Can't open iTunes due to QuickTime? Tried to uninstall QuickTime (successfully uninstalled iTunes already) and get error message "Fatal error during installation" and QuickTime will not uninstall?

That happened to me recently.

I learned that the new version of iTunes, iTunes 8, was released. I downloaded and successfully installed it. But when I tried to run it there was an error message. It seems that in order for me to open iTunes, I had to update my QuickTime. It was weird because whenever I upgrade iTunes, the installer will automatically upgrade QuickTime too.

But then I remembered that I just installed a K-Lite Mega Codec Pack. It could be source of the problem because depending on the versions of the programs/codec-packs, it can install earlier versions of QuickTime componentry on a PC, which can interfere with the running/installing of a higher version of QuickTime. (The same thing will happen with ACE, a copy of the programs QT Alternative or QT Lite or Storm Codec, or a media conversion program that can change files from and to QuickTime-readable formats.)

I went to Control Pannel > Add/Remove Programs but I couldn't uninstall (keep getting the error msg.: "fatal error during installation" even though I am uninstalling). When I attempt to repair QuickTime via installing iTunes, it runs through the installation process and suddenly the error msg. reads: "The installation of QuickTime did not complete successfully. iTunes requires QuickTime."

I asked a friend who knows these kind of thing well. He said I could use System Restore while in Safe Mode to restore my system to the date when the error hadn't occurred. But it still didn't work. For whatever reason, the system couldn't restore to the date that I chose.

Then I thought "That's it! I'm gonna do this my own way! It's time to turn on the Sotoy Mode!". So I tried this and that, didn't really know what I was doing, just following a hunch (yah, namanya juga sotoy..). It actually worked!!!

So, here's exactly what I did.

1. Go to C:\Program Files, then delete the entire QuickTime folder.

2. Click Start - Find/Search - All Files And Folders, select the hard drive ( C: ) to look in, type in QuickTime, then click Find/Search. when the list of files appear, right-click on and delete all the ones that you confirm are associated with QuickTime.

3. Click Start - Run, type in REGEDIT, then click OK. Click the + in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Software

4. In the Software sub-menu, right-click directly on the Apple Computer entry, then click Delete - Yes. (Note: If you click the + in the "Apple Computer" entry, you'll see "QuickTime" listed there)

5. After this, just to make sure everything was gone, I went to Control Panel > Remove Programs, and QuickTime still showed up, but when i clicked on uninstall, the fatal error message didn't show up anymore, and it was completely removed. I also deleted everything that has to do with apple, and iPod, iTunes and all of that in the process.

That's all! I installed iTunes 8 again and it worked perfectly fine!

If you want to take a safer way, try Ccleaner, which you can download from here. After it is installed you go to "tools" and check if QuickTime is there, and try to uninstall it from there.

Labels: guides, softwares, tips