diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 14f00956..bbcf8d89 100755
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -81,13 +81,13 @@ if(NOT WIN32 AND NOT BUILD_FRAMEWORK)
 endif()
 
 include_directories(${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR})
-configure_file(config-taglib.h.cmake ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/config.h)
+configure_file(config.h.cmake ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/config.h)
 
 if(WITH_ASF)
-    set(TAGLIB_WITH_ASF TRUE)
+  set(TAGLIB_WITH_ASF TRUE)
 endif()
 if(WITH_MP4)
-    set(TAGLIB_WITH_MP4 TRUE)
+  set(TAGLIB_WITH_MP4 TRUE)
 endif()
 
 configure_file(taglib/taglib_config.h.cmake ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/taglib_config.h)
diff --git a/ConfigureChecks.cmake b/ConfigureChecks.cmake
index 67b99d88..440a4414 100644
--- a/ConfigureChecks.cmake
+++ b/ConfigureChecks.cmake
@@ -7,30 +7,37 @@ include(CheckTypeSize)
 include(CheckCXXSourceCompiles)
 include(TestBigEndian)
 
-# Determine the CPU byte order.
+# Check if the size of integral types are suitable.
 
-test_big_endian(TAGLIB_BIG_ENDIAN)
-
-if(NOT TAGLIB_BIG_ENDIAN)
-  set(TAGLIB_LITTLE_ENDIAN 1)
+check_type_size("short" SIZEOF_SHORT)
+if(NOT ${SIZEOF_SHORT} EQUAL 2)
+  MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "TagLib requires that short is 16-bit wide.")
 endif()
 
-# Determine the size of integral types.
+check_type_size("int" SIZEOF_INT)
+if(NOT ${SIZEOF_INT} EQUAL 4)
+  MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "TagLib requires that int is 32-bit wide.")
+endif()
 
-check_type_size("short"   SIZEOF_SHORT)
-check_type_size("int"     SIZEOF_INT)
 check_type_size("long long" SIZEOF_LONGLONG)
-check_type_size("wchar_t"   SIZEOF_WCHAR_T)
+if(NOT ${SIZEOF_LONGLONG} EQUAL 8)
+  MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "TagLib requires that long long is 64-bit wide.")
+endif()
 
-# Determine if your compiler supports std::wstring.
+check_type_size("wchar_t" SIZEOF_WCHAR_T)
+if(${SIZEOF_WCHAR_T} LESS 2)
+  MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "TagLib requires that wchar_t is sufficient to store a UTF-16 char.")
+endif()
 
-check_cxx_source_compiles("
-  #include <string>
-  int main() { 
-    std::wstring x(L\"ABC\");
-    return 0; 
-  }
-" HAVE_STD_WSTRING)
+# Determine the CPU byte order.
+
+test_big_endian(IS_BIG_ENDIAN)
+
+if(NOT IS_BIG_ENDIAN)
+  set(SYSTEM_BYTEORDER 1)
+else()
+  set(SYSTEM_BYTEORDER 2)
+endif()
 
 # Determine which kind of atomic operations your compiler supports.
 
diff --git a/bindings/c/tag_c.cpp b/bindings/c/tag_c.cpp
index b1af613c..5b739d6f 100644
--- a/bindings/c/tag_c.cpp
+++ b/bindings/c/tag_c.cpp
@@ -19,10 +19,7 @@
  *   USA                                                                   *
  ***************************************************************************/
 
-#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
-#include "config.h"
-#endif
-
+#include "taglib_config.h"
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <fileref.h>
 #include <tfile.h>
diff --git a/config-taglib.h.cmake b/config.h.cmake
similarity index 56%
rename from config-taglib.h.cmake
rename to config.h.cmake
index aee25a79..436ca440 100644
--- a/config-taglib.h.cmake
+++ b/config.h.cmake
@@ -1,25 +1,8 @@
-/* config-taglib.h. Generated by cmake from config-taglib.h.cmake */
+/* config.h. Generated by cmake from config.h.cmake */
 
