[Stephen S]

Alright, I need someone smarter than me to give me some help!
Below, is everything that I know...

I'm on a G4 laptop, running 10.3.8 and iTunes 4.7.1
I'm connected through a Motorola SURFboard SB5100 with cable, no router beyond that

My problem popped up approx. 4-5 weeks ago. I'm not sure exactly when, or what I did to cause it. But I think I updated to 10.3.8 from 10.3.7 around that time.

Whenever, I click "Buy Song" or "Sign-In" in iTunes, i get this error:
"iTunes could not connect to the Music Store.
An unknown error occurred (-9813)"

WHAT MY COMPUTER IS/IS NOT DOING:
• I can browse the iTunes Music Store and listen to samples
• I can access CDDB
• I have been downloading songs successfully since iTunes was created
• I can play previously purchased songs
• I can visit secure websites without trouble
• I have a second computer (iMac DV) running 10.3.5, and it connects to my iTunes account, and downloads songs without problem.
• I have Norton Personal Firewall on my computer, but I have disabled it recently, just to make sure (either way, I was downloading songs successfully with the firewall in Stealth Mode, without problem for a year)

• I cannot purchase songs or sign-in to my account, as of 4-5 weeks ago, from my laptop.
• Periodically, Safari tells me that the site I'm visiting cannot be authenticated, and may not be secure

WHAT I KNOW SO FAR:
By definition, a -9813 Error is:
errSSLNoRootCert - No root certificate for the certificate chain.

I have read in many forums, where people get similar error text, but with a 502 Error. From what I can tell, that is simply a busy system usage error that goes away if you try again later. I've actually had that error sporatically over the last few years without trouble. This is more in line with the 29294/9812 errors. It will not go away... it's different.

From the research I've been able to do, everything points to SSL Certificates. Unfortunately, I don't really know anything about these.

WHAT I'VE TRIED, SO FAR:
• Checked my Date&Time settings
• I have removed iTunes (and all associated libs, prefs, folders, receipts, etc...) off of my computer, and reinstalled 4.7.1 without eliminating the problem.
• I used disk repair to check verify and correct premissions
• I also looked into my Keychains (X509Certificates & X509Anchors) I replaced these with the 10.3.5 Cert & Anchor files from the iMac, without eliminating the problem, so I put the original Cert & Anchor files back into the Keychains folder.
• I tried Scooter Magrooter's DNS fix without success <http://discussions.info.apple.com/we...5016@.68a89216>
• Firewall / No Firewall... didn't make a difference
• SysPrefs/Network/Proxies - all of that was unclicked

This problem seems to be very specific to secure connections between my laptop and iTunes... I really think it has something to do with Certificates (mainly because the error's definition states that I don't have a 'root certificate'), but I'm lost as to how that can be fixed.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!
Stephen

[Krusty]

Originally posted by Stephen S:

I have already wiped iTunes off of my computer, and reinstalled 4.7.1 without eliminating the problem

You "wiped" it how ? Did you just delete and reinstall or did you dig out all the preference files as well ? Try going in to your User_folder/Library/Preferences and deleting com.apple.iTunes.plist . This file contains cookies for iTunes connection to apple.com. Deleting it may help reset your cookies. Of course, it will also wipe all of your preferences so you may have to redo those all from scratch.

Also, did the credit card your registered with recently expire or get changed ? Perhaps you no longer have a valid card on file with Apple anymore.

[Stephen S]

Thanks for the reply...

The credit card is still A-okay
& by "wiped" I mean everything. I went in, and took out the app, the prefs, the libs, the receipts, etc... anything associated with iTunes

[Krusty]

Hmmmm ...

Well, the only other things I can think of are:
Check your keychain (if you have one) and Safari cookies for Apple. Also, I've had the problem of multiple connections to the store. Only one machine at a time on my home network can make a request at the same time. My roommate and I ran in to this a few times during the Pepsi promo last year.Otherwise, here a few points I saw in the ITMS help file that may mean something.

•Make sure that your computer's date, time, and time zone are set correctly in Date & Time preferences. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Date & Time.

•Make sure there isn't a problem with your Apple or AOL account information. To verify or correct your information, sign in to the Music Store, then click the Account button and view your account information. Click Edit Account Info and Edit Billing Info and verify that the information provided is accurate and complete.

