I spent some time last evening troubleshooting an iTunes error on his computer. Anytime he tried connecting to the iTunes Store, it would kick back an error that it could not connect to the Internet. Googling around turned up a handful of solutions, few of which worked. Turns out the solution (in this case) was pretty simple.
In the Internet Explorer 8 LAN settings, there is an option to use a proxy server to access the Internet. For whatever reason, this option was selected as the default, causing IE8 to search for a proxy server that didn’t exist. Deselecting the option remedied the problem with iTunes. It also allowed Windows Update to find and download updates, as well.
What I don’t really understand is why iTunes even pays attention to this proxy server option. Firefox ignores this setting completely, using its own LAN settings instead of whatever IE defaults to. It’s possible that iTunes uses the IE settings to simplify network management for the average computer layperson. In and of itself, this would make sense and is probably the better option for those not completely comfortable managing the minutiae of network settings, but it seems problematic to me that Internet Explorer would have defaulted to trying to use a proxy server when, in my experience, proxy servers aren’t used all that often in networks.
Whatever the case, if you’re having trouble getting iTunes to connect to its store or with Windows Update failing on pulling down updates, make sure to check your Internet Explorer proxy settings. It’s the simplest option, by far, to troubleshoot and will likely save you a lot of pointless running around with command prompts, host files, and software re-installations.
Network issues- the stuff of life. Doncha just love it?
Yeah, not so much. :) Fortunately, this kind of thing is relatively easy to troubleshoot.
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I've definitely spoken with you before on this subject but: What did you study in college?
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Then, as a student entering college, I'm curious how you landed the job you have now. Did you have qualifications before entering, or were you educated on the job?
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Little of both. My graduate assistantship was in institutional research for two years. That gave me the qualifications to land my job at Purdue, and I've spent the last 4+ years continually adding to my skills as an Enrollment Analyst.
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Gotcha. Cool, thanks. I'm just trying to make sure I have marketable skills when I get out of school.
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Main way to do that is to find as many experiences as possible while in school. You never know what will ultimately pan out post-grad.
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I'll certainly keep that in mind. You are referring to internships and the like, am I correct? I do plan on getting one at NatGeo if I can. I have a contact there.
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Among other things, to be certain.
Yeah, I had a problem where I was told to check this setting as well – it wasn't so for my case, but it seems very frustrating anyway. I have not been terribly impressed with iTunes for Windows whenever I happen to use it.
Yeah, figures. It's always something different for everyone. :) And I think it's more of a commentary on Windows design than it is on iTunes.
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