[free99boy]

smax013, on 23 April 2009 - 04:24 PM, said:

For paid things, it should be a non-issue...if you don't want the HD version, then only buy the SD version (which is usually cheaper).

Beyond that, I don't have any idea how to permanently stop downloads.

Why respond to this question when you obviously don't have an answer or even understand the question? The question was simple. How do you delete "available downloads" from your iTunes account.I've had a Mac for years and use it daily and I have just recently downloaded a "freebie" TV show, V to be specific. For some reason I keep downloading the HD and normal version of the freebie. I have erased the normal version numerous times and even completed downloading the HD version but the normal version just won't go away. I think the answer might be in the iTunes store because as far as I can see Mac OSX Snow Leopard doesn't allow me to delete "available downloads" thru any type of preferences or tools. It's annoying because when I start iTunes it automatically starts downloading this file. This is a waste of my bandwidth and hard drive space. If you do have an answer please let us all know. http://forums.macwor...fault/angry.gif

[free99boy]

iJoe79, on 19 June 2009 - 07:58 AM, said:

Oh ho! There within lies the rub. Such a solution would imply that Apple cares. Unashamed as an Apple zealot, I still recognize that Apple, like any other corporation, is heartless and only cares about their highend users. This means the user running iTunes on an expensive computer on a credit card driven subscription buying hundreds of dollars of items on iTunes a month with an expensive broadband connection that has a high or no cap. The problem with Apple in this case? Unlike other corporations out there, they have more of these users than not. Simply because they offer a service that can't be found much anywhere else. Direct download entertainment. Sure, there are alternatives, but not many. Is this smug of me to say? Maybe, but not likely. Is it smug of Apple to do? Most definitely. The issue at hand, however, is that the complaints come from a minority of paying customers. As for the HD/SD issue; when HD becomes a primary technology, we'll probably see the SD download slowly disappear. The short answer to the original question; however, is no. There is no way to stop an iTunes download once it starts. It's like a freight train coming to hit you.

Just a side note: I've been using Canadian broadband since moving back six years ago. My provider, Cogeco offers a four tiered broadband package. I know what it's like to deal with caps.

tier 1: known as the lite package this entry level subscription (entry level is marketing code for cheap) runs for roughly $24.95. This offers broadband at a limited speed of about 640 Kbs. Along with data transfers of up to 10GB.

tier 2: Lite Plus which massively multiplies the speed cap to 3 Mbps with a double cap of 20GB at $34.95

tier 3: Standard will shock and amaze you with a 10Mbps speed cap (Autobahn Canadian internet is not) with an impressive test-tube like capacity for 60GB for the ever so low price of $44.95 (That can educate a small child up to the college years in Botswana)

tier 4: uses the complete broadband bandwidth available on the Cogeco residential networks up to 16 Mbs (I think real world speeds knocks you down to about 10Mbs anyhow). Giving you full use of 100GB. For the price of a brand new 4th Gen. 4GB iPod Shuffle every month.

And what about an answer to the question! Stop driveling and stay on the subject. http://forums.macwor...fault/angry.gif

[kmbmac]

My problem is an item I DID NOT purchase. I don't know where it came from, it is a silly game I have no interest in. It could be leftover from when my iTunes account was hacked and people bought all kinds of ridiculous ringtone, books, games etc. I should be able to delete this item from my download queue!!!

[armankg]

Hey guys! It is really really really easy!
Go to "my music" then find the folder called : "iTunes" , then "iTunes Music" and then the folder called "Downloads".
Delete all the folders inside "Downloads" folder.
And We're done!

[simpleton]

I would like to thank you. I have been attempting to do this for a couple of months!! Seems like a no-brainer yet I never thought of the download folder. Thanks again.

[enci]

simpleton, on 31 May 2010 - 05:03 AM, said:

I would like to thank you. I have been attempting to do this for a couple of months!! Seems like a no-brainer yet I never thought of the download folder. Thanks again.

