Q: Apple Mobile Device failed to start

this didnt help me at all it wouldnt start the apple mobil devive thing

For general advice see Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates.

The steps in the second box are a guide to removing everything related to iTunes and then rebuilding it which is often a good starting point unless the symptoms indicate a more specific approach.

Review the other boxes and the list of support documents further down the page in case one of them applies.

The further information area has direct links to the current and recent builds in case you have problems downloading, need to revert to an older version or want to try the iTunes for Windows (64-bit - for older video cards) release as a workaround for installation or performance issues, or compatibility with QuickTime or third party software.

Your library and device backups should be unaffected by these steps but there are links to backup and recovery advice should it be needed.

tt2

same as mine too i try it so many times but it doesn't work in me please help me!

Hey there

I had the same problem as many others: After I've been using iTunes for years, it suddenly just didn't work and reinstallation failed because of the "Mobile Device Service"-error. I wasted tons of time searching a solution on the web - but non of the solutions worked for me. After experimenting a lot, I finally found out how you can get iTunes running again. THIS IS THE SOLUTION!!!

1. Uninstall all the Apple Software in the following order:

     - iTunes

     - Quicktime

     - Apple Software Update

     - Apple Mobile Device Support

     - Bonjour

     - Apple Application Support

2. Go to "C:\Program Files" and delete the folders "iTunes", "iPod" and "Bonjour". Then open the folder "Common Files" ("C:\Program Files\Common Files" and delete the "Apple"-Folder. If those folders don't exist, skip this step.

3. Go to "C:\Program Files (x86)" and delete the folders "iTunes", "Bonjour" and "Apple Software Update". Then open the folder "Common Files" ("C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files") and delete the "Apple" folder. If those folders don't exist, skip this step.

4. Uninstall the "Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable"-Software, the "Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable" and the "Microsoft .NET Framework X.X". If you don't have this software installed, skip this step.

5. Open CCleaner (or download and install it from https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download), run it and then go to its "Registry"-Tab. Use CCleaner to analyse your Registry-Keys and after the scan, click "Fix all selected issues" (and say "Yes" if it wants to do a Registry-Backup first).

6. Go to your desktop and press "Win + R". Then type "%appdata%" to open the folder where all the temporary Program Data is stored ("C:\Users\YOUR NAME\AppData\Roaming"). Delete the whole "Apple Computer"-Folder in order to remove all the remaining Apple-Files on your Computer.

NOTE: This folder can be as large as 50GB!

7. Restart your Computer

8. Download and install the "Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable"-Software, the "Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable" and the "Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5". If you're using Windows 10, the ".Microsoft .NET Framework" is already included in the operating system.

Here are the download-links for a 32-bit OS:      https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3387                                                                                                                                       https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29

                                                                            https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30653

And here for a 64-bit OS:      https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=21254

                                              https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15336

                                             https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30653

9. Restart your Computer

10. Download the latest version of iTunes: http://www.apple.com/itunes/

11. Install iTunes and have fun!

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is possible that the installation still doesn't work. But this time, the services will start and you will get an error message like "Windows Error 193". For specific error cases like this, Apple provides the fitting solution here: If you see Error 7 (Windows error 193) when you try to install iTunes for Windows - Apple Support. With this additional step, I was finally able to install and use iTunes again.

Please let me know if this solution also worked for you!

Kind regards and have a good time =)

None of the solutions above were in fact a solution in my case. I tried to install iTunes on a new PC and it failed to start the service. I uninstalled and reinstalled everything Apple related and nothing seems to make iTunes work.

I understand Windows software was never Apple's cup o tea, but this time they really messed up. This shows a very disappointing lack of QA. It's not reasonable to enforce this kind of troubleshooting on a savvy user let alone the regular user. This is supposed to work out of the box like every other Windows application around. I don't understand how it came to this. I see more and more users complaining about iTunes on Windows. I'm starting to think like them.

Hi,

I have done all your recomendation but the original error message keeps appearing during itunes instalation. Do you have any other solution?

Thanks

Hi,

Same with me follow all the instructions above and error keeps appearing.

If somehow you find the solution please let me know.

Thanks

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling but none of them worked until this:

1. Uninstall everything Apple related (if you haven't installed iTunes yet, you can skip to step 2)
2. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32.
3. Locate the msvcr100.dll file.
   Make sure that the file name is exactly msvcr100.dll. If you’re unable to locate msvcr100.dll, do not continue with these steps and do not move other files from this folder.
4. Drag the msvcr100.dll to the desktop. When prompted, click Continue.
5. Reinstall the latest itunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/)

Finally, itunes installed in my PC and everything works like a charm

Nope... still same error. I'm really disappointed at Apple with this one...

See my earlier post to this thread. Re: Apple Mobile Device failed to start.

If needs be reinstall the last version that worked for you and roll back the library if necessary. See the iTunes installers section for details and links.

tt2

Been there, done that. Still nope...

This is a brand new computer. No previous version was installed so there's no "last version that worked for you". I'm gonna try the previous one, but, even if it works, it's just a half measure. Users shouldn't be put through this.

Well... it worked with previous version.

• iTunes 12.3.2.35 for Windows (64-bit) - iTunes6464Setup.exe (2015-12-21)

But again, this is a half measure. If a user requires a feature from the latest version, he will find himself/herself in a dead end.

Maybe you should plug in your USB to your iphone/ipad to install the driver first in your PC before installing iTunes? My computer is also a brand new computer and that was what I did. You're right, users shouldn't be put through this! I never have any problems whatsoever with previous versions on my Windows 7 PC, so I don't know if this is from Microsoft or Apple!