-/* Indicates the endianness of your target system */
-#cmakedefine   TAGLIB_LITTLE_ENDIAN 1
-#cmakedefine   TAGLIB_BIG_ENDIAN 1
-
-/* Size of integral types */
-#cmakedefine   SIZEOF_SHORT    ${SIZEOF_SHORT}
-#cmakedefine   SIZEOF_INT      ${SIZEOF_INT}
-#cmakedefine   SIZEOF_LONGLONG ${SIZEOF_LONGLONG}
-#cmakedefine   SIZEOF_WCHAR_T  ${SIZEOF_WCHAR_T}
-
-/* Defined if your compiler supports std::wstring */
-#cmakedefine   HAVE_STD_WSTRING 1
-
-/* Defined if your compiler supports some atomic operations */
-#cmakedefine   HAVE_STD_ATOMIC 1
-#cmakedefine   HAVE_BOOST_ATOMIC 1
-#cmakedefine   HAVE_GCC_ATOMIC 1
-#cmakedefine   HAVE_MAC_ATOMIC 1
-#cmakedefine   HAVE_WIN_ATOMIC 1
-#cmakedefine   HAVE_IA64_ATOMIC 1
+/* Indicates the byte order of your target system */
+/* 1 if little-endian, 2 if big-endian. */
+#cmakedefine   SYSTEM_BYTEORDER ${SYSTEM_BYTEORDER}
 
 /* Defined if your compiler supports some byte swap functions */
 #cmakedefine   HAVE_GCC_BYTESWAP_16 1
@@ -33,11 +16,15 @@
 /* Defined if your compiler supports codecvt */
 #cmakedefine   HAVE_STD_CODECVT 1
 
+/* Defined if your compiler supports some atomic operations */
+#cmakedefine   HAVE_STD_ATOMIC 1
+#cmakedefine   HAVE_BOOST_ATOMIC 1
+#cmakedefine   HAVE_GCC_ATOMIC 1
+#cmakedefine   HAVE_MAC_ATOMIC 1
+#cmakedefine   HAVE_WIN_ATOMIC 1
+#cmakedefine   HAVE_IA64_ATOMIC 1
+
 /* Defined if you have libz */
 #cmakedefine   HAVE_ZLIB 1
 
-#cmakedefine   NO_ITUNES_HACKS 1
-#cmakedefine   WITH_ASF 1
-#cmakedefine   WITH_MP4 1
-
 #cmakedefine TESTS_DIR "@TESTS_DIR@"
diff --git a/taglib/CMakeLists.txt b/taglib/CMakeLists.txt
index 72712ca2..352f7e2e 100644
--- a/taglib/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/taglib/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ set(tag_HDRS
   toolkit/tmap.h
   toolkit/tmap.tcc
   toolkit/tpropertymap.h
+  toolkit/trefcounter.h
   mpeg/mpegfile.h
   mpeg/mpegproperties.h
   mpeg/mpegheader.h
@@ -289,6 +290,7 @@ set(toolkit_SRCS
   toolkit/tfilestream.cpp
   toolkit/tdebug.cpp
   toolkit/tpropertymap.cpp
+  toolkit/trefcounter.cpp
   toolkit/unicode.cpp
 )
 
diff --git a/taglib/asf/asfattribute.cpp b/taglib/asf/asfattribute.cpp
index 937a8816..4ee2d0a1 100644
--- a/taglib/asf/asfattribute.cpp
+++ b/taglib/asf/asfattribute.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 #include <taglib.h>
 #include <tdebug.h>
+#include "trefcounter.h"
 #include "asfattribute.h"
 #include "asffile.h"
 
