ITunes not launching, if re-install will I lose playlists???

I just downloaded the new version of iTunes off of Apple.com. Like most people I get the hourglass for a hot sec, then it disappears. QuickTime works fine. When I look in task mgr, I only see iTuneshelper. If I re-install iTunes will I lose all my songs and playlists that I have from the old version on iTunes? Please help. Thanks!

mrsthomas,
If I re-install iTunes will I lose all my songs and playlists that I have from the old version on iTunes?
Default settings place the iTunes folder (which contains the iTunes Music , Album Artwork and Previous iTunes Libraries folders along with the iTunes Library files ) at C:\Documents and Settings\ user name \My Documents\My Music\iTunes - far away from the iTunes program itself which is located at C:\Program Files\iTunes .
Although iTunes certainly makes use of the contents of the iTunes folder - among other things the library files tell iTunes where to find the song files which is, of course, necessary if iTunes is going to play any music or transfer it to your iPod - the folder is not actually a part of the program so uninstalling or upgrading iTunes should have no effect at all on the contents of the iTunes folder ...
... but ...
... one of the funny things about computers is that sometime, somehow, somewhere when you least expect it , they can do some not so funny things, like unexpectedly losing data when they're not supposed to. Which is why it's a good idea to have a back up copy in reserve of any data (such as your music files) that you value ... just in case.
There are a variety of ways of doing so but for most people it probably comes down to one of two options.
The one this article in the Apple Knowledge Base describes in detail uses iTunes 7 to burn a back-up copy of the contents of your iTunes Library and the Library files - but not the Album Artwork or Previous iTunes Libraries folders - to CD's/DVD's.
The other main method for creating your back-up is to save a copy of the iTunes folder on a separate hard drive. Some of our Discussions regulars are quite fond of that approach .
If, when and how you choose to back-up your music is your decision to make - just bear in mind that as far as I know we've never had anyone post in these discussions who's regretted creating a back-up copy of their iTunes Library.
But we often hear from people who regret not having done so.
P.S.
If you have other data besides your iTunes Library that you want to back up, have a look at this article on the PC World web site.

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