Post by Robert PeirceIs there a way to go back? I have ample backups but I am not sure if or
how to restore an older version.
The specific problem I have is an app I use called Pure Music is not
compatible with iTunes 12.4, but 12.4 was part of the system update.
Also, recent iTunes releases seem to be deeply imbedded in the OS
itself, so I'm not sure I can run iTunes 12.3 under OSX 10.11.5,
assuming I could even restore iTunes without touching OSX.
iTunes 12.4 was not part of the OS X 10.11.5 update, but it was released
at the same time. By default, App Store collapses multiple Software
Update items into a single item, so if you noticed the pending system
update and clicked UPDATE you would have got iTunes 12.4 at the same
time. There is a "More" link which expands the Software Update item to
show the detail of all pending updates, which can then be installed
individually.
I haven't tried iTunes 12.3.3 on 10.11.5 (I installed the iTunes 12.4
update first, so I know it worked on 10.11.4), but I expect it will
work.
The problem: iTunes is regarded as part of the operating system and is
protected by System Integrity Protection, so reverting to an old version
is not simple. The iTunes 12.3.3 installer (if you have a copy - Apple
probably didn't keep one available) won't replace a newer version, so
you would need to restore the application from backup, after disabling
SIP.
iTunes is more than just the application - there are system level
components it installs, and the combination of updated system components
with an older iTunes application may be unstable. It would be safer to
do a full system restore to a point just before you installed the OS X
10.11.5 and iTunes 12.4 updates.
Furthermore, iTunes 12.4 changed the library file format (as usual), so
if you do revert to iTunes 12.3.3 by copying just the application rather
than a full system restore, you will also need to pull the previous
library out of "~/Music/iTunes/Previous iTunes Libraries".
--
David Empson
***@actrix.gen.nz