Deauthorize computers in iTunes

Question

I am trying to transfer purchases from my iPod Touch to a new laptop (running Windows 7). iTunes tells me that the computer is not authorized (which is correct), and asks me to login to my account to authorize it.

When I login to my account I am told that I have the maximum number of computers authorized and I need to deauthorize old machines. From what I can work out, to do so I go to Store -> Account, where I should find a button to deauthorize all machines that have been authorized for use with this account.

I do not see this button, and the Apple support site tells me the following:

Note: You may only use this feature once per year. The Deauthorize All button will not appear if you have fewer than two authorized computers.

I have not used this feature before (so definitely not in the last year), and according to the alert I receive when trying to transfer purchases I have 5 authorized computers.

To make things even more confusing, in the place where I would expect the button to appear, iTunes tells me that I only have one authorized computer (although it tells me I have 5 when trying to transfer my purchases):

So what can I do to deauthorize these old machines and transfer purchases from my iPod to the new machine?

Answer 1

Call Apple. They know that their authorization scheme has glitches and they will be able to reset something on their systems that will allow you to deauthorize computers.