diff --git a/taglib/asf/asfpicture.cpp b/taglib/asf/asfpicture.cpp
index 3db695a4..999f9204 100644
--- a/taglib/asf/asfpicture.cpp
+++ b/taglib/asf/asfpicture.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 #include <taglib.h>
 #include <tdebug.h>
+#include "trefcounter.h"
 #include "asfattribute.h"
 #include "asffile.h"
 #include "asfpicture.h"
diff --git a/taglib/asf/asfproperties.cpp b/taglib/asf/asfproperties.cpp
index 11d43b9d..638baf6e 100644
--- a/taglib/asf/asfproperties.cpp
+++ b/taglib/asf/asfproperties.cpp
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@
  *   http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/                                           *
  ***************************************************************************/
 
-#include "config.h"
-
+#include "taglib_config.h"
 #include <tdebug.h>
 #include <tstring.h>
 #include "asfproperties.h"
diff --git a/taglib/asf/asftag.cpp b/taglib/asf/asftag.cpp
index 70881209..0767817f 100644
--- a/taglib/asf/asftag.cpp
+++ b/taglib/asf/asftag.cpp
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@
  *   http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/                                           *
  ***************************************************************************/
 
-#include "config.h"
-
+#include "taglib_config.h"
 #include <tpropertymap.h>
 #include "asftag.h"
 
diff --git a/taglib/fileref.cpp b/taglib/fileref.cpp
index 6da560b7..157ba2ee 100644
--- a/taglib/fileref.cpp
+++ b/taglib/fileref.cpp
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
  *   http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/                                           *
  ***************************************************************************/
 
-#include <config.h>
+#include "taglib_config.h"
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
 # include <Shlwapi.h>
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 #include <tfile.h>
 #include <tstring.h>
 #include <tdebug.h>
+#include "trefcounter.h"
 
 #include "fileref.h"
 #include "asffile.h"
diff --git a/taglib/mp4/mp4coverart.cpp b/taglib/mp4/mp4coverart.cpp
index 5ccc76d6..2746469d 100644
--- a/taglib/mp4/mp4coverart.cpp
+++ b/taglib/mp4/mp4coverart.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 #include <taglib.h>
 #include <tdebug.h>
+#include "trefcounter.h"
 #include "mp4coverart.h"
 
 using namespace TagLib;
diff --git a/taglib/mp4/mp4item.cpp b/taglib/mp4/mp4item.cpp
index fdb96451..671f26b4 100644
--- a/taglib/mp4/mp4item.cpp
+++ b/taglib/mp4/mp4item.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 #include <taglib.h>
 #include <tdebug.h>
+#include "trefcounter.h"
 #include "mp4item.h"
 
 using namespace TagLib;
diff --git a/taglib/mp4/mp4properties.cpp b/taglib/mp4/mp4properties.cpp
index f5d7ed21..d704b452 100644
--- a/taglib/mp4/mp4properties.cpp
+++ b/taglib/mp4/mp4properties.cpp
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@
  *   http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/                                           *
  ***************************************************************************/
 
-#include "config.h"
-
+#include "taglib_config.h"
 #include <tdebug.h>
 #include <tstring.h>
 #include "mp4file.h"
diff --git a/taglib/mp4/mp4tag.cpp b/taglib/mp4/mp4tag.cpp
index e16a994b..1edeace7 100644
--- a/taglib/mp4/mp4tag.cpp
+++ b/taglib/mp4/mp4tag.cpp
@@ -23,8 +23,7 @@
  *   http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/                                           *
  ***************************************************************************/
 
-#include "config.h"
-
+#include "taglib_config.h"
 #include <tdebug.h>
 #include <tstring.h>
 #include <tpropertymap.h>
diff --git a/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2frame.cpp b/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2frame.cpp
index a444b9eb..424ac2d2 100644
--- a/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2frame.cpp
+++ b/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2frame.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
  ***************************************************************************/
 
 #include "config.h"
+#include "taglib_config.h"
 
 #if HAVE_ZLIB
 #include <zlib.h>
diff --git a/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2framefactory.cpp b/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2framefactory.cpp
index 54b37ce8..3138f90a 100644
--- a/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2framefactory.cpp
+++ b/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2framefactory.cpp
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
  ***************************************************************************/
 
 #include "config.h"
-
+#include "taglib_config.h"
 #include <tdebug.h>
 
 #include "id3v2framefactory.h"
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ Frame *FrameFactory::createFrame(const ByteVector &origData, Header *tagHeader)
   // TagLib doesn't mess with encrypted frames, so just treat them
   // as unknown frames.
 
