iTunes is really grinding my gears! :)

Make sure all the Apple software is up to date and make sure all your drivers are updated as well.

first off, i'm glad you removed Norton. that company seems to think, your computer exists only to run their software... it's nothing but bloatware that will bog down your system. give AVG Free a try, it's free antivirus software and it uses low system resources.

onto iTunes not closing properly, are you running LastFM or any other applications that use data from iTunes? i've had an issue, where LastFM will prevent iTunes from closing... and sometimes i'll get a message that "iTunes is scripting" or other times i'll click close and it will just do nothing.

Hello clairbear, I thought you had gotten your problem solved!



Do you have an iTouch or iPhone? If not, try getting rid of Apple Mobile Device helper. That was causing iTunes to stay open in previous versions, but I thought that had been fixed.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA23565
Do NOT remove it if you have an iPhone or iTouch, though. They need it. Regular iPods do not.
You can get rid of it in Control Panel > Add/Remove programs.




If no joy on that idea, try MSCONFIG.
This method takes a bit of time and several PC restarts, but it should help you find what is causing iTunes to stay in task manager.



Vista: http://support.apple.com/kb/TA23565
XP: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1275

Norton can be hard to remove and may require using Programs, Norton Removal, and manually removing program files. But 2009 and 360v3 are light, quick, and work 100% w/o trouble on Vista SP2 (there is a beta for Windows 7 RC).

The trouble with iTunes and GEAR audio driver knocking out DVD/CDs is well known, documented, but continues even now with iTunes 8.2.

I'd like to use something else, Apple software installs junk I ask not to, has to be removed, and does all the damage in the world... Apple could be the new Symantec with regards to Windows.

Bonjour, MobileMe, Apple Software Update, has no place on (my) Windows systems. Zilch. Nada. And tries to take over, plus adds its own back door services.

I agree with Katrina, editing using MSCONFIG can make your pc run a lot smoother. There are some essential items that need to run when windows starts, however when you look at the list in the start up tab of MSCONFIG there is a laot of stuff that does not need to be there. It is another case of software developers inflicting their preferences on you by stealth.

The best way is to open up MSCONFIG (start menu, click on RUN then type MSCONFIG) Click on the start up tab and a list will appear. See what is ticked, then just google each name and it will tell you what it does and whether it is critical or not. With modern pc's being so fast most of the installed programs you have do not need to start up, exceptions are Anti virus programs etc, maybe some extra sound/audio drivers. All the stuff from companies like Adobe and NERO I just untick, same with any iTunes stuff (I don't have an iPhone or iTouch).

I have found that well over 75% of stuff in there can be unticked but make sure you check on google first.. Everytime I do a software install or update I always check the MSCONFIG to get rid of any unwanted entries. What is annoying is when you update software and as part of this update it automatically changes the MSCONFIG setup.

If you ever wonder why your task bar is full of little icons the answer for most of it can be found at MSCONFIG. If during the install process or via preferences you are given the option to start or not on windows startup, some programs still run stealthily in the background as a way of "helping" the user. I have nothing but contempt for this type of behaviour.