Johnny DEP
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: iTunes 12 incompatible with Windows Vista Data Execution Prevention

I just did a clean install of iTunes 12.0.1 after removing 11.4 and other components as described in Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates. I'm running Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 with 3 GB RAM. Soon after closing the iTunes GUI, I get a Data Execution Prevention notification:

iTunes DEP.JPG

I have already tested with every DEP setting except AlwaysOff, which would globally disable an important Windows security feature and is therefore not to be recommended. The problem is apparently a Buffer Overflow Exception. Here are the details from one instance:

 

Product
iTunes

Problem
Stopped working

Date
10/16/2014 7:37 PM

Status
Report Sent

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: BEX
Application Name: iTunes.exe
Application Version: 12.0.1.26
Application Timestamp: 543e558b
Fault Module Name: StackHash_d697
Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 00000000
Exception Offset: 105059cc
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Data: 00000008
OS Version: 6.0.6002.2.2.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: d697
Additional Information 2: 2bd40df4cf0a606a4574668730104c34
Additional Information 3: d700
Additional Information 4: cb2d139a5bee9dfc5c0d03df08159e62

Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID: 50

 

This is actually not a new problem. As an experienced user of 32-bit Vista, I would have to say that the last compatible iTunes version was 11.1.5. See also Windows Vista problem reports after latest Itunes 11.2 update.

iTunes for Windows, Windows Vista

Posted on Oct 16, 2014 9:00 PM

by Johnny DEP,Solvedanswer
Johnny DEP Johnny DEP
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

If there's a program on your PC that causes a buffer overrun (BEX) every time you use it, the sensible thing to do is uninstall that piece of junk and use different software that is compatible with your operating system. I have completely uninstalled iTunes 12.1.2 and installed 11.1.5 for the 8th or 9th time. True, version 11.1.5 is now more than a year old and lacks certain security patches, but I have no intention of using it for online shopping or anything other than file playback. Amazon has plenty of mp3 files that can be played using software that is compatible with Vista, including Windows Media Player 11 and iTunes 11.1.5. Some of the links posted earlier in this thread are no longer any good, but iTunes 11.1.5 32-bit can still be found at Apple - Support - Downloads . The direct links that turingtest2 posted on pages 2 and 3 appear to be still good (including the 64-bit version), and you could always try oldapps.com.

 

Caution: If you have an Apple mobile device running iOS 8, you would not be able to support it using iTunes 11.1.5 or any other version that is fully compatible with Vista. You could simply leave iTunes open on the taskbar as long as possible to reduce the number of annoying DEP notifications, and you could add iTunes to the Block list for problem reporting as discussed above. Do not "shoot the messenger" by disabling DEP and/or WER. They are just doing their jobs by alerting you to iTunes crashes, and disabling them will make your Vista PC more vulnerable to malware andd other problems.

 

Posts by cneufeldhq on page 4 of this thread give me the impression that an iPhone running iOS 8 cannot be supported from a Vista PC even if your iTunes is up to date. If you are running Vista and have an iPhone running iOS 8 that you can't support, I would urge you to Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support. You might also want to start your own thread, since this one is about to be marked "Solved." (I've wasted enough of my time on a problem that only Apple could solve, and I'm more certain than ever that they will never solve it.) Frankly, your best solution is probably to buy a new PC or perhaps a Mac. It's long past time for Apple to stop listing Vista in the system requirements on the iTunes download page. Compatibility has been broken for nearly a year now.

Posted on Apr 19, 2015 4:04 PM

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Johnny DEP

Q: iTunes 12 incompatible with Windows Vista Data Execution Prevention

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  • by Johnny DEP,

    Johnny DEP Johnny DEP Dec 21, 2014 9:56 AM in response to Marvin Martianul
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2014 9:56 AM in response to Marvin Martianul

    And believe it or not, not every Windows error report is caused by iTunes incompatibility.

  • by MR.IT,

    MR.IT MR.IT Jan 1, 2015 12:38 AM in response to Johnny DEP
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 1, 2015 12:38 AM in response to Johnny DEP

    My original reply described 2 effective solutions for suppressing the DEP popup generated during the iTunes program close...

     

    1) Disable WER or 2) Disable DEP.  Neither of which is a big deal.

     

    WER just collects and sends crash data to Microsoft, all future crash data is still in located in the Windows event logs. And given the prevalence of malware I've seen infecting Vista machines, DEP appears to be easily bypassed in it's default configuration, namely the essential programs and services (Opt-In) mode.

     

    The only people who can truly "fix" this problem are the iTunes developers. My guess is Apple isn't going to spend a whole lot of resources fixing this minor annoyance since a) it currently seems to only affect Windows Vista (less than 3% of the desktop market share) and b) doesn't appear to affect the program's database integrity i.e. no data corruption. If it was affecting Windows 7 or corrupting your iTunes files they'd probably release an update tomorrow.

     

    But perhaps Apple will look into this soon. Have you tried contacting Apple directly to report the problem?

     

    As to using an old iTunes version (11.x) you can certainly go this route... with older iDevices. However it won't work with newer iDevices and iOS versions. So at some point Vista users will need to upgrade to version 12.x which will bring back the dreaded DEP popups on iTunes close.

     

    To the person who asked if I had a Vista system... yes it is a freshly loaded, fully patched (December 2014) Windows Vista SP2 x64 laptop as previously mentioned.

     

    And finally, the let "us" know if this resolved your error, simply referred to the rest of the internet community viewing this thread.

     

    I hope this clears things up.

     

     

    Happy New Year.