-#if HAVE_ZLIB == 0
+#if !defined(HAVE_ZLIB) || HAVE_ZLIB == 0
   if(header->compression()) {
     debug("Compressed frames are currently not supported.");
     return new UnknownFrame(data, header);
diff --git a/taglib/mpeg/mpegheader.cpp b/taglib/mpeg/mpegheader.cpp
index c715dbc1..a582f758 100644
--- a/taglib/mpeg/mpegheader.cpp
+++ b/taglib/mpeg/mpegheader.cpp
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include <tbytevector.h>
 #include <tstring.h>
 #include <tdebug.h>
+#include "trefcounter.h"
 
 #include "mpegheader.h"
 
diff --git a/taglib/taglib_config.h.cmake b/taglib/taglib_config.h.cmake
index 0f499e2c..1560c247 100644
--- a/taglib/taglib_config.h.cmake
+++ b/taglib/taglib_config.h.cmake
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@
 
 #define   TAGLIB_WITH_ASF 1
 #define   TAGLIB_WITH_MP4 1
+
diff --git a/taglib/taglib_export.h b/taglib/taglib_export.h
index 3e868551..737ae644 100644
--- a/taglib/taglib_export.h
+++ b/taglib/taglib_export.h
@@ -40,8 +40,4 @@
 #define TAGLIB_EXPORT
 #endif
 
-#ifndef TAGLIB_NO_CONFIG
-#include "taglib_config.h"
-#endif
-
 #endif
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/taglib.h b/taglib/toolkit/taglib.h
index bc94aa88..f93f280d 100755
--- a/taglib/toolkit/taglib.h
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/taglib.h
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 #ifndef TAGLIB_H
 #define TAGLIB_H
 
-#include "config.h"
+#include "taglib_config.h"
 
 #define TAGLIB_MAJOR_VERSION 1
 #define TAGLIB_MINOR_VERSION 8
@@ -45,113 +45,6 @@
 #endif
 
