Revert iTunes 9 To 8.2.1

iTunes 9 may have some interesting new features, however many people have been wanting to revert to the previous version of iTunes 8.2.1. Normally you would lose all your library settings and other info such as playlists, play counts, ratings etc.

You can revert iTunes 9 to iTunes 8.2.1 with all settings in tact with these steps:

1. Quit iTunes completely. Some processes may be running in the background, such as  iPodService.exe. Make sure you exit out of all such background services.

2. Go to your Applications folder (C:\Program Files in case of Windows PC) and delete the entire iTunes folder.

3. Go to your iTunes Music folder (~/My Documents/My Music/iTunes on Windows PC).

4. Move the ‘iTunes Library’ file (.itl) to another location. (This is just to be on the safe side so that you don’t lose it forever in case the reverting process is not successful).

5. Since you have upgraded iTunes 8.2.1 to iTunes 9, your iTunes Music folder should have a back up folder named ‘Previous iTunes Libraries’. Look for iTunes Library file that has been backed up in this folder; it should be dated to a time you first installed iTunes 9.

6. Move this folder to iTunes music folder (~My Music/iTunes) and rename it to ‘iTunes Library’.

7. Download iTunes 8.2.1 and Install it.

8. Restart your PC. You should now be able to get back iTunes to a previous state.

In case any step goes wrong, you can always install iTunes 9 or the latest version, move the iTunes Library file backup which you made in step 4 back to it’s original location.