Error (0xE8000084). What you do.

You don't need to reboot Windows.

Leave your iPhone connected to your PC then:

1. Quit iTunes
2. In task manager click "show processes from all users", sort by description and kill everything "Apple". Also kill the process with the image name AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe
3. Click Start > Run > in the Open text box copy & paste the following - with the quotes - "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe" and press OK.
4. Open iTunes

The fix from cyclist worked for me. Thanks!

However putting that line into the run box did not work so I just went directly to the executable in that directory and clicked on it. Now I just have a shortcut for it on my desktop as I am having this problem more than once with iTunes.

This started happening to me just after I installed the latest iTunes. So I think it's basically a problem with iTunes and the latest update.

Cyclist - this has been bugging the *%#* out of me! THANK YOU!! I've only gotten as far as opening iTunes, but it open and......no error message! Now to try and sync (hadn't been doing that, either). Thanks again, you're a lifesaver.

This didn't work for me. I'm running Windows Vista. Could that be why it doesn't work or is it possible that I have the files in a different location?

I've been working on this all day. iTunes hates me. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

mickdon, here are the instructions from cyclist, slightly adapted:

1. Connect your device.
2. Shut down iTunes if it is open.
3. Open up task manager. On Windows XP, you hit CTRL + ALT + Delete. Sort by "Image Name" (by name of running process). Stop anything beginning with the word "Apple." You simply select the process in the list and then click the "End Process" button.
4. Go to Program Files/Common Files/Apple/Mobile Device Support and double-click on the file "AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe"
5. Open iTunes. It should now recognize your device.

Note that for step 4 above, you can instead put in the Windows Run box the following command (including quotes):

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe"

Then hit OK. That was cyclist's original instruction, but that step did not work for me so I went straight to the directory that contained the executable file and just clicked on it instead. Now I have a shortcut to that file on my desktop for easy access as I have come up with this iTunes problem on various occasions.

Hope this helps. I would not uninstall and reinstall iTunes as that is a pain to do. This is much easier. Try this first. Only try reinstalling iTunes if all else fails.

patny how do you get to the directory? when i try to enter it into the box it says it could not be found. please help! my ipod is stuck in the middle of the restoring process how do i get to the directory.

PatNY wrote:

mickdon, here are the instructions from cyclist, slightly adapted:

1. Connect your device.
2. Shut down iTunes if it is open.
3. Open up task manager. On Windows XP, you hit CTRL + ALT + Delete. Sort by "Image Name" (by name of running process). Stop anything beginning with the word "Apple." You simply select the process in the list and then click the "End Process" button.
4. Go to Program Files/Common Files/Apple/Mobile Device Support and double-click on the file "AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe"
5. Open iTunes. It should now recognize your device.

Note that for step 4 above, you can instead put in the Windows Run box the following command (including quotes):

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe"

Then hit OK. That was cyclist's original instruction, but that step did not work for me so I went straight to the directory that contained the executable file and just clicked on it instead. Now I have a shortcut to that file on my desktop for easy access as I have come up with this iTunes problem on various occasions.

Hope this helps. I would not uninstall and reinstall iTunes as that is a pain to do. This is much easier. Try this first. Only try reinstalling iTunes if all else fails.

My original instructions were specific to 64 bit operating systems. If you have a 32 bit OS simply omit the (x86). I've updated the instructions:

You don't need to reboot Windows.

Leave your iPhone connected to your PC then:

1. Quit iTunes
   
2. In task manager click "show processes from all users", sort by description and kill everything "Apple". Also kill the process with the image name AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe
   
3. For 64 bit OS: Click Start > Run > in the Open text box copy & paste the following - with the quotes - "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe" and press OK.
   For 32 bit OS: Click Start > Run > in the Open text box copy & paste the following - with the quotes - "%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe" and press OK.
   
4. Open iTunes

this worked perfect! preciate it

cyclistfromashburn wrote:

You don't need to reboot Windows.

Leave your iPhone connected to your PC then:

1. Quit iTunes
2. In task manager click "show processes from all users", sort by description and kill everything "Apple". Also kill the process with the image name AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe
3. Click Start > Run > in the Open text box copy & paste the following - with the quotes - "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe" and press OK.
4. Open iTunes

So, this problem has been discussed on here since September 2012 yet despite the almost daily new releases from Apple, they still haven't fixed it 😮

Two points to make:

1. If iTunes wasn't such a complete bag-of-spanners maybe it would be easier to fix.
2. Maybe if the developers spent more time creating an application that was fit for purpose instead of trying to endlessly bolt on yet more unwanted and unnecessary bloatware, they might have something worth having.

Leave your phone/ipad exe pluggednthen shut down itunes and restart windows Leave your divice plugged in during this as soon as windows home sceen pops up click i tunes and i unes should find your divice and re staart the update

I run Windows 7 on my iTunes machine so I can not attest to, nor test for, anything Vista as I skipped that half as*ed release.

Now with my love for Solaris 11 and OSX aside if you are able to upgrade to Windows 7, I would highly recomend it. Windows 8 seems to be focused on the tablet/touch screen market and will likely have a low adoption rate for the first several years. Vista was a rush job by M$ IMHO. Windows 7 has been the most stable offering from Microsoft that I've seen outside of their server products. So even though the new M$ OS is around the corner (10/26/12), an upgrade to Win 7 proper is still a worthwhile investment, again, in my humble opinion.

Keep serching for your error and if you find another solution that works for you do back link it to this thread so others can share in your solution.

One last option I would try if all else fails you. Un-install iTunes completely, reboot, then download the latest build and re-install. Make sure to back up your iTunes database first (While it shouldn't be impacted, it's better safe than sorry) and it should be a seamless process. If that fails to resolve your issue I think you may likely be stuck in one of those software dependency holes that can be very frustrating to get out of.

Best of luck to you and I hope some of this has helped.

Cyclist Thank you very very much. I've had this problem all morning and now I can FINALLY update my iPhone. Took only two seconds to fix. Followed your instructions without a problem and got a solution. Once again, thanks! 🙂

This problem started to occur with my iPhone 4S on a clone computer running Windows 7 Professional 64bit after I turned on Genius in the app store. Prior to that, I never had the error.

The problem occurs when I unplug the phone to use it during the day with iTunes always loaded and running. When I am done for the day, I plug my phone in and click Sync. After turning on Genius in the app store, when I go to plug my phone back in, I get the error.

I have found the easiest way to fix it is to unplug the phone, close iTunes, plug the phone back in, then start iTunes back up. Apple messed something up in version 10.7 of iTunes and ios6 to cause this problem.

Cyclist, I'm still working on this when I have time.

I, too, located the AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe file. I have tried two things -- Open and Run as Administrator. The process begins to run, but then it seems to shut down on its own. Should it keep running, or is this what it is supposed to do?

I did download the latest version over the weekend before trying to update my phone and it didn't work properly. I uninstalled and reinstalled iTunes then, now I'm seeing this issue. Any advice?

I really appreciate your help....

Cyclist--

after spending about 8 hours on this on Saturday and about 2 hours again on Sunday, I have finally updated my iPhone! Thanks for your help. After I uninstalled and Reinstalled the second time, I used your tip and finally go this to go through. It did delete all my music, but I needed to clear some of that junk off of here anyway.

I'm so excited that I finally got this to work. It became about figuring it out much more than it was about the actual update. I'm really looking forward to the wireless sync.

Thank you so much for your help!

Emily