I have been trying to delete certain items from the download folder for over 1 month- it won't delete them. One movie, a rental, tries to download every time I open itunes, and will not let itself be deleted- the other HD versions of a show I purchased will delete for that session, but automagically reappear and try to reload every time I sign in to itunes, I delete them, they come back, I delete them, they come back. I have unchecked allow for simultaneous downloads so that they don't chew up bandwidth by trying to all get in the door at once, but I just want them to go away. I was hoping the rental which won't delete even temporarily would stop once the 30 days had passed- no such luck. This is very annoying.

[enci]

OK- I broke down and called Apple support and they deleted it from my download queue and it worked!!!! Halle-frikkin-lujah! Per my support person, there is no other fix. Which is sad, but at least it worked.

[lswenson]

You cannot stop an iTunes download. iTunes will force you to accept both standard definition and high definition without your consent. You will get both whether you want it or not. The problem resides in the fact that most Americans have an Internet connection less than 5 Mbps. Right now I am stuck on 18hrs of downloads. I recently switched to iTunes and a Macbook Pro and just started clicking. I am realizing this is not at as easy as I expected and am very frustrated. I have a basic cable ISP and with two kids and a wife on the computers, we are all slowed down to less than dial up speeds. The solution is to keep the Macbook Pro running overnight and for the next few days until it catches up then delete the stuff I do not really want. Maybe someday America will get true high-speed Internet, connections that Apple believes we all have at this point in time.

[Nixey]

armankg, on 24 May 2010 - 06:52 AM, said:

Hey guys! It is really really really easy!
Go to "my music" then find the folder called : "iTunes" , then "iTunes Music" and then the folder called "Downloads".
Delete all the folders inside "Downloads" folder.
And We're done!

Nope, doesn't work for me. As soon as I start iTunes it checks for available downloads, finds the programs again, and the folders reappear.

Like many other in this thread, my problem involves SD versions of TV shows I've already downloaded in HD, with limited bandwidth and a cap.

Just as an FYI, the "iTunes music" folder is now called "iTunes media".

[CurlyOxide]

I’ve gone the rounds with iTunes Store Customer Support and haven’t been able to get this same issue resolved. The agent wants me to do a re-installation of iTunes, which is a ridiculous solution. I would love any ideas you may have.

Here’s a bit of our exchange:

Here’s the email I sent to Apple:

‘Item title: I Am – A Course in Miracles (ACIM)
Details:

I have about 750 episodes of the podcast ‘I Am – A Course in Miracles (ACIM)’ in my download queue. I don’t want any of these, but I unable to delete them from my queue.
Can you please delete them for me?

Thanks,
****

APPLE:

Dear ****,
I checked your iTunes Store account and it shows that all of your purchased items have downloaded successfully.
Thank you for using ITUNES STORE.

ME:
This does not resolve my issue. My problem is not downloading purchased items.
My problem is that I have 750+ unwanted podcast epidsodes in my download cache, and I need you to remove them for me. I am unable to delete them myself.
Please remove all ‘I Am – A Course in Miracles (ACIM)’ from my download queue.
If you have any questions, please call me at

APPLE:

Dear ****,
I apologize for the issue your are having with your download que having these episodes of ACIM in your que, and i would be more than happy to help resolve this. However, i only have access to your itunes store account download que and it doesn’t reflect any downloads in the que. Once the downloads are complete, the que is empty. Now, if your “computer” shows these downloads, i’m going to need more information about where you see these downloads.
I’ll look forward to a reply with more on where you are seeing this information, i’ll be glad to help more at that point.

ME:

Hi Kienya,
These downloads show up on the ‘downloads’ page of iTunes (under Store). Every time I open iTunes, they automatically start downloading and I have to click ‘pause all’ in order to stop them. Right now they are all listed as ‘stopped’.

