First the bad news: yes it might be necessary to reinstall Windows.
The reason is that the solution to the problem you describe states that iTunes components must first be uninstalled in a particular order. Having already removed everything Apple with Revo Uninstaller, one or more components may have left behind some remnants that are causing the problem.
The good news is that it might not be necessary to reinstall Windows, you just have to be certain to remove all iTunes / QuickTime etc. program components correctly, and then reinstall iTunes.
This solution requires three distinct procedures: 1. removal of all iTunes, QuickTime and related Apple components, 2. verifying they are all uninstalled, then 3. reinstalling what you need. It is described in this KB article, the essence of which follows:
Step 1 - Removal
Abbreviated description:
Use the Control Panel to uninstall iTunes and related software components in the following order and then restart your computer.
- iTunes
- QuickTime
- Apple Software Update
- Apple Mobile Device Support
- Bonjour
- Apple Application Support (iTunes 9 or later)
If you are certain you already did everything above correctly, you can skip to Step 2, which is where I think your problem lies, but an augmented description of the above follows. You should probably go through it quickly. just to be sure.
- Quit the following programs if they are running:
- iTunes
- QuickTime Player
- Apple Software Update
- From the Start menu, click Control Panel.
- In Control Panel, click the "Uninstall a program" link as shown below. The Programs and Features Control Panel opens.
Alternately, if you do not see the "Uninstall a program" link, click Programs and Features.
- Select iTunes from the list of currently installed programs. Then, click Uninstall.
- When asked if you would like to remove iTunes, click Yes.
- After the uninstallation is complete, do not restart your computer if you are prompted to.
- If you see other iTunes entries in the list, remove them as well by repeating steps 4-6.
- Remove any iPod Updater applications that are listed the same way you removed iTunes.
- Remove all instances of QuickTime the same way you removed iTunes.
- Remove all instances of Apple Software Update the same way you removed iTunes.
- Remove all instances of Apple Mobile Device Support the same way you removed iTunes.
- Remove all instances of Bonjour the same way you removed iTunes.
- Remove all instances of Apple Application Support the same way you removed iTunes.
- Restart your computer.
Step 2 - Confirmation
In most cases removing iTunes and its related components from the Control Panel will remove all supporting files belonging to those programs. In some rare cases those though, files may be left behind. After following the previous steps, you should confirm that the following files and folders have been removed. If any are left behind, remove them now:
- C:\Program Files\Bonjour
- C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\
- C:\Program Files\iTunes\
- C:\Program Files\iPod\ Note: Follow the additional steps at the end of this article if you receive the alert "Cannot delete iPodService.exe: It is being used by another person or program" when trying to delete this folder.
- C:\Program Files\QuickTime\
- C:\Windows\System32\QuickTime
- C:\Windows\System32\QuickTimeVR
If you have a 64-bit version of Windows, you will need to confirm that the following folders have been removed as well:
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Bonjour
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\
- C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\
- C:\Program Files (x86)\iPod\ Note: Follow the additional steps at the end of this article if you receive the alert "Cannot delete iPodService.exe: It is being used by another person or program" when trying to delete this folder.
- C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\
- C:\Windows\SysWOW64\QuickTime
- C:\Windows\SysWOW64\QuickTimeVR
If you aren't sure how to remove these files, you can follow these detailed steps:
- From the Start menu, select Computer.
- Open Local Disk (C:) located in Computer or whichever hard disk your programs are installed on.
- Open the Program Files folder.
- Right-click the Bonjour folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
- Right-click the iPod folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion. Note: Follow the additional steps at the end of this article if you receive the alert "Cannot delete iPodService.exe: It is being used by another person or program" when trying to delete this folder.
- Right-click the iTunes folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
- Right-click the QuickTime folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
- Open the Common Files folder.
- Right-click the Apple folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
Note: If you have a 64-bit version of the Windows OS, continue with step #10. Otherwise, skip to step #15.
- From the Start menu, select Computer.
- Open Local Disk (C:) located in Computer or whichever hard disk your programs are installed on.
- Open the Program Files (x86) folder.
- Right-click the Bonjour folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
- Right-click the iPod folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion. Note: Follow the additional steps at the end of this article if you receive the alert "Cannot delete iPodService.exe: It is being used by another person or program" when trying to delete this folder.
- Right-click the iTunes folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
- Right-click the QuickTime folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
- Open the Common Files folder.
- Right-click the Apple folder (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
- From the Start menu, select Computer.
- Open Local Disk (C:) located in Computer or whichever hard disk your operating system is installed on.
- Open the Windows folder.
For 32-bit versions of Windows: Open the System32 folder.
For 64-bit versions of Windows: Open the SysWOW64 folder.
- Right-click the QuickTime file (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
- Right-click the QuickTimeVR file (if it exists) and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Choose Yes when asked to confirm the deletion.
- Right-click the Recycle Bin and select Empty Recycle Bin.
Step 3 - Installation
Restart your computer, then install the latest version of iTunes here:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Hope this helps. Good luck!