 #include <string>
-#include <climits>
-
-// Check the widths of integral types.
-
-#if SIZEOF_SHORT != 2
-# error TagLib requires that short is 16-bit wide.
-#endif
-
-#if SIZEOF_INT != 4
-# error TagLib requires that int is 32-bit wide.
-#endif
-
-#if SIZEOF_LONGLONG != 8
-# error TagLib requires that long long is 64-bit wide.
-#endif
-
-#if SIZEOF_WCHAR_T < 2
-# error TagLib requires that wchar_t is sufficient to store a UTF-16 char.
-#endif
-
-// Atomic increment/decrement operations
-
-#if defined(HAVE_STD_ATOMIC)
-# include <atomic>
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INT std::atomic<unsigned int>
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INC(x) x.fetch_add(1)
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_DEC(x) (x.fetch_sub(1) - 1)
-#elif defined(HAVE_BOOST_ATOMIC)
-# include <boost/atomic.hpp>
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INT boost::atomic<unsigned int>
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INC(x) x.fetch_add(1)
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_DEC(x) (x.fetch_sub(1) - 1)
-#elif defined(HAVE_GCC_ATOMIC)
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INT int
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INC(x) __sync_add_and_fetch(&x, 1)
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_DEC(x) __sync_sub_and_fetch(&x, 1)
-#elif defined(HAVE_WIN_ATOMIC)
-# if !defined(NOMINMAX)
-#   define NOMINMAX
-# endif
-# include <windows.h>
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INT long
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INC(x) InterlockedIncrement(&x)
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_DEC(x) InterlockedDecrement(&x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_ATOMIC)
-# include <libkern/OSAtomic.h>
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INT int32_t
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INC(x) OSAtomicIncrement32Barrier(&x)
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_DEC(x) OSAtomicDecrement32Barrier(&x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_IA64_ATOMIC)
-# include <ia64intrin.h>
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INT int
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INC(x) __sync_add_and_fetch(&x, 1)
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_DEC(x) __sync_sub_and_fetch(&x, 1)
-#else
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INT int
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INC(x) (++x)
-# define TAGLIB_ATOMIC_DEC(x) (--x)
-#endif
-
-// Optimized byte swap functions.
-
-#if defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
-# include <stdlib.h>
-#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
-# include <byteswap.h>
-#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
-# include <libkern/OSByteOrder.h>
-#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
-# include <sys/endian.h>
-#endif
-
-#if defined(HAVE_GCC_BYTESWAP_16)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_16(x) __builtin_bswap16(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_16(x) _byteswap_ushort(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_16(x) __bswap_16(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_16(x) OSSwapInt16(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_16(x) swap16(x)
-#endif
-
-#if defined(HAVE_GCC_BYTESWAP_32)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_32(x) __builtin_bswap32(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_32(x) _byteswap_ulong(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_32(x) __bswap_32(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_32(x) OSSwapInt32(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_32(x) swap32(x)
-#endif
-
-#if defined(HAVE_GCC_BYTESWAP_64)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_64(x) __builtin_bswap64(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_64(x) _byteswap_uint64(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_64(x) __bswap_64(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_64(x) OSSwapInt64(x)
-#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
-# define TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_64(x) swap64(x)
-#endif
 
 //! A namespace for all TagLib related classes and functions
 
@@ -180,35 +73,7 @@ namespace TagLib {
    * Unfortunately std::wstring isn't defined on some systems, (i.e. GCC < 3)
    * so I'm providing something here that should be constant.
    */
-#ifdef HAVE_STD_WSTRING
-  typedef std::wstring wstring;
-#else
   typedef std::basic_string<wchar> wstring;
-#endif
-
-#ifndef DO_NOT_DOCUMENT // Tell Doxygen to skip this class.
-  /*!
-   * \internal
-   * This is just used as a base class for shared classes in TagLib.
-   *
-   * \warning This <b>is not</b> part of the TagLib public API!
-   */
-
-  class RefCounter
-  {
-  public:
-    RefCounter() : refCount(1) {}
-
-    void ref() { TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INC(refCount); }
-    bool deref() { return (TAGLIB_ATOMIC_DEC(refCount) == 0); }
-    int count() { return refCount; }
-
-  private:
-    volatile TAGLIB_ATOMIC_INT refCount;
-  };
-
-#endif // DO_NOT_DOCUMENT
-
 }
 
 /*!
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/tbytevector.cpp b/taglib/toolkit/tbytevector.cpp
index 06f38b6e..471af477 100644
--- a/taglib/toolkit/tbytevector.cpp
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/tbytevector.cpp
@@ -23,11 +23,25 @@
  *   http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/                                           *
  ***************************************************************************/
 
+#include "config.h"
+
 #include <iostream>
 #include <cstdio>
 #include <cstring>
+
+#if defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
+# include <stdlib.h>
+#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
+# include <byteswap.h>
+#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
+# include <libkern/OSByteOrder.h>
+#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
+# include <sys/endian.h>
+#endif
+
 #include <tstring.h>
 #include <tdebug.h>
+#include "trefcounter.h"
 
 #include "tbytevector.h"
 
