software required for communicating with iPods not installed correctly

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software required for communicating with iPods not installed correctly

I am trying to do a new iTunes install version 10.6.1 on a Windows 7 64 bit machine. Everything goes smoothly and I get a message saying it installed correctly however, upon starting iTunes I get the following error:

The software required for communicating with iPods and mobile phones was not installed correctly. Do you want iTunes to try to repair this for you?

I have uninstalled it following the directions, reinstalled it by running as administrator, etc. still the same message. I also notice Quicktime is not getting installed at all.

Please advise.

Thanks in advance.

Windows 7, Download version 10.6.1

Posted on Mar 31, 2012 6:14 PM

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Answer 1

b noir

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72,336 points

Mar 31, 2012 8:10 PM in response to memphisTN

So not probably not iTunes if it's a weird permissions thing.

... but possibly weird permissions stuff with iTunesHelper.exe.

Checking to see if that is in play is a bit fiddlier. (iTunesHelper is a background process that runs automatically on startup, so we need to force it to "run as administrator in a slightly different way.)

Head back into the iTunes folder. This time, right-click on iTunesHelper.exe and select "Properties".

Go into the "Compatibility" tab. Check "Run this program as an administrator" as per the following screenshot:

... and click OK.

Restart the PC. iTuneshelper should now try to launch as an administrator at startup. Try launching iTunes.

Does that clear up the error messge?

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Answer 2

b noir

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72,336 points

Mar 31, 2012 6:21 PM in response to memphisTN

I also notice Quicktime is not getting installed at all.

That one is normal nowadays (ever since the iTunes versions 10.5.x).

The software required for communicating with iPods and mobile phones was not installed correctly. Do you want iTunes to try to repair this for you?

Let's try a standalone Apple Mobile Device Support install. It still might not install, but fingers crossed any error messages will give us a better idea of the underlying cause of why it's not installing under normal conditions.

Download and save a copy of the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64setup.exe) installer file to your hard drive:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Download and install the free trial version of WinRAR:

http://www.rarlab.com/

Right-click the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64setup.exe), and select "Extract to iTunesSetup" (or "Extract to iTunes64Setup"). WinRAR will expand the contents of the file into a folder called "iTunesSetup" (or "iTunes64Setup").

Go into the folder and doubleclick the AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi (or AppleMobileDeviceSupport64.msi) to do a standalone AMDS install.

(If it offers you the choice to remove or repair, choose "Remove", and if the uninstall goes through successfully, see if you can reinstall by doubleclicking the AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi again.)

Does it install (or uninstall and then reinstall) properly for you?

If instead you get an error message during the install (or uninstall), let us know what it says. (Precise text, please.)

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Answer 3

memphisTN Author

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Mar 31, 2012 6:36 PM in response to b noir

I used 7-Zip because it was already on my computer. Let me know if that is a problem.

It did not install properly. The error message is:

Service 'Apple Mobile Device' (Apple Mobile Device) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services.

I aborted the installation.

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Answer 4

b noir

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Mar 31, 2012 6:41 PM in response to memphisTN

It did not install properly. The error message is:

Service 'Apple Mobile Device' (Apple Mobile Device) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services.

🙂 Many thanks.

Are you currently able to start the service manually in Services?

In your Start Menu, right-click on Computer and click "Manage".

Expand "Services and Applications"

Open "Services". (Perhaps maximise the screen to better see what's going on.)

Is the status of the Apple Mobile Device Service currently "Stopped"? If so, if you select the service and click "Start", does it start or do you get another error message? If it's an error message, what does it say? (Precise text, please, including any error message numbers.)

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Answer 5

memphisTN Author

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Mar 31, 2012 6:58 PM in response to b noir

I opened services and there was no service named Apple Mobile Device. So I tried to reinstall again and refreshed the window and Aplle Mobile Device is there. There is no status in the status column. So I right click on Apple Mobile Device and select start and I get the error message:

Error 14001: The application has failed to start because its side-byside configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log or use the command-line sxstrace.exe tool for more detail.

In examining the event viewer, I see error with a source SideBySide and the error message is:

Description:

Activation context generation failed for "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe". Dependent Assembly Microsoft.VC80.CRT,processorArchitecture="x86",publicKeyToken="1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b ",type="win32",version="8.0.50727.6195" could not be found. Please use sxstrace.exe for detailed diagnosis.

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Answer 6

b noir

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72,336 points

Mar 31, 2012 7:12 PM in response to memphisTN

Error 14001: The application has failed to start because its side-byside configuration is incorrect. Please see the application event log or use the command-line sxstrace.exe tool for more detail.

Tricky. It's possible we might be looking at a Microsoft .NET framework issue with that, but normally I'd expect the symptoms to be a bit more extreme ... or at least, that we'd be seeing trouble with Apple Application Support being installed, too.

If we're lucky, it might be related to something not quite going right (silently) with the Apple Application Support install, which is ramifying through to an AMDS problem. In that case we might be able to get past this with a repair install of Apple Application Support.

Restart the PC. Now head into your Uninstall a program control panel, select "Apple Application Support" and then click "repair".

Does the repair install go through okay?

If so, next try a repair install of Apple Mobile Device Support. (The hope here is that if we've fixed any issue with AAS, this might fix the side-by-side issue.)

Does the AMDS repair install seem to go through okay? If so, restart the PC one more time and check to see if the Apple Mobile Device Service is now both started and running. If it is, does iTunes launch without the error now?