APPLE:

Dear ****,
Since i can only see the download Que from my end, not yours, here’s what I recommend to help resolve this issue by uninstalling iTunes and QuickTime, and then reinstalling the latest version of each….(long email about how to do this)

ME:

Hi Kienya,
Here is an example where Blaine from iTunes Store Customer Support was able to remove items from a download queue for a user:
http://www.krunk4eve...load-in-itunes/
'Here’s the email I sent to Apple:
I have 3 items in my download queue which apparently I can’t remove and have to submit this form according to: http://discussions.a...ssageID=7804573
The 3 items are large (several gigs in total) and I’d prefer to not have to download them, but am annoyed by the fact that it keeps wanting to resume downloading whenever I start iTunes. I’m surprised there’s no way for me to delete it from the queue.
The 3 items are:
Order #***** – Truth In 24
Order #***** – Whap – Harper’s Island (SD)
Order #***** – Whap – Harper’s Island (HD)
I’d appreciate if you would remove these from my download queue.
I’ll post back to let you know if this actually works.
Update: Got a reply from iTunes Store Customer Support:
Dear *****,
Thanks for contacting iTunes Store Customer Support. My name is Blaine and I understand you would like some large files removed your download queue. I will be happy to help with this.
*****, please accept my sincere apologies for the frustration this download has caused. I took the liberty of removing the file(s) causing the issue from your download queue.
Thanks for being an iTunes Store Customer, *****!
Sincerely,
Blaine
iTunes Store Customer Support
w00t! Apple’s customer support is still top notch.

APPLE:
Dear ****,
Simply put, i’ve checked the download que on my side of your account. There are no downloads in the que, i’ve said this from the beginning of our correspondence. You are correct, when can clear the que from our side, but the system is not showing “any” downloads for you account. Thats the reason i believe the application on your computer needs troubleshooting. There is a problem with your software. Please try the using the information i’ve provided in my last email to you.
I know this has to be frustrating, i understand that. Trust me, if i could clear your que, i would be done, two days ago! I hope the reinstall helps this situation. I’ll look forward to the results.’

Me again here –

it seems odd that there aren’t “any” downloads for my account showing up, when other users have been able to get them removed by customer support.
Deleting the files from my downloads folder didn’t work – iTunes is still trying to download the episodes.
Guess I’ll just do the old start the download, sleep and delete as suggested here. Unless you guys have another angle I can try.

This post has been edited by CurlyOxide: 20 July 2010 - 03:40 PM

[LostOnTheLine]

Okay, so, first issue @CurlyOxide: The problem you're having is with a Podcast download. The Podcasts aren't purchased & aren't linked to your account. So from the CSR's perspective there is nothing in your download queue.

• 1. Stop them all by clicking the 'Pause All' button at the bottom of your download page.
  
• 2. Select them all by clicking on the top one, scrolling down to the bottom, & clicking on the bottom one while holding down [Shift].
  
• 3. Now Right-click (or Ctrl-click or Apple-click on a mac) and select 'Delete'.
  
• 4. Now, goto the 'Podcasts' section of the iTunes Application screen (On the upper-left above the 'Store' section where the downloads page is).
  
• 5. Find the Podcast that's causing you a problem "I Am – A Course in Miracles (ACIM)" & select it. It should now have a blue outline.
  
• 6. Now, at the bottom of your screen there's a button labeled 'Settings'. Click it & it should bring up a 'Podcast Settings' window.
  
• 7. Make sure the [Settings For:] section shows the Podcast ("I Am – A Course in Miracles (ACIM)") that you want to change.
  
• 8. The [When Episodes are available:] probably says 'Download All'. Change that to 'Do Nothing' or 'Download the most recent one', whichever you prefer.
  
• 9. If the [When Episodes are available:] section is grey there should be a check in the 'Use Default Settings' box. This means that you're default settings for every podcast is set to 'Download All', probably not a good idea for a default unless you have Petabytes of space & love collecting podcasts.
  
