__Pat__

Q: iPhone sync with Outlook fails with sync server not starting

Hi, Community -

 

Up until a few days ago my iPhone synced beautifully with Outlook 2010 under Windows 7 on Parallels (running on Yosemite, MBP late 2014).

 

I don't know what changed but I cannot sync the two anymore. I keep getting error messages. Either a Windows error message saying that Mingler.exe stopped working or an iTunes message saying that the iPhone could not sync because the sync server did not start.

 

I have tried the following:

 

  • Reset the sync history
  • Uninstalled and re-installed iTunes (several times)
  • Tried to restore to older backup versions (I keep backups of the iPhone backup files)
  • Synced with other iTunes installations
  • Restored the iPhone to a state about two weeks old (when syncing still worked)

 

All to no avail.

 

The Mingler.exe crash report under Windows gave these details:

 

Problem signature:

  Problem Event Name:    APPCRASH

  Application Name:    Mingler.exe

  Application Version:    17.669.22.115

  Application Timestamp:    54941c4c

  Fault Module Name:    KERNELBASE.dll

  Fault Module Version:    6.1.7601.18409

  Fault Module Timestamp:    53159a86

  Exception Code:    e06d7363

  Exception Offset:    0000c42d

  OS Version:    6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.1

  Locale ID:    1033

  Additional Information 1:    0a9e

  Additional Information 2:    0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789

  Additional Information 3:    0a9e

  Additional Information 4:    0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789

 

(Yes, I know ... I should not expect support on Windows issues here ... but by now I am pretty sure it is an iTunes issue.)

 

Could anyone please help? I really need my calendar and contacts updated on my phone!

 

Thanks for any help you can offer.

iPhone 4S, iOS 5.1

Posted on Mar 4, 2015 12:56 PM

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Q: iPhone sync with Outlook fails with sync server not starting

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  • by __Pat__,Solvedanswer

    __Pat__ __Pat__ Mar 5, 2015 5:50 AM in response to __Pat__
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 5, 2015 5:50 AM in response to __Pat__

    OK ... I am not going to go into the depths of how a company that makes such nice hardware cannot get its act together to write decent software, too. I'll also spare you my anger on why I need to sync my iPhone on a Mac throgh Windows in order to connect to the most widely used office suite worldwide. I guess I am just disappointed at the inferiority of Apple's software and simply cannot bear the ravings of clueless artsy users who believe they know something about computing because they are proficient Photoshop users. Phew. Sorry, venting ends here and now.

    ......................................................

     

    In the meantime I managed to solve the above problem myself. I hope my description is helpful to other users encountering similar issues (and Google tells me there are many).

     

    My solution is based on the rationale that after all steps described in the initial post the problem must lie with iTunes. And it did.

     

    Here is what I did to fix the issue on my Mac running Windows 7 on Parallels:

     

    1. Uninstall iTunes and, importantly, also all other Apple software (Bonjour, Apple Mobile Device Support etc.) from Windows using the Control Pannel utility 'Programs and Features'. The interesting thing is that uninstalling all Apple software will not remove all directories involved in mobile sync! I conjecture this is the source of the observed sync issues.

     

    1. Remove all software registry entries with Apple Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. as author
      I deleted entries under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE and HKEY_CURRENT_USER > SOFTWARE.

    2. Manually remove the directory C:\Users\__UserName__\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\SyncServices\Local
      This will result in the loss of all iPhone backup information you have collected in the past. The manual removal of this directory is crucial because it does not get removed automatically in the uninstall process.

    3. Restart Mac OS and Windows (just to be safe)

    4. Reinstall the latest version of iTunes

    5. Reboot your iPhone (just to be safe)

    6. Connect the iPhone and sync it by overwriting calendar and contacts on the iPhone from the Mac (choose the appropriate sync options in iTunes)

     

    These steps worked perfectly for me and I am now able to sync my iPhone with my calendar and contacts from Outlook 2010 again.

     

    Do let me know if this was any help with your sync issues.