•View your Apple or AOL account information to see if you need to correct a problem with a previous purchase; you won't be able to buy any music until you correct the problems indicated.

•If you're having trouble signing in to the store using your AOL account, your AOL account might not work on the Music Store in your country. Only U.S. customers can sign in using their AOL account.

[Stephen S]

I checked the date & time, and it all looks fine.

I actually can't check my Apple account information, as I get the error when I click the SignIn button. But I know the account is fine, b/c I signed in, and successfully downloaded songs using my second computer.

I don't have an AOL account, so I doubt it's anything to do with that.

The problem seems very specific to secure interactions between my laptop and iTunes, exclusively.

I'm befuddled... thanks again for your suggestions!

[larkost]

What this sounds like is a SSL issue. In order to have secure connections you have to have a chain of trust to some group that your computer trusts to tell you that they are who they say they are. So there are groups out there such as Verisign who are the "trusted bodies" that distribute SSL certificates. In order for your computer to trust them Apple has put in a number of "root" certificates that tell the computer who to trust. It sounds like the root certificate that iTunes depends on has either gone bad or missing on your computer.

Sadly I don't know where they are stored, and a couple of quick searches didn't find them for me. This may well be a system level thing.

[TETENAL]

Originally posted by larkost:
Sadly I don't know where they are stored, and a couple of quick searches didn't find them for me. This may well be a system level thing.

Someone in another unrelated thread said that those root certificates are located here: file:///System/Library/Keychains/ . I don't know whether that is what iTunes relies onto.

[Stephen S]

Thanks for your replies...

I believe the information is held in that Keychains folder... more specifically, I believe it is the X509Anchors and X509Certificates files, but I can't find any information on restoring these to a non-corrupt state... I am able to add certificates through Keychain Access in Utilities, but this is usually for University server access, and does no good when the "root" certificate has nothing to build upon.

I've contacted Apple, but I got a generic response stating that it was probably my date and time being messed up... I'm still haggling with them.

I have a suspicion that they don't want me (or anybody more malicious than me) to know how to replace a "root certificate", as it might allow someone to misrepresent themselves... bad stuff for financial transactions. If that's the case, I might be in for a long wait.

[TETENAL]

Originally posted by Stephen S:
I believe the information is held in that Keychains folder... more specifically, I believe it is the X509Anchors and X509Certificates files, but I can't find any information on restoring these to a non-corrupt state...

You should be able to extract these from the system CDs using Pacifist.

[Stephen S]

Thanks for everybody's help with this one...

After much trouble, with Apple and my computer... I have a solution that worked, so I'm posting it for all to learn from.

If you are running 10.3.8, and ever get a -9813 Error or need to restore your root certificate settings, here is the solution:

• Go to Applications>Utilities>Keychain Access
• From the dropdown menu, select Window>Keychain First Aid
• Select the "options" button
• From the General Tab, select "Reset My Keychain"

This will revert your keychain to the factory default settings, and giving a fresh 'root certificate'

Done... no thanks to Apple.

[mojo5436]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I am having this exact issue. I tried all of the above suggestions with no success. I am still receiving the -9813 error while logging into the iTunes Store. I had issues with my keychain, which were repaired successfully using the Keychain Access utility. It checks out OK now. Still can't get into the iTunes Store. I am also receiving a certificate related error everytime I open Mail.

[PurdueDoubleE]

I have this problem as well, and I am at my wit's end. I have scoured the internet looking for the solution. I have reinstalled iTunes (deleted all files). I have copied my keychain files directly from my laptop, where I have no problem signing in to the iTMS. I have reset my keychain. I have my firewall off. I have done EVERYTHING that I have seen suggested, and I still get the -9813 error. I have no idea what to do.

One thing I notice is that Keychain looks fundamentally different on my new computer. This is what it looks like now. I have no idea why it is different here, or if that is related to my problem.

[mojo5436]

I understand your frustration. I went through the same exact issue. I was able to fix it after much digging. Here is the other thread with the necessary steps to get iTunes Music Store working properly:

http://forums.macnn.com/82/applicati...g/#post3126777

Post replies in that thread and I will continue to monitor. Let me know if you have any other questions.

-Eric