How to Update QuickTime

By Jason Artman

QuickTime is the name of the software designed by Apple for playing audio and video files. QuickTime is the default media player on Mac computers, much like Windows Media Player on Windows machines. However, if you own the iPod portable media player, you most likely have QuickTime installed, because QuickTime is the media playback engine for iTunes, the software used to manage files on the iPod. Keeping the software on your computer updated is an important part of the maintenance process, and you can check for updates for the QuickTime player using the built-in software update utility.

Step 1

Launch the QuickTime Player application. If you are used to running QuickTime automatically, click the "Start" button, and then browse to "All Programs" and "QuickTime." Click the "QuickTime Player" icon.

Step 2

Click the "Help" pull-down menu at the top of the QuickTime Player window, and select "Update Existing Software." A new window appears. If Apple has released a newer version of the QuickTime player, the window displays the message "Apple Software updates are available for your computer. Would you like to update now?"

Step 3

Click "OK." The Apple Software Update utility appears and displays all of the updates available for the Apple software installed on the computer. If you have other Apple programs installed, such as Safari or iTunes, this window may display updates for those programs as well.

Step 4

Remove the checks from next to any programs that you do not want to update at this time, but make sure that the check remains next to "QuickTime."

Step 5

Click "Install 1 Item." Note that the number will differ depending on the number of updates selected. The window changes to display the license agreement for the QuickTime Player.

Step 6

Examine the licence agreement for the QuickTime player, and click the "Accept" button to indicate your agreement with the terms. The utility begins downloading the update from the Internet. During this process, the window displays a status bar in the corner of the window. When the download is complete, the utility installs it automatically.

Step 7

Click "OK" when the update process is complete. The update utility checks a second time to see if any updates remain for QuickTime. If there are more updates, repeat the process of downloading and installing them. If not, click "Quit."

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