HT1926 Have the same problem as many other users: tried to update iTunes on Windows 7 today; first message "unable to locate component- MSVCR80.dll was not found" then "iTunes was not installed correctly. Please reinstall iTunes - Error 7 (Windows error 1

Question

I have the same problem as many other users: updated iTunes on Windows 7 on Jan 26, 2014 and iTunes does not open.  First message "unable to locate component- MSVCR80.dll was not found" then "iTunes was not installed correctly. Please reinstall iTunes - Error 7 (Windows error 126)". When will Apple fix this? Don’t feel like uninstalling all Apple software and then re-installing it as suggested, as I am on a terribly slow internet connection while travelling in the DR Congo.

Answer 1

Go to Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs (Win XP) or Programs and Features (later)
Remove all of these items in the following order:
iTunes
Apple Software Update
Apple Mobile Device Support (if this won't uninstall press on)
Bonjour
Apple Application Support
Reboot, download iTunes, then reinstall, either using an account with administrative rights, or right-clicking the downloaded installer and selecting Run as Administrator.
The uninstall and reinstall process will preserve your iTunes library and settings, but ideally you would back up the library and your other important personal documents and data on a regular basis. See this user tip for a suggested technique.
Please note:
Some users may need to follow all the steps in whichever of the following support documents applies to their system. These include some additional manual file and folder deletions not mentioned above.
HT1925: Removing and Reinstalling iTunes for Windows XP
HT1923: Removing and reinstalling iTunes for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
tt2