, you need Windows Vista or XP Home or Professional with the Service Pack 3 updates and iTunes version 8 or later.

 . . . but is stored at t-mobile pm collect online. For some reason it will not let me open the file. It sends me to search for software to open this? I have other photo’s there which I can view with no problem. Can you help?

T-Mobile PM Collect is the online “picture messaging” retrieval service of the T-Mobile UK. Similar services exist in other T-Mobile networks in other countries. In this case, the photos are either sent and received by camera phones or a camera phone attempts to send a photo to a non-picture message enabled phone. When a photo arrives as a link, rather than an image, the recipient must go to www.t-mobile.co.uk/pmcollect (the address is different for US or other T-Mobile networks) to view the photo. The photo remains available on the site for 14 days. You can also save the photo to disk.

In this case, the Filetonic reader who asked this question indicated that she is accessing the PM Collect link via her PC. While the T-Mobile picture messaging service is neat, the answer to her question doesn’t involve the fact so much that the photo is a T-Mobile photo; rather, it involves the fact that the PC isn’t recognizing the photo itself.

What I would do is save the file to my computer using the save feature of the T-Mobile PM Collect Web site. Then, I would right-click the photo and choose Open (or Open With depending on the operating system). Windows then displays a list of programs that it thinks should be able to open the photo. For example, on my computer, clicking on a .jpg photo in this manner prompts me to choose Paint, Picture Manager, Windows Photo Gallery, and a few other programs. If you have a program that you want to try (such as Picasa) that’s not listed, you can browse for it as well.

Photos come with a variety of different file extensions depending on the original application that made the photo. Common file extensions include: BMP, JPG, GIF, and TIFF. It’s possible that your computer recognizes some extensions but is unsure what to do with others. It may take a bit of trial and error to find an application capable of opening the exact file though it shouldn’t be too difficult. If it’s a common file extension, most of the built-in picture viewer tools Like Windows Photo Gallery or Paint should be able to handle the image.

Once you’ve found a program that opens the photo, you can set your computer up to always use that program. This is called making a file association. Once again, right-click the photo and choose Open. Select the program that you want and place a checkmark in the box that says “Always use the selected program for this file type.” If you have Windows Vista, you have to choose “Choose Default Program” before getting to this step.