Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Getting iTunes to run under Wine on Ubuntu Server in 10 easy steps.

Edit: My Mac laptop wasn't able to discover the iTunes library on the network so I ended up installing a mt-daapd media server instead. Maybe this walk through will be useful for those interested in having iTunes locally. Or maybe it was all just a waste of time ;)

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I figured I should write this down somewhere in case I needed it again. Most of this information comes from whoever wrote this and from a forum thread here. I just now got it to work and haven't tested anything. Don't bitch if its less than magical.

Instructions for getting iTunes to run under Ubuntu Server 2.6.32-24 64 bit:

1) Follow the command line wine installation steps found here, as follows:

"It is also possible to add the Wine repositories and install via the command line, as follows. These may be useful on Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and other Ubuntu derivatives. You will need to run these in a terminal window.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa

Then update APT's package information by running 'sudo apt-get update'. You can now install Wine normally or by typing 'sudo apt-get install wine' into the terminal."

2) Download the iTunes version which will work (7.2) here.

3) Run 'wine iTunesSetup.exe'

4) Click Next at the Welcome Screen and accept the license on the next page.

5) On the installer options pane, make sure none of the checkboxes are checked and that the path in the installation destination field is 'c:\Program Files\iTunes.

6) CLICK NO IN THE AUTORUN POPUP WINDOW.

7) Files will download and click Finish.

8) Execute: 'sudo apt-get install winetricks' to get the groovy winetricks package.

9) Execute: 'winetricks vcrun2005' and 'winetricks mdac28' per James McKenzie's post in a forum here.

10) Run 'wine ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/iTunes/iTunes.exe' and, theoretically, it'll work.


  • Step 2

    Next, you need to configure WINE to the options that we need. To do this, simply type in the terminal "winecfg". Follow these instructions:

    -Choose the Windows XP option in the Applications tab.
    -Select Autodetect in the Drivers tab.
    -Check the ALSA Driver and uncheck the OSS Driver in the Audio tab.

    Click OK. Your changes will be saved.

  • Step 3

    As far as I know, the latest version of iTunes that can be downloaded on Linux Ubuntu is version 7.2. You can find a download of it here:

    http://www.oldapps.com/itunes.php?old_itunes=20

    NOTE: IF THIS LINK IS BROKEN BECAUSE OF FUTURE UPDATES, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I SHALL EDIT THIS POST AND FIND ANOTHER LINK WHERE YOU CAN SUCCESSFULLY DOWNLOAD THIS. THANKS!!

  • Step 4

    Once you have downloaded iTunes 7.2, go to the terminal once again and type

    wine iTunesSetup.exe

  • Step 5
    Welcome Screen
    Welcome Screen

    This will take you to a Welcome Screen.

  • Step 6
    iTunes License
    iTunes License

    Accept the license.

  • Step 7
    Installer Options
    Installer Options

    Select the installer options as seen in the picture.

  • Step 8
    Autorun Popout
    Autorun Popout

    A popout will appear, asking for autorun.

    CLICK NO!!!!

  • Step 9
    Installing iTunes
    Installing iTunes

    The file will download.

  • Step 10
    Click Finish
    Click Finish

    Click Finish.

  • Step 11

    It took me a couple of gos, but I got it to work in the end. Once iTunes has been successfully installed, run the program using:

    wine ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/iTunes/iTunes.exe

  • Step 12

    And that's it! You now have iTunes installed on Linux Ubuntu. Congratulations!!