  • by metal450,

    metal450 metal450 Mar 17, 2015 12:15 PM in response to __Pat__
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2015 12:15 PM in response to __Pat__

    I'm seeing the same Mingler crash, and unfortunately this process didn't fix it for me.  The crash only occurs when some data changes on the iPhone side; I can sync one-way from Outlook to the phone, but as soon as I i.e. add a contact or a note on the phone (to sync back to Outlook), Mingler crashes.  Surprise surprise, Apple's support solutions were totally useless: just delete all my content and re-enter it manually from scratch.

     

    Shameful.

  • by __Pat__,

    __Pat__ __Pat__ Mar 17, 2015 12:33 PM in response to metal450
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2015 12:33 PM in response to metal450

    Hi, metal450 -

     

    Strange you are still able to sync one way. I could not sync at all.

     

    Did you really

    • uninstall iTunes
    • remove all your registry entries
    • remove all the additional iTunes directories
    • and restore your iPhone?

     

    If so, I guess don't see where the issue could still reside ...

  • by metal450,

    metal450 metal450 Mar 17, 2015 12:39 PM in response to __Pat__
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2015 12:39 PM in response to __Pat__

    I uninstalled iTunes, removed all registry keys with "Apple," and removed the SyncServices\Local directory.  I did not explicitly search the computer for additional "Apple" directories elsewhere, beyond removing the one noted above (which does seem to be the one responsible for Outlook sync).


    I did not restore the iPhone as it's a full-to-the-brim 128gb model & resyncing everything takes an eternity.

  • by metal450,

    metal450 metal450 Mar 17, 2015 1:52 PM in response to metal450
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2015 1:52 PM in response to metal450

    Fixed. The problem appears to be a bug with the last two versions of iTunes (12.1.1 and 12.1).  Reverting to 12.0.1.26 resolved the Mingler crash & synced successfully.

  • by __Pat__,

    __Pat__ __Pat__ Mar 17, 2015 3:15 PM in response to metal450
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2015 3:15 PM in response to metal450

    Wow ... what an ordeal. Glad to hear though you managed to resolve the issue. It is such pain not being able to sync.

     

    Good on ya for reverting back to an earlier version of iTunes. How did you manage to obtain that?

     

    And: Feel free to join in on my rants against sloppily coded software ;-)

  • by metal450,

    metal450 metal450 Mar 17, 2015 3:27 PM in response to __Pat__
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2015 3:27 PM in response to __Pat__

    >>And: Feel free to join in on my rants against sloppily coded software ;-)

     

    I'm in 100% agreement with your statements.  Apple hardware is great, but their software is ****.  i.e. my iTunes library has tons of "ghost" podcasts that I spoke with Apple about on a half dozen occasions; after failing to come to a resolution all they could tell me was, again, to just dump my entire library and recreate it completely from scratch. Um, seriously??  And unfortunately in this case, while reverting to the older iTunes fixes the Mingler.exe crash - it has other issues (i.e. each sync yields at least half an hour of "Waiting for changes to be applied.")

     

    It is solely their software - and these wasted hours of grappling with it - that despite how much I like their devices, keeps me considering Android...

     

    >>How did you manage to obtain that?

     

    http://bit.ly/18YoYrR

  • by metal450,

    metal450 metal450 Oct 19, 2015 1:42 PM in response to metal450
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 19, 2015 1:42 PM in response to metal450

    Update: This is still broken in 12.1.1, 12.1.2.27, 12.2.2, and 12.3 (I have tested each explicitly).  In other words, the most recent version that works properly is still 12.0.1.26.

     

    It would appear that it is Apple's intention to simply ignore this issue.

  • by metal450,

    metal450 metal450 Oct 19, 2015 2:48 PM in response to __Pat__
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 19, 2015 2:48 PM in response to __Pat__

    More information:

     

    *The Mingler.exe that's crashing appears to be C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\mingler.exe

     

    *I've attempted to update to iTunes 12.3 but replace just Mingler.exe with the (non-crashing) binary from 12.0.1.26, but it still crashes.  Likewise if I additionally replace Mingler_main.dll from 12.0.1.26.

