Corrupted iTunes on My iMac

Updates

Keeping your iTunes and operating system files up to date can fix many common errors that may make iTunes not work properly. Click the Apple menu in the upper left corner of your screen and choose "Check for Updates." Download and install any updates that appear, and then restart your iMac and see if iTunes works correctly. Even if there are no updates, simply restarting your iMac sometimes will fix minor software bugs.

If you receive an error message, it does not necessarily mean iTunes is corrupted. For example, having the wrong date set on your iMac can cause errors -9800, -9814 or -9815 on a Mac. Correct the date in your system settings, restart the iMac and try using iTunes again. You can also accidentally cause problems with iTunes by deleting or rearranging folders on your iMac. For example, the "Shared" folder is required for the iTunes store, and the "Music" folder must be in a specific location so iTunes can find it. Restoring the folders or telling iTunes where to look for them can make the software work properly again.

If you can't find the cause of the errors or are certain the iTunes files are corrupt, uninstalling iTunes from your iMac is the best solution. Drag the "iTunes" folder from the "Applications" folder in "Finder" into the trash icon on your desktop. Drag the iTunes icon to the trash as well. Use "Finder" to locate the "applemobiledevice.kext" and the "applemobiledevicesupport.pkg" and delete these two files as well. If you can't find the second file, don't worry; it isn't included on all systems. Restart your iMac, empty the Trash bin, and then restart the iMac again. This process will completely uninstall iTunes software from your iMac but will not affect your media files.

Visit the iTunes website to download a fresh version of iTunes, which will reinstall all the necessary files and folders. Check the link details and system requirements before you download to make sure you are downloading the Mac version rather than the Windows version and that your computer meets the current iTunes standards. Because uninstalling iTunes does not install your media files, this process will not fix errors due to file location changes or damage to individual songs and videos.