Apple Itunes authorizing

[techwanabe]

I own two computers and I'm 99% sure they are the only ones my daughter and I use to sync our Ipods on. Mostly we use my 2nd rig (siggy) to keep the Itunes library on and thats where she buys music using her Itunes gift cards to add money to her account and download the music.

My main rig (Dell) needed a clean format and re-install for the first time just a month ago, so today I finally got around to re-installing Itunes back on the Dell. I had to authorize Itunes on this computer so it could be used to play stuff etc. When I did, it said I had used the 5th of 5 available slots for the Itunes account we use. Yet I only have two computers. I did notice that you can de-authorize any computer but here is the dilema:

I have had to reformat the 2nd rig several times and this one once. My guess is Itunes was authorized on the 2nd rig a couple time, maybe 3 times, but I never deauthorized it before reformatting the computer and re-installing Itunes again. So apparently I have used up all 5 licenses we have for the account, yet I only have two computers.

So... assuming my previous incarnations of Itunes sucked up 3 of the 5 licences, how do I get them back? I do only have two operational computers using Itunes and both have licenses but I'd like to have all 5 available just in case for the future.

 

[Kaido]

Yah, that's how the license scheme works. You can wipe ALL authorizations once a year in iTunes settings (you have to dig for it, but it's there!), beyond that you have to contact Tech Support (they usually do it within 48 hours). I have to go through that 4-5 times a year because I'm constantly reformatting, testing, upgrading, etc. and I prefer iTunes for my player. Annoying but oh well.

 

[akugami]

When your computer needs to be reformatted you should have unauthorized it. Unfortunately you can't wipe the authorizations from the old "computers" simply because your old installations are gone. Only takes a minute or so and you don't have to go through the hassle of calling Apple's tech support.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1420

 

[techwanabe]

Thanks guys,

I did find in a google search the thing about wiping out the authorizations once a year. It looks like you log into your Itunes account, wipe them out, and reauthorize on the 2 machines I have and there will be 3 left for the next 12 months. Its a pain. The bad thing is if you have to reformat because the machine won't boot or something, you can't unauthorize. That only works if you are getting rid of a computer, selling or somthing and it is still working so you can do that. Yeah, really annoying.

 

[akugami]

No, see, you can go into iTunes and remove the authorizations from each individual computer when you know you need to permanently remove iTunes from that computer such as in the cases where you are selling the computer or you are re-installing your OS. This effectively deletes one authorization and makes that authorization available again. That way you don't run into the five authorization limit unless you really do have five active computers authorized.

For example. I have a two laptops and three desktops authorized. I'm at the five authorization limit. I just remove iTunes from the laptop, clean out the stuff from it and sell it. I didn't de-authorize iTunes. As far as iTunes is concerned I'm at my five PC limit. I can't de-authorize iTunes on that laptop because iTunes is not on it any longer. If I bought another computer and wanted iTunes on it I wouldn't be able to do it without contacting Apple (or de-authorizing one of my other computers in use) because as far as iTunes is concerned, I'm at my limit.

In a different but similar scenario with two laptops and three desktops authorized. I'm also at the five authorization limit. If I decided to sell one of my laptops to a friend, I can remove the authorization from within iTunes on that laptop before I uninstall iTunes. This means I have one available authorization out of five. I preserve my ability to authorize another computer without going past the five PC limit and needing to contact Apple support. I would be at my five PC limit but I wouldn't be over it.

In my own case, I de-authorized iTunes on my Vista machine, installed Win7 RC and installed iTunes and authorized it. I then de-authorized the Win7 RC and installed Win7 RTM. It is the one and only machine with iTunes on it. I still only have one PC authorized on my account because I de-authorized the previously installed iTunes before wiping them out. If I just uninstalled iTunes and backed up my files, I would have been on my third authorization with no way to recover the previous two authorizations.

As in Kaido's case, when he reformats and tests his system for whatever reason, he should de-authorize iTunes on that computer and he'll never have to contact Apple support.

As per the Apple support page I linked to in my first post of this thread.

To deauthorize a computer

1. Open iTunes.
2. Choose Store > Deauthorize Computer (In earlier versions of iTunes, access this option from the Advanced menu).
3. Select "Deauthorize Computer for Apple Account" and enter your Apple ID and password.

Make sure you deauthorize your computer before you upgrade your RAM, hard disk or other system components, or reinstall Windows. If you do not deauthorize your computer before you upgrade these components, one computer may use multiple authorizations.