Revert to Win7 iTunes .msi issue

FergusPearson said:

I've tried to convert my FAT32 drive to NTFS but eventually got the message: "the conversion failed" (I tried it twice - same result). I also tried the Apple update in Safe Mode but that didn't work either. I'll try Halasz's idea of using CCleaner to find the proper path for the msi file, and try putting it there. If that fails I could use CCleaner to uninstall all the itunes stuff (hopefully except the files) and then install iTunes completely new. Should that work?? But I've had enough for today! I probably won't be able to get back to this till Monday. Thanks again for all the help.

I think that CCleaner is your best bet but you should take a look at this Apple support info at
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6562
Read the second box and especially note 2.
What might be a good strategy is to use CCleaner to remove all the Apple software in this order: iTunes, Apple Software Update, Apple Mobil Device Support, iCloud (if present), Mobil Me (if present, nut not likely) Bonjour, and Apple Application Support both 32 and 64 bit. Be sure to back up your music just in case.
Then follow up by looking for and deleting any of the folders noted in the Apple article that might still be present just to be safe.
Since your not going to work on this until Monday maybe some of the other folks could give their opinions.
If this fails to do the trick then you might be looking at a clean reinstall of you old system or Win10 as long as you have of the install media, keys, and above all your data.

FergusPearson said:

I've tried to convert my FAT32 drive to NTFS but eventually got the message: "the conversion failed" (I tried it twice - same result). I also tried the Apple update in Safe Mode but that didn't work either. I'll try Halasz's idea of using CCleaner to find the proper path for the msi file, and try putting it there. If that fails I could use CCleaner to uninstall all the itunes stuff (hopefully except the files) and then install iTunes completely new. Should that work?? But I've had enough for today! I probably won't be able to get back to this till Monday. Thanks again for all the help.

As for the error "the conversion failed", which you are having with your backup drive, this is dealt with here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/323563
Move the data away from the FAT32 volume, reformat the volume with NTFS, and then restore your data.

While I consider CCleaner to be a helpful tool, it does not do magic. It e.g. has options to modify the names of entries under "Installed Programs", but all it does basically is to change the according values in the registry. No witchcraft. The same is true for the uninstallation process I think: CCleaner would only invoke the uninstaller, that is all. If I should guess, I would say that in your case that will again lead to exactly the same error.

Joergi said:

As for the error "the conversion failed", which you are having with your backup drive, this is dealt with here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/323563
Move the data away from the FAT32 volume, reformat the volume with NTFS, and then restore your data.

While I consider CCleaner to be a helpful tool, it does not do magic. It e.g. has options to modify the names of entries under "Installed Programs", but all it does basically is to change the according values in the registry. No witchcraft. The same is true for the uninstallation process I think: CCleaner would only invoke the uninstaller, that is all. If I should guess, I would say that in your case that will again lead to exactly the same error.

Then a good strategy would be to follow the instructions in the Apple support article and then use CCleaner to remove any references to iTunes and the other supporting Apple software in the registry. That should enable him to do a fresh install of iTunes.

On that Apple help page they do mention the problem of programs not being uninstallable and they also tell you that you should just go ahead with their list; mainly you should remove the listed files and folders. That looks like a poor man's uninstall.

I don't know,if that helps, but it's worth a try.

Joergi said:

On that Apple help page they do mention the problem of programs not being uninstallable and they also tell you that you should just go ahead with their list; mainly you should remove the listed files and folders. That looks like a poor man's uninstall.

I don't know,if that helps, but it's worth a try.

A this point I think it's either that or a reinstall of his OS.

On a related topic I've noticed that downgrading from Win10 back to Win7, and maybe Win8.1 as well, tends to lead to these problems. MS does warn users that they may need to reinstall some programs if they downgrade. Kind of an understatement! Both times I down graded two of my PCs I had this problem with iTunes as well as with trying to patch at least one game. I suspect it inherent with the downgrade process. I've decided to take my gaming PC and restore win7 with a back up I made before upgrading to Win10 (and the downgrading) so I have no future problems with games or the SQL Sever and ASP.Net programming environment. I'd jump off a building if I had to reinstall those!

Sure, the Windows 10 upgrade is not mainly made to be downgraded again afterwards. If you really have to go back, restoring the old version from a system image is a good and clean way.

After all, iTunes is actually working for Fergus. It only cannot be updated currently. Reinstalling the complete OS, just because of such a minor inconvenience, is like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer.

And he still has not answered, if fixing the NTFS permissions helped.

Joergi said:

Sure, the Windows 10 upgrade is not mainly made to be downgraded again afterwards. If you really have to go back, restoring the old version from a system image is a good and clean way.

After all, iTunes is actually working for Fergus. It only cannot be updated currently. Reinstalling the complete OS, just because of such a minor inconvenience, is like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer.

And he still has not answered, if fixing the NTFS permissions helped.

i think he did say that his iTunes permissions were the same as mine

I had the same problem (i.e. unable to update iTunes after reverting back from Windows 10 upgrade to Windows 7). What fixed it for me was:

Step 1: I used a utility called Uninstall Tool (Ver 3.4.3, available from http://www.crystalidea.com) to uninstall all Apple software from my Windows 7 machine, selecting the option to trash all connected files, including iTunes itself.

Step 2: I downloaded the windows installer cleanup utility (MicrosoftFixit.ProgramInstallUninstall.RNP.Run.exe) from the link SoFine409 helpfully provided (http://support.microsoft.com/mats/pr...and_uninstall.[/). When I ran it, it found iTunes still present and enabled me to uninstall it completely.

Step 3: I created a recovery point then:
a) deleted all residual Apple folders I found on my machine
b) deleted all references in my system's registry to the Temp folder that Windows / iTunes thought was the right place for the ITunes installer (i.e. C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Temp\[uniqueID].TMP\iTunes6464.msi"), and ensured the installer was in a more accessible location (i.e. my Downloads folder).

Step 4: Reran the iTunes installer and it completed successfully. The fresh install works OK.

This suggests that the root cause was a stray entry in the registry which Microsoft created when upgrading my machine from Windows 7 to 10, and failed to correct when reverting back to Windows 7 (I reverted because Windows 10 incorrectly failed to recognise the D drive on my machine).

SoFine409 said:

I'm wondering if someone could try creating a new folder (C:\temp) and copying the msi file there then pointing the uninstaller to that folder? Maybe that would fix the problem with the unavailable network location.

i also found an article on the Apple Support site about this issue its at http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3704. I'm not sure if the MS Unintall tool is available for download anymore but it's worth a try.

Update: the windows installer cleanup utility noted in the apple support article has been replaced with the following Fixit: http://support.microsoft.com/mats/pr..._and_uninstall.

kappm, Great that you solved your problem and that you documented the process so thoroughly. I think you hit the nail on the head about the registry key not being deleted during the downgrade. I think I might have deleted that registry key as well when I was thrashing around trying to fix my issue. FYI the MS Tool is still available to users with Win7.

As I said at the start of this thread, I recommend that anyone who plans to upgrade from Win7 to Win10 (or downgrade back to Win7) should simply uninstall iTunes and all of its supporting software before the upgrade/dowmgrade and then reinstall it after. It takes so little time to do and can save a lot of headaches afterward.