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Answer 7

memphisTN Author

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Mar 31, 2012 7:27 PM in response to b noir

We might not be on the same page. I had uninstalled iTunes and all related software, so there is nothing on my computer. When we did the stand alone Apple Mobile Device Support install it never installed I just accessed the service while it was trying to install and the error message was up. So there is no Apple Application Support or any iTunes related programs on my computer and has not been while we have run these tests. Should we backtrack? Should I install iTunes and then try the stand alone Apple Mobile Device Support install again?

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Answer 8

b noir

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72,336 points

Mar 31, 2012 7:35 PM in response to memphisTN

So there is no Apple Application Support or any iTunes related programs on my computer and has not been while we have run these tests.

Okay ... that might well explain the message from the Apple Mobile Device Service.

Let's try another iTunes install, and first check to see if we're still getting the "software for communicating" message.

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Answer 9

memphisTN Author

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Mar 31, 2012 7:36 PM in response to memphisTN

I went ahead and reinstalled iTunes. Apple Mobile Devise status is started and I right clicked on it and restarted it and that went ok too. Still got the error message:

The software required for communicating with iPods and mobile phones was not installed correctly. Do you want iTunes to try to repair this for you?

when iTunes started after the install.

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Answer 10

b noir

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72,336 points

Mar 31, 2012 7:45 PM in response to memphisTN

Hmmm. So that suggests the itunes error is lying to us.

That can sometimes indicate strange permissions trouble.

Can you check something for me, please? By way of experiment, I'd like to try opening your iTunes by doing a "Run as administrator".

Quit iTunes first if you have it open.

In Computer, open Local Disk C:\ or whichever drive your programs are installed on.

Open the "Program Files (x86)" folder.

Open the "iTunes" folder.

Right-click on the iTunes.exe file and select "Run as administrator".

Does it launch for you without the "software for communicating ..." error message?

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Answer 11

memphisTN Author

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Mar 31, 2012 8:40 PM in response to b noir

b noir,

I am still getting the same error message. Unfortunately I must go to bed. I will come back to this thread tomorrow so please post any ideas that come to mind. I cannot begin to thank you for the time you have spent on this problem.

Best regards,

James

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Answer 12

b noir

Level 9

72,336 points

Mar 31, 2012 8:58 PM in response to memphisTN

🙂 Sleep is a good thing.

Something to check on tomorrow when you've got the time ... I'd like to try to work out if this is a systemwide issue, or if it's associated with a particular Windows User account.

Create a new Windows User account with full administrative rights. Log out of your normal account and log into the new account. (Don't use fast user switching to move between accounts.)

Try launching iTunes in the new account. Do we still get the error? Or does iTunes eventually launch to a blank library, without the error?

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Answer 13

memphisTN Author

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Apr 1, 2012 9:52 AM in response to b noir

I believe it is a system wide issue. I was actually logged on in my account with administrator rights. I restarted and logged in as adminstrator and launched iTunes and got the same error message. I then created a new account with administrator rights, restarted and logged in to that account and again got the same message. So I am going to say systemwide.

Now I also notice that right when I log in and every time I log in, before I have access to my desktop, I am getting a message "Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to your......" and the program that is requesting this is iTunesHelper.exe. I am not sure if this is normal or not.

Also, I did open iTunes and hooked up my iPhone and iTunes did recognize it if that means anything.

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Answer 14

memphisTN Author

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Apr 1, 2012 12:52 PM in response to memphisTN

b noir,

I have noticed some strange behaviour that might be a clue, but I am not sure. I have two users on this computer, one is the adminstrator and one is me with full admin rights. I have installed iTunes numerous time as both users. However, regardless of which user I was logged on as when I installed iTunes, the following behaviour remains constant:

If I restart the computer and log in as user administrator I get no messages until I launch iTunes at which point I get the The software required for communicating with iPods and mobile phones was not installed correctly. Do you want iTunes to try to repair this for you? Regardless if I click yes or no, nothing happens except iTunes opens.

If I restart the computer and log in as me I get a message even before I have access to my desktop : Do you want the following program to make changes to your computer? The file is itunesHelper.exe. Then when I launch iTunes I get a message Do you want the following program to make changes to your computer? The file is itunes.exe. Here if I say no, iTunes will not open. If I say yes, iTunes opens and then I get the The software required for communicating with iPods and mobile phones was not installed correctly. Do you want iTunes to try to repair this for you? Regardless if I click yes or no, nothing happens except iTunes opens.

The user account control settings appear to be exactly the same for both users.

Also, after iTunes opens if I am logged on as me, iTunes will come up with a message "iTunes has detected that it is not the default player for audio files. Would you like to go to the Default Programs control panel to fix this? This does not happen when opening iTunes as user administrator. Have no idea if this offers any clues but just noticed this difference in behaviour that is constant.

James

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Answer 15

b noir

Level 9

72,336 points

Apr 1, 2012 1:49 PM in response to memphisTN

If I restart the computer and log in as me I get a message even before I have access to my desktop : Do you want the following program to make changes to your computer? The file is itunesHelper.exe.

That one's my fault. If you head back into the Compatibility mode tab for iTunesHelper.exe and uncheck the "Run as administrator" box, that one should go away.

Then when I launch iTunes I get a message Do you want the following program to make changes to your computer? The file is itunes.exe. Here if I say no, iTunes will not open. If I say yes, iTunes opens and then I get the The software required for communicating with iPods and mobile phones was not installed correctly. Do you want iTunes to try to repair this for you? Regardless if I click yes or no, nothing happens except iTunes opens.

Quickly doublechecking ... did you also switch on Run as administrator in the iTunes.exe tab? Or is that UAC message something that just started appearing after making the change in iTunesHelper.exe?

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