Apple offers iTunes Repair Tool for Vista

If you’ve upgraded your Windows PC to Microsoft’s new Vista operating system and find that you suddenly can’t play any of the music you’ve bought from the iTunes Store, you need Apple’s recently released iTunes Repair Tool for Vista. It’s available for download from Apple’s Web site.

The iTunes Repair Tool for Vista is positioned as a last-step tool for getting Vista to work with previously-purchased iTunes Store songs. Apple has posted a separate tech note explaining some of the issues and offering step-by-step instructions for users upgrading from Windows XP or 2000 to Windows Vista.

Apple recommends that iTunes users who want to upgrade to Vista wait for the next release, “which will be available in the next few weeks,” according to Apple. That new release will “address a number of iTunes compatibility issues,” Apple said.

“Some currently known compatibility issues with iTunes 7.0.2 and earlier versions include:

iTunes Store purchases may not play when upgrading to Windows Vista from Windows 2000 or XP.

iPod models with the “Enable Disk Use” option turned off may be unable to update or restore iPod software, and make changes to iPod settings.

iPod models configured to Auto Sync and have the “Enable Disk Use” option turned off may require being ejected and reconnected to resync.

Ejecting an iPod from the Windows System Tray using the “Safely Remove Hardware” feature may corrupt your iPod. To always safely eject an iPod, choose Eject iPod from the Controls menu within iTunes.

Cover Flow animation may be slower than expected.

Contacts and calendars will not sync with iPod.