@@ -185,9 +199,25 @@ T byteSwap(T x)
 template <>
 ushort byteSwap<ushort>(ushort x)
 {
-#ifdef TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_16
+#if defined(HAVE_GCC_BYTESWAP_16)
 
-  return TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_16(x);
+  return __builtin_bswap16(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return _byteswap_ushort(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return __bswap_16(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return OSSwapInt16(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return swap16(x);
 
 #else
 
@@ -199,9 +229,25 @@ ushort byteSwap<ushort>(ushort x)
 template <>
 uint byteSwap<uint>(uint x)
 {
-#ifdef TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_32
+#if defined(HAVE_GCC_BYTESWAP_32)
 
-  return TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_32(x);
+  return __builtin_bswap32(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return _byteswap_ulong(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return __bswap_32(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return OSSwapInt32(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return swap32(x);
 
 #else
 
@@ -216,9 +262,25 @@ uint byteSwap<uint>(uint x)
 template <>
 ulonglong byteSwap<ulonglong>(ulonglong x)
 {
-#ifdef TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_64
+#if defined(HAVE_GCC_BYTESWAP_64)
 
-  return TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_64(x);
+  return __builtin_bswap64(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return _byteswap_uint64(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return __bswap_64(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return OSSwapInt64(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
+
+  return swap64(x);
 
 #else
 
@@ -246,7 +308,7 @@ T toNumber(const ByteVector &v, size_t offset, bool mostSignificantByteFirst)
   T tmp;
   ::memcpy(&tmp, v.data() + offset, sizeof(T));
 
-#ifdef TAGLIB_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+#if SYSTEM_BYTEORDER == 1
   const bool swap = mostSignificantByteFirst;
 #else
   const bool swap != mostSignificantByteFirst;
@@ -279,7 +341,7 @@ ByteVector fromNumber(T value, bool mostSignificantByteFirst)
 {
   const size_t size = sizeof(T);
 
-#ifdef TAGLIB_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+#if SYSTEM_BYTEORDER == 1
   const bool swap = mostSignificantByteFirst;
 #else
   const bool swap != mostSignificantByteFirst;
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/tlist.tcc b/taglib/toolkit/tlist.tcc
index 37817f05..81e29153 100644
--- a/taglib/toolkit/tlist.tcc
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/tlist.tcc
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
  ***************************************************************************/
 
 #include <algorithm>
+#include "trefcounter.h"
 
 namespace TagLib {
 
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/tmap.tcc b/taglib/toolkit/tmap.tcc
index 0f2b9933..d6f51c07 100644
--- a/taglib/toolkit/tmap.tcc
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/tmap.tcc
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
  *   http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/                                           *
  ***************************************************************************/
 
