How to make iTunes lighter and faster on Windows?

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This week, Apple introduced the new iPhone 6 and its smart watch finally not called iWatch but Apple Watch. Millions of people were able to follow the keynote via the Apple official website. Except for the not completely Apple-formatted users, because the live stream was only accessible with… Apple Safari. Oh, I hate the Apple way of doing things sometimes. Anyway, that is not the purpose of this post, let’s talk about iTunes.

Are you a Windows user and do you love using iTunes? That’s my personal point of view but I found this software perfect to browse and play my musical library, and I did not find any equivalent to manage my iPod so efficiently.

But are you also a user that is really annoyed by the slow performance of this software? A performance that is getting worse with new releases. I do when I see the iTunes installer become so heavy (more than 100 Mb, seriously?) and ending up with many features I don’t really need or I am even aware of. Wait! Maybe Apple makes it on purpose to force Windows users to switch to Mac OS?

But don’t run to the Apple store yet, I’m gonna tell you a little secret to make iTunes “lighter” and faster. This trick is so simple that you will ask yourself how you never think about it before.

First, you download the usual “iTunesSetup.exe” (32-bit or 64-bit version) package from the iTunes download page.

That’s not because it is an executable that you have to execute it straightaway. So unzip it first and… Surprise! The .exe file contains itself many executable files:

• AppleApplicationSupport[64].msi *
• AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi
• AppleSoftwareUpdate.msi
• Bonjour.msi
• iTunes[64].msi *
• SetupAdmin.exe

The good news is that you only need two of them to make iTunes works. What are the others for? The file name gives some clue, but I don’t really care as long as the essential features are working: play songs and synchronize my iPod.

So you have to install “AppleApplicationSupport[64].msi” first then “iTunes[64].msi”, just launch them like an executable. That’s all!

The first time you launch iTunes, a warning will pop up (only once) saying that the service “Bonjour” is not installed so you will not be able to use some additional features like AirPlay (nothing important if you don’t use it). And you can still install “Bonjour.msi” afterwards.