Some users have reported an issue in which iTunes 10 for Mac OS X crashes on launch. There are a few potential causes for this issue, and corresponding fixes.
Remove third-party add-ons. Start iTunes in safe mode by holding down the Option and Command keys (Mac) or the Shift and Control keys (Windows) while launching iTunes. If this solves the problem, try removing third-party plug-ins as described in this Apple Knowledge Base article.
Also, remove any third-party items from the folders /Library/QuickTime and ~/Library/QuickTime.
In particular, some users report that removing DesktopVideoOut.component from these locations resolves the issue.
Remove .plist files. Quit iTunes, then move the following files to a different location (the ~ represents your user folder):
- ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunes.plist
- ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunesHelper.plist
- ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunes.eq.plist
Relaunch iTunes and check for proper startup.
Recreate your iTunes library. As described here.
Remove then reinstall iTunes. Failing the above, try completely removing iTunes per these instructions then reinstall iTunes 10.
Downgrade to iTunes 9.2.1. If both of the above options fail, you can (as a last resort) downgrade to iTunes 9.2.1.
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AppleID:( on 
September 2, 2010 at 1:37 AM
I‘ve tried all the methods mentioned above,only downgrading can solve the problem.
September 2, 2010 at 5:18 AM
I have this problem too, iTunes 10 launches for a few seconds then i get the wheel! If I unplug my 2 ipods and iphone though it works fine!
September 2, 2010 at 7:59 AM
I removed DesktopVideoOut.component from ~/Library/Quicktime and it was fixed!
September 2, 2010 at 10:49 AM
I finally restored 9.2.1 from Time Machine. I could not get 10 to launch. I tried everything but removing DesktopVideoOut. I may try that but at the moment I am all tried out.
September 2, 2010 at 11:52 AM
Carlos thanks for your post…
i removed that file and it was fixed for me too
thanks
September 2, 2010 at 12:25 PM
Me, too. removing DesktopVideoOut.component does it!
September 3, 2010 at 11:32 AM
I disabled Genius and apparently it worked.
September 3, 2010 at 1:47 PM
DesktopVideoOut is now out … and iTunes finally launched!
September 3, 2010 at 9:05 PM
How do I find this component. I am running WIndows Vista.
September 5, 2010 at 11:35 AM
I had problems with ALL my programs not launching after upgrading to Itunes10. Had also put some new podcasts on my phone, which another post said was causing the problem. Followed my instincts bfore uninstalling and re-installing Itunes as the post recommended, and just restarted the ‘puter. Now…all is well!…Very simple fix for me… restarted my ‘puter, now everything works fine. Hope this helps someone…
September 7, 2010 at 3:14 PM
I downloaded this iTunes upgrade a few days ago, and ever since I started using it I’ve had problems. When I open the program to listen to music, I can never listen to many songs before it freezes and says that the program isn’t responding. Then when I try to re-open it, it’s still frozen. I haven’t had any problems syncing my iPod touch to it yet. Has anyone else had any problems like this with the program??
March 31, 2012 at 4:01 AM
Yes same issue! I temporarily fixed it by holding option then going to the go menu in the finder and deleting the plist files in my home library folder. Downgrading to 9.2.1 works the best. I have over 16k songs as well.
September 7, 2010 at 10:14 PM
Moved to iTunes 10, and got the notorious “cannot find folder” issue when trying to sync. Problem turned out to be symlinks in my music folder – blowing them away fixed it.
September 8, 2010 at 12:22 PM
OK, I know, I’m an idiot, but I can’t for the life of me find the desktopvideoout file…could anyone be more specific about where it would be (Windows XP)? Thanks.
September 9, 2010 at 3:30 AM
I removed DesktopVideoOut.component from ~/Library/Quicktime and it was fixed!
- Worked for me too, Thanks
September 11, 2010 at 12:44 PM
Removed DesktopVideoOut.component and it worked again. Thanks.
September 24, 2010 at 7:04 AM
People, a little help – where exactly is DesktopVideoOut.component in Windows 7? There’s no ‘Library’ sub-folder in my User folder, at least none I can see.
Thanks a lot
September 24, 2010 at 10:12 AM
On Windows 7 I have the same problem – iTunes 10 wouldn’t open at all, unless it was opened in safe mode. After hunting about unsuccessfully for this DesktopVideoOut.component, I ended up just opening up the new version of QuickTime (which had downloaded along with iTunes). The act of just opening QuickTime did the trick – now iTunes starts no problem and everything is fine.
January 16, 2012 at 11:54 PM
Same thing worked for me!
September 27, 2010 at 9:46 AM
Great!!
Problem solved!!
Were the Plugins from QT
November 4, 2010 at 9:14 AM
Recreating my iTunes Library worked for me!! Thanks!
3GS with 4.0 OS
November 26, 2010 at 1:48 PM
Removing DesktopVideoOut.component worked like a charm. Thanks
December 26, 2010 at 9:03 PM
I had this same problem and downgraded to 9.21 to fix it.
But then I wanted to upgrade the iPhone OS, and can’t do so with
the old version of iTunes. So, I decided to try removing the
Outlook add-in dll, iTunesOutlookAddIn.dll, from the iTunes
installation. This seems to work. I can sync my iPhone and run
Outlook 2000.
May 9, 2011 at 1:43 PM
I don’t want to upgrade to iTunes 10 … but when I click on my iTunes Store icon the screen fills up with a message asking me to download the new version. How do I get into the store without upgrading? There is no “No Thanks” icon to click on and proceed to the store.
Thanks,
Don
November 8, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Where is the freakin´ DesktopVideoOut.component???!!!
Pleae help!!!
January 9, 2012 at 11:04 PM
This helped.
DesktopVideoOut.component was the problem.