+#include "trefcounter.h"
+
 namespace TagLib {
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/trefcounter.cpp b/taglib/toolkit/trefcounter.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..327d7245
--- /dev/null
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/trefcounter.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+/***************************************************************************
+    copyright            : (C) 2013 by Tsuda Kageyu
+    email                : tsuda.kageyu@gmail.com
+ ***************************************************************************/
+
+/***************************************************************************
+ *   This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ *   it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License version   *
+ *   2.1 as published by the Free Software Foundation.                     *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but   *
+ *   WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of            *
+ *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU     *
+ *   Lesser General Public License for more details.                       *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public      *
+ *   License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software   *
+ *   Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA         *
+ *   02110-1301  USA                                                       *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   Alternatively, this file is available under the Mozilla Public        *
+ *   License Version 1.1.  You may obtain a copy of the License at         *
+ *   http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/                                           *
+ ***************************************************************************/
+
+#include "config.h"
+#include "trefcounter.h"
+
+#if defined(HAVE_STD_ATOMIC)
+# include <atomic>
+# define ATOMIC_INT std::atomic<unsigned int>
+# define ATOMIC_INC(x) x.fetch_add(1)
+# define ATOMIC_DEC(x) (x.fetch_sub(1) - 1)
+#elif defined(HAVE_BOOST_ATOMIC)
+# include <boost/atomic.hpp>
+# define ATOMIC_INT boost::atomic<unsigned int>
+# define ATOMIC_INC(x) x.fetch_add(1)
+# define ATOMIC_DEC(x) (x.fetch_sub(1) - 1)
+#elif defined(HAVE_GCC_ATOMIC)
+# define ATOMIC_INT int
+# define ATOMIC_INC(x) __sync_add_and_fetch(&x, 1)
+# define ATOMIC_DEC(x) __sync_sub_and_fetch(&x, 1)
+#elif defined(HAVE_WIN_ATOMIC)
+# if !defined(NOMINMAX)
+#   define NOMINMAX
+# endif
+# include <windows.h>
+# define ATOMIC_INT long
+# define ATOMIC_INC(x) InterlockedIncrement(&x)
+# define ATOMIC_DEC(x) InterlockedDecrement(&x)
+#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_ATOMIC)
+# include <libkern/OSAtomic.h>
+# define ATOMIC_INT int32_t
+# define ATOMIC_INC(x) OSAtomicIncrement32Barrier(&x)
+# define ATOMIC_DEC(x) OSAtomicDecrement32Barrier(&x)
+#elif defined(HAVE_IA64_ATOMIC)
+# include <ia64intrin.h>
+# define ATOMIC_INT int
+# define ATOMIC_INC(x) __sync_add_and_fetch(&x, 1)
+# define ATOMIC_DEC(x) __sync_sub_and_fetch(&x, 1)
+#else
+# define ATOMIC_INT int
+# define ATOMIC_INC(x) (++x)
+# define ATOMIC_DEC(x) (--x)
+#endif
+
+namespace TagLib
+{
+  class RefCounter::RefCounterPrivate
+  {
+  public:
+    RefCounterPrivate() : refCount(1) {}
+
+    void ref() { ATOMIC_INC(refCount); }
+    bool deref() { return (ATOMIC_DEC(refCount) == 0); }
+    int count() const { return refCount; }
+
+    volatile ATOMIC_INT refCount;
+  };
+
+  RefCounter::RefCounter()
+    : d(new RefCounterPrivate())
+  {
+  }
+
+  RefCounter::~RefCounter()
+  {
+    delete d;
+  }
+
+  void RefCounter::ref() 
+  { 
+    d->ref(); 
+  }
+
+  bool RefCounter::deref() 
+  { 
+    return d->deref(); 
+  }
+
+  int RefCounter::count() const 
+  { 
+    return d->count(); 
+  }
+}
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/trefcounter.h b/taglib/toolkit/trefcounter.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2d4ea7c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/trefcounter.h
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/***************************************************************************
+    copyright            : (C) 2013 by Tsuda Kageyu
+    email                : tsuda.kageyu@gmail.com
+ ***************************************************************************/
+
+/***************************************************************************
+ *   This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ *   it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License version   *
+ *   2.1 as published by the Free Software Foundation.                     *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but   *
+ *   WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of            *
+ *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU     *
+ *   Lesser General Public License for more details.                       *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public      *
+ *   License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software   *
+ *   Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA         *
+ *   02110-1301  USA                                                       *
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   Alternatively, this file is available under the Mozilla Public        *
+ *   License Version 1.1.  You may obtain a copy of the License at         *
+ *   http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/                                           *
+ ***************************************************************************/
+
+#ifndef TAGLIB_REFCOUNTER_H
+#define TAGLIB_REFCOUNTER_H
+
+#include "taglib.h"
+
+#ifndef DO_NOT_DOCUMENT // Tell Doxygen to skip this class.
+/*!
+  * \internal
+  * This is just used as a base class for shared classes in TagLib.
+  *
+  * \warning This <b>is not</b> part of the TagLib public API!
+  */
+namespace TagLib
+{
+  class RefCounter
+  {
+  public:
+    RefCounter();
+    virtual ~RefCounter();
+
+    void ref();
+    bool deref();
+    int count() const;
+
+  private:
+    class RefCounterPrivate;
+    RefCounterPrivate *d;
+  };
+}
+
+#endif // DO_NOT_DOCUMENT
+#endif
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp
index eaf5291e..cf745f81 100644
--- a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp
@@ -25,17 +25,24 @@
 
 // This class assumes that std::basic_string<T> has a contiguous and null-terminated buffer.
 
