Operating system : Any Windows Version (including Vista)
Download size : 1MB (10 seconds on most Internet connections)
More Info Regarding File Extension ITHMB
Usually, the .ITHMB files are quite large in size, as these files are 16-bit uncompressed RAW image files. The reason behind saving them in uncompressed RAW format is that an Apple iPod is a device with limited battery backup and low processing power but quite a large memory space. Hence, if the thumbnail files were saved in a compressed image format to save on the memory space, the iPod processor would have to consume a greater amount of battery power on account of compressing and uncompressing the thumbnail files, resulting in faster battery drainage.
As the .ITHMB files had specifically been developed by Apple for displaying the images saved upon an iPod or iPhone as thumbnails, the file structure is quite complicated which makes it difficult to be supported by any application for transferring and opening upon a computer. Still, there are some ways which can be used to achieve the purpose.
The Apple Macintosh computers support smooth transfer and connectivity for iPod, hence the device can be easily connected to the computer and the .ITHMB thumbnail files can be transferred upon it. For viewing the files however, an application named File Juicer is needed which supports viewing and extraction of the .ITHMB files into some other image formats, including .JPG and .BMP.
Transferring the .ITHMB thumbnail files to the hard disk of a Windows based PC is a bit tricky as the iPhone device doesn't natively support connectivity with a PC. There are two ways which can be adopted for transferring the .ITHMB files onto a PC:
i. Attach your iPhone to the PC, and through the Control Panel, click the Scanner and Camera icon. You'll find an iPhone icon and upon clicking it, a wizard will guide you to transfer the .ITHMB files upon your hard disk as .JPG files. Although this trick might work for you, it's not a standard procedure and can't be guaranteed to work for everybody.
ii. A Windows based application XPlay can be used to enable transferring the .ITHMB files from your iPod to the hard disk of your PC. After the application is installed, it assigns the iPod a drive letter that enables you to browse its contents like any other physical drive. You can then transfer the .ITHMB files from your iPod to your disk. But .ITHMB files are not natively supported by the Windows operating system. Hence, to open them you have to install a yet another application named iThmbConv.exe, which has been unofficially developed by some Windows enthusiasts and is available to be downloaded for free upon the internet. The application has been known to work quite well, and extracts 4 thumbnail images stored within the .ITHMB file with different sizes and resolutions. Also, the application converts the files into .JPG or .BMP format for you. This unofficial, yet powerful application has been known to be the only satisfactory solution till now, for extracting an .ITHMB file upon a PC successfully.
Problems and Errors while opening an .ITHMB file:
If you can't open an .ITHMB file successfully upon your computer, you might be facing one of these potential reasons –
i. Your computer might not be having a compatible application to open the .ITHMB file. As the file has been very specifically developed by Apple for saving thumbnail files, only the applications described above can be used to open the file upon a computer. Depending upon your operating system, install the application and try to open the file again.
ii. The .ITHMB file might not have been properly transferred upon your computer hard disk. If you've got a Windows PC, make sure you've got an application named XPlay to transfer the files from you iPod properly.
iii. The file might have been damaged or virus-infected. Practically you can't do much about it, apart from scanning it through an efficient Anti Virus application and try to heal it, if found infected.