September 11th, 2008
Possible fix for iTunes 8 BSOD
[UPDATE: Thanks to Ed Bott for noticing that Apple has acknowledged this problem, posted instructions on how to fix it and released and updated version of iTunes 8 which can be downloaded as normal. Annoyingly, the update isn't being pushed to all iTunes 8 users and if you are affected by the problem you're going to need to do some manual uninstalling.Here are the digital signature timestamps on the old and new downloads to help you tell the difference:
Old (32-bit): 8.0.0.35 | Digital signature timestamp: 09/09/08 07:35:35
New (32-bit): 8.0.0.35 | Digital signature timestamp: 09/11/08 02:10:56
Old (64-bit): 8.0.0.35 | Digital signature timestamp: 09/11/08 07:35:39
New (64-bit): 8.0.0.35 | Digital signature timestamp: 09/11/08 02:11:01Note that the version numbers don't change.
Hope this helps.]
Are you finding that iTunes 8 crashes when you connect your iPod/iPhone to your Vista PC? This post might have the answers your are looking for.
Yeah! Yeah! I finally managed to get iTunes 8 to BSOD on a system here. Oddly enough I can only get it to happen on the Phenom system I have, but that’s good enough for me to test out a fix.
OK, so you’ve installed iTunes 8 and your Vista system suffers a BSOD when you connect your iPod/iPhone to it. Here’s something you could try:
- Disconnect the iPod/iPhone and reboot the system.
- Click Start > Control Panel and under the entry for Programs click Uninstall a program.
- Now select Apple Mobile Device Support and click Uninstall. When finished close Control Panel.
- Download iTunes 7.7.
- Use a file unzip tool such as 7-Zip or WinRAR to open the iTunes 7.7 iTunesSetup.exe archive you just downloaded.
- Extract the file AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi from the archive into a convenient location (such as your desktop).
- Double-click on AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi to install it.
- When the install process is over, try reconnecting your iPod/iPhone.
Alternatively, you might just decide that iTunes 8 is too much of a hassle and wait for an update that fixes this issue. If you do, and you try to roll back to iTunes 7.7 you may get a message telling you that “The file ‘iTunes Library.itl’ cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes.” If you get this problem, I’ve posted additional information and a fix here.
I hate iTunes …
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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