• 10. In the [Settings For:] section, scroll up to the top & select 'Podcast Defaults'
  
• 11. Go to step 8 & complete
  
• * If you want to unsubscribe from the podcast, select it and click the 'Unsubscribe' button next to the 'Settings' button. Now you'll not get any new episodes ever again (Unless you subscribe again)

The reason for this is that you don't need a Store Account to get podcasts which are all free, so you don't have to be signed in to download them, so the settings are stored in your iTunes database files. Oddly enough, the CSR's suggestion to re-install iTunes probably wouldn't have fixed it anyways unless you deleted your database files from your 'Music' directory which would have caused you to loose all your ratings, play count, etc.
I had a problem where the 'Buy' option in the store was grayed out for seemingly random shows. The Apple CSR told me the same thing, I knew it was a stupid "I'm stumped so let me look like I have a brain" solution but after days of frustration I did it. When I reinstalled, the problem was still there. Fortunately, after a re-install, I went back to verify/set all my settings & discovered that the Parental Controls were set to restrict shows below TV-PG & I unchecked that, solving my problem.

Next issue: For those who want the HD version, but don't want to download the SD version, I can't help you there, but it's about half a gig & most people who get the HD version won't care so much about conserving space.
BUT for those that want the SD only version: It hasn't always been this way, but as of at least the last few weeks/months there is always an SD option (At least for TV shows, I think movies too), but it's not well advertised.

• 1. Goto the show's 'Season' page, the one that has a list of the epidodes.
  
• 2. On the left there will be an 'In Standard Definition' link. You have to eaither click on the icon or the name of the show NOT the "In Standard Definition" words
  
• 3. It should now say 'In HD'.
  
• 4. Now when you click 'Buy' it will only download the SD version.

I've mistakenly clicked the HD one a few times myself & had to download & delete. Such is life. BUT my problem is that after I delete the HD version, it still shows [SD-HD] in iTunes even though there's only the SD in my library. So if I have it set to play HD as the default if avaliable & I click one of the ones I deleted the HD copy (Usually the free ones) it gives me the 'Locate' box so I have to manually right-click every one & set the 'Version' to "SD".
I've tried using MetaX to change it, but since it's already the SD version it doesn't help. If anyone has figured this one out or I'm just stupid please let me know.
And yes, I DO realize it's a little off the topic, but the people having that one may have run into this one.

[tampadoc]

I'd like to thank Armankg for his straightforward instructions and for solving this annoying problem. For those who simply misunderstood the problem, he was able to get to the heart of the matter which was to PERMANENTLY get rid of a previously downloaded item. I wanted to free up a few more GBs on my 4 year old MacBook which I thought I'd do by "deleting" those previously downloaded/watched/no longer wanted TV shows. Thanks for getting me to the proper folder; problem solved.

[bobisr23]

I am responding to the parts of this forum that relate to the original question. "How to stop an iTunes download forever??" I too have been wrestling with this problem for over a year. I have sought help through iTunes help screens and never until now found any documentation that is was a real problem to others. Most of my computer experience has been with PC so I presumed it was something I was missing in Apple jargon or operation and that if I explored long enough it would sink in. This posting shows me that it has plaqued others and it is not necessarily an easy fix that I should have seen. Unfortunately the solutions don't sound too perfect yet either. 1. Talking to someone in Apple support who may deny that the problem is real, Accepting additional chores so I do not have to deal with deleting this stuff. Etc. I will continue pausing and deleting until Apple does something to universally fix iTunes on this issue but I will not download anything that will add to the problem. I am happy you folks have made the effort to identify this problem and hopefully one of the new version updates will fix it once and for all. Thanks

[raichle]

I just racked up $200 in charges on my Rogers Rocket Stick because of this problem. I found even unchecking "Automatically check for available downloads" did not stop this if itunes had already added the content to your queue. You can't convince me that Apple (and their service providers that resell iphones) didn't know about this.