Install iTunes Without Quicktime

By Jeffrey | November 29, 2007

itunes-logo.jpg
It seems almost everybody has a copy of the ubiquitous iTunes software installed today.

It’s easy to see why, too. It has a fantastic feature list, it runs relatively well with a large library (considering the “real-time” aspect of how it manages files), and it looks pretty good while doing it.

But one other thing that it also has is the completely junk bloatware Quicktime included as a mandatory install.

It runs extremely slow compared to other media players, won’t let you play video full screen, and it infests the system with hidden processes that are nearly impossible to kill - see this guide here.

However, we still want iTunes, so let’s get rid of its baggage.

First Things First

You’re going to need two pieces of software for this guide:

  • iTunes: Well, duh.
  • Quicktime Alternative: iTunes relies on the Quicktime method of playing media in order to play your files, so we’ll need to have some form of it installed.

Just click those links and get downloading!

Install The Bloat

Unfortunately, iTunes checks to ensure it can install Quicktime before it will let you install, so we’re going to have to install Quicktime once.

So go ahead and proceed through the iTunes install as you normally would - I’m sure I don’t need to walk you through it. But here’s some pictures of the process for your enjoyment.

itunes003.png itunes004.png itunes005.png itunes006.png

Remove The Bloat

Now that that’s taken care, we can get rid of Quicktime. So before you start iTunes or anything else, head on over to Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel - by the way, has anybody ever added a program here? - and uninstall Quicktime.

It will tell you it has to close all running Quicktime applications first - remember what I said about it secretly infesting your system? - but then it should uninstall without issue.

itunes007.png itunes008.png

By the way, if you don’t have an iPhone feel free to also uninstall Apple Mobile Device Support as it is just a wasted process.

A Better Alternative

Now open up the Quicktime Alternative file you downloaded and install it.

All of the default install options will work fine, although I chose not to include shortcuts in the Start Menu out of personal preference.

Here’s what the process looks like:

itunes011.png itunes012.png itunes013.png itunes014.png itunes015.png itunes016.png itunes017.png itunes018.png itunes019.png

As a nice side-feature, at least to the purposes of this guide, Quicktime Alternative will play all your other Quicktime format files without flaw, and much smoother than Quicktime itself.

That’s It!

Now start up iTunes and you’ll see that it is running just as it normally should. All of your files should play fine, including purchased tracks.

itunes021.png

Final Thoughts

If you have any problems completing this guide feel free to comment below or shoot me an e-mail at:
E-Mail

Topics: Guides |

3 Responses to “Install iTunes Without Quicktime”

  1. [...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt [IMG itunes-logo.jpg] It seems almost everybody has a copy of the ubiquitous iTunes software installed today. It’s easy to see why, too. It has a fantastic feature list, it runs relatively well with a large library (considering the “real-time” aspect of how it manages files), and it looks pretty good while doing it. But one other thing that it also has is the completely junk bloatware Quicktime included as a mandatory install. It runs extremely slow compared to other media players, won’t le [...]

    Posted by: dahranis » Install iTunes Without Quicktime on November 29th, 2007 at 10:56 am

  2. So I am an editor and I have Quicktime Pro 7.2 on my PC. I would like to update to the latest ITunes without touching Quicktime (version 7.2) as My editing software (Avid) does not support version 7.3
    (They just supported 7.2 recently) and everything is working fine.
    Is there anyway to just install the latest ITunes without having to touch Quicktime?

    Posted by: Sean on January 1st, 2008 at 5:23 pm

  3. I Have itunes installed from the previous ipod range
    I have recently bought one of the new ipod nanos
    I cannot install itunes as qt is already installed from previous itunes.I cannot remove qt from system in add/remove programs it keeps giving error message.have tried qt alternative and also have tried extrating the files from itunes 7.5 and removing the qt fail log which doesnt work either.
    I have the iopod since xmas and have tried everything
    Is there any way at all of just installing itunes?

    Posted by: Car on January 11th, 2008 at 3:56 am


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