+#include "config.h"
+
 #include "tstring.h"
 #include "tdebug.h"
 #include "tstringlist.h"
+#include "trefcounter.h"
 
 #include <iostream>
 #include <string.h>
 
-// x86 CPUs are alignment-tolerant or allow pointer casts from smaller types to larger types.
-#if defined(__i386__) || defined(_M_IX86) || defined(__amd64) || defined(__amd64__) \
-  || defined(_M_AMD64) || defined(__x86_64) || defined(__x86_64__) || defined(_M_X64) 
-# define TAGLIB_ALIGNMENT_TOLERANT 1
+#if defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
+# include <stdlib.h>
+#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
+# include <byteswap.h>
+#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
+# include <libkern/OSByteOrder.h>
+#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
+# include <sys/endian.h>
 #endif
 
 #ifdef HAVE_STD_CODECVT
@@ -48,13 +55,29 @@ namespace
 {
   inline TagLib::ushort byteSwap(TagLib::ushort x)
   {
-#ifdef TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_16
+#if defined(HAVE_GCC_BYTESWAP_16)
 
-    return TAGLIB_BYTESWAP_16(x);
+    return __builtin_bswap16(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_MSC_BYTESWAP)
+
+    return _byteswap_ushort(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_GLIBC_BYTESWAP)
+
+    return __bswap_16(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_MAC_BYTESWAP)
+
+    return OSSwapInt16(x);
+
+#elif defined(HAVE_OPENBSD_BYTESWAP)
+
+    return swap16(x);
 
 #else
 
-    return((x >> 8) & 0xff) | ((x & 0xff) << 8);
+    return ((x >> 8) & 0xff) | ((x & 0xff) << 8);
 
 #endif
   }
@@ -813,12 +836,6 @@ void String::copyFromUTF16(const wchar_t *s, size_t length, Type t)
 
 void String::copyFromUTF16(const char *s, size_t length, Type t)
 {
-#if SIZEOF_WCHAR_T == 2 && defined(TAGLIB_ALIGNMENT_TOLERANT)
-
-  copyFromUTF16(reinterpret_cast<const wchar_t*>(s), length / 2, t);
-
-#else
-
   bool swap;
   if(t == UTF16) {
     if(length < 2) {
@@ -850,11 +867,9 @@ void String::copyFromUTF16(const char *s, size_t length, Type t)
     d->data[i] = swap ? combine(*s, *(s + 1)) : combine(*(s + 1), *s);
     s += 2;
   }
-
-#endif
 }
 
-#ifdef TAGLIB_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+#if SYSTEM_BYTEORDER == 1
 
 const String::Type String::WCharByteOrder = String::UTF16LE;
 
diff --git a/tests/test_fileref.cpp b/tests/test_fileref.cpp
index 5500ae7f..06663c97 100644
--- a/tests/test_fileref.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_fileref.cpp
@@ -6,9 +6,6 @@
 #include <vorbisfile.h>
 #include <cppunit/extensions/HelperMacros.h>
 #include "utils.h"
-#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
-#include "config.h"
-#endif
 
 using namespace std;
 using namespace TagLib;
diff --git a/tests/utils.h b/tests/utils.h
index b69bfa50..a2d997eb 100644
--- a/tests/utils.h
+++ b/tests/utils.h
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
-#include <config.h>
-#endif
+#include "config.h"
+
 #ifdef _WIN32
 #include <windows.h>
 #else