  • by RogueThought,

    RogueThought RogueThought Dec 17, 2015 12:50 AM in response to __Pat__
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Dec 17, 2015 12:50 AM in response to __Pat__

    Has anyone tested whether iTunes 12.3.1 or 12.3.2 resolves the mingler.exe crash?  I've been waiting for a fix before buying a new phone since it will come with iOS9 installed with no way to roll back.  Not much can be learned from the oh-so-detailed release notes.

  • by a9x4dr,

    a9x4dr a9x4dr Jan 6, 2016 3:17 PM in response to RogueThought
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jan 6, 2016 3:17 PM in response to RogueThought

    I'm using Windows iTunes v12.3.2.35 (64 bit) and it still fails for me. Like for metal450, it fails almost everytime I add or delete something on the iPhone side (contact or calendar events are the only things I sync). For me it started on day 1 of getting the phone, so redoing your library won't fix it!!!!!

     

    Where are you Apple Support?

  • by a9x4dr,

    a9x4dr a9x4dr Apr 26, 2016 12:21 AM in response to a9x4dr
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 26, 2016 12:21 AM in response to a9x4dr

    Still having issues with this! Is there anyone else having this issue STILL???

    I had to reinstall iTunes as it would start and then unexpectedly crash and then not be able to start again, well not that I would see the iTunes window - it was in the task list though.

    I removed iTunes, rebooted, and reinstalled the latest.

    I still have the same issue that mingler crashes whenever I add or remove a calendar event on the iPhone. On the second sync, the new/removed events sync up. Why does it crash the first time!!! And the second time it takes ages to sync because it is re-syncing all events again.

    Same problem experienced for adding/removing contacts from the phone side.

    I only sync contacts & calendar events.

    All works fine when changes are made on the PC side.

    iTunes: 12.3.3.17 (64bit windows)

    iPhone 6: iOS 9.3.1 (13E238)

  • by RogueThought,

    RogueThought RogueThought Apr 26, 2016 5:04 AM in response to a9x4dr
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 26, 2016 5:04 AM in response to a9x4dr

    I'm still having the exact same problem.  Changed on the PC sync, while changes on the phone cause mingler.exe to crash.  At this point I have to create notes of changes I need to make and enter them on the PC later.  This is progress?

     

    Still waiting on a fix, but getting very close to switching to Android since this does not appear to even be acknowledged by Apple.

  • by RogueThought,

    RogueThought RogueThought Jun 8, 2016 6:26 AM in response to a9x4dr
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 8, 2016 6:26 AM in response to a9x4dr

    I finally figured this out and wanted to at least let know how to fix it.  You need to do a complete uninstall of all Apple products then install the latest version of iTunes "for older video cards".  Download iTunes 12.4.1 for Windows (64-bit - for older video cards) 

     

    This fixed my sync problems with calendars and contacts.  No more Mingler.exe crashes when making changes on the phone.  I still need to figure out a non-cloud solution for notes, but this was progress.

     

    If any Apple people are reading this and want to know why your newer iTunes versions no longer sync with Outlook I'll fill you in, even though I don't think you care.  The recent versions of iTunes, since it's become a 64-bit program, installs a 64-bit version of "Apple Application Support", which places the Outlook addin "OutlookChangeNotifierAddIn.dll" under the 64-bit "C:/Program Files" directory.  Outlook is a 32-bit program and can't see the addin and therefore never loads it.  So when iTunes should be informing you that changes on the phone are about to change files on your PC, Mingler.exe crashes.  The "for older video cards" version of iTunes installs Apple Application Support under the 32-bit "C:/Program Files (x86)" directory, which is why it works.

     

    No one over there could have figured this out and let us know?  Seems like something that should have been caught by software developers when making a major switch from 32-bit to 64-bit.  And it's also something that could have been avoided if you'd just let us install the 32-bit version on 64-bit machines.  The users just want things to work and don't care about forced upgrades for bells and whistles.

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