iTunes 5.0 Special Report: Persistent "Quit iTunes before installing" message, fix

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 7:52 a.m. PT

2 min read

A number of users report that they are unable to properly install iTunes 5.0, receiving the message: "Quit iTunes before installing this update" despite the iTunes application being inactive at the time of attempted installation.

One reader writes:

"Tried installing iTunes 5.0 via Software Update. Get the message "quit iTunes before installing this update". No other application is running. Had to force restart my Mac to get rid of the message which came popping up continuously.

Another reader adds:

"Neither the standalone nor the version from software update will install on my powerbook. In both cases a popup window is telling me to shutdown iTunes before running the update to the new version. Of course, itunes is not running and also starting and then stopping the currently installed version of iTunes does not help."

The cause of this problem appears to be that the iTunes installer package checks for any processes containing the name "iTunes" currently running, and refuses to install if it finds any. Hence if you are using a third-party iTunes add-on that contains the product's name, the installer will not execute properly.

For instance, the add-on Sizzling Keys (a hotkey tool for iTunes) uses the process name "SizzlingKeys4iTunes." Thus its process must be killed before the iTunes installer will work.

You can either kill these processes via the Activity Monitor (located in Applications/Utilities) or simply by turning the utility in question off in its System Preference pane or application menu.

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