  • by Johnny DEP,

    Johnny DEP Johnny DEP Jan 1, 2015 5:38 AM in response to MR.IT
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 1, 2015 5:38 AM in response to MR.IT

    No thank you. Apple should stop listing Vista as a supported OS. I'm not disabling anything for the sake of iTunes.

  • by Newtonsapples,

    Newtonsapples Newtonsapples Jan 5, 2015 1:58 AM in response to fromsouth
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 5, 2015 1:58 AM in response to fromsouth

    I have been getting a "Vista Data
    Execution Prevention" error message whenever I closed iTunes for months
    now, and after reading through a few forums, I have found a solution
    that worked for me.  Takes only two minutes.  Long story short:

     

    1) Start iTunes

    2) Open the Windows Task Manager

    3) Go to the "Proccess" Tab

    4) Find "AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe *32" and right click on it.

    5) Select "Properties" from the drop down menu

    6) Go to the "Compatibility" Tab

    7) Check the Box next to "Run this program in compatibility mode for:"

    8) If "Windows XP (Service Pack 2)" is not in the field below, click on the down arrow and select said option.

    9) Click on "OK" to close the window.

    10) Close the iTunes application

    11) Reopen the iTunes application

    12) Close the iTunes application again.

     

    At this point you should not see anymore "Vista Data Execution Prevention" error messages when you close iTunes!

     

    P.S. 
    If you want to go back and de-select running
    "AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe *32" in Windows XP Compatibility mode, you
    can.  Though this part is totally optional.  The next time you close
    iTunes, you will get one last "Vista Data Execution Prevention" error
    message, but don't worry, it will be the last one.  Try opening iTunes
    again and then closing it, and TaDa, no more error messages.  I don't
    know why running AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe *32 in compatibility mode
    JUST ONCE solves the problem, but it worked for me.

     

    Happy new year \o/

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 5, 2015 3:29 AM in response to Newtonsapples
    Level 10 (87,008 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 5, 2015 3:29 AM in response to Newtonsapples

    That sounds really promising. Hopefully others can confirm that it works for them too.

     

    tt2

  • by Johnny DEP,

    Johnny DEP Johnny DEP Jan 5, 2015 10:25 AM in response to Newtonsapples
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 5, 2015 10:25 AM in response to Newtonsapples

    Yes that sounds interesting. At the moment I'm still running 11.1.5 (which is a very good solution if you have no iOS 8 device to support), but I'm willing to update and give this a try when time permits. First I'd like to ask Newtonsapples a few questions. You're talking about iTunes 12.0.1, right? (There are now several versions that crash on Vista upon closing.) Did you check Problem Reports and Solutions to see if iTunes is still crashing upon closing? (Not every 12.0.1 crash rises to the level of buffer overflow exception that triggers DEP.) Do you have an Apple mobile device (OP yours truly does not), and if so can you still sync it, and is it running iOS 8?

  • by chedgeco,

    chedgeco chedgeco Jan 5, 2015 2:55 PM in response to Newtonsapples
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 5, 2015 2:55 PM in response to Newtonsapples

    Looking for a solution to the DEP issue and found this thread. I just tried Newtonsapples' solution and it did not work for me.

    Still seeing the DEP error and seeing the iTunes crash in the Event Viewer:

    Faulting application iTunes.exe, version 12.0.1.26, time stamp 0x543e558b, faulting module unknown, version 0.0.0.0, time stamp 0x00000000, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x6e657272, process id 0xb94, application start time 0x01d02938b226a990.

     

    Windows Vista SP2 32 bit

  • by Johnny DEP,

    Johnny DEP Johnny DEP Jan 6, 2015 8:15 PM in response to chedgeco
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 6, 2015 8:15 PM in response to chedgeco

    On second thought, I think I'll wait for the next iTunes update to try any proposed solutions. Coming to think of it, I'm sure that I tried uninstalling Apple Mobile Device Support several months ago (probably version 11.3).  BTW the last iTunes version that listed XP SP2 as a supported OS was 11.1.5, which also happens to be the last version that was compatible with Vista.

  • by Walt220,

    Walt220 Walt220 Jan 31, 2015 12:44 PM in response to Johnny DEP
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 31, 2015 12:44 PM in response to Johnny DEP

    I did try the suggestion by Newtonsapple of changing the "AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe" to run in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 2) and it did work for me though I am not sure why nor am I sure if it will continue to do so. So far so good though with no annoying DEP pop-up appearing after closing iTunes 12.1. Myself, I would have preferred that Apple actually come out with a solution to this annoyance that has been going on despite many updates since spring 2014! When the views for this thread is in the thousands, there is obviously a problem that so far Apple has been either incapable of fixing for Vista users (and please don't just suggest that we get rid of Vista!!) or unwilling to address.

  • by Walt220,

    Walt220 Walt220 Jan 31, 2015 7:04 PM in response to Walt220
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 31, 2015 7:04 PM in response to Walt220

    Whoops!! The DEP pop-up message did come back after testing it a few more times even with the "AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe" set to run in compatibility mode for Windows XP(Service Pack 2) that I was hopeful had solved the issue. I am not sure why it worked a few times successfully but it was not a lasting solution so I have reset the properties and unchecked the compatibility setting suggested by Newtonsapple.

  • by Johnny DEP,

    Johnny DEP Johnny DEP Feb 1, 2015 5:06 AM in response to Walt220
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 1, 2015 5:06 AM in response to Walt220

    Thank you for posting. I have also installed the latest incompatible version and tested Newtonsapple's suggestion. To reiterate, I'm running Vista Home Premium 32-bit. (It's probably safe to assume that we're all running SP2, since support for SP1 ended about 3 years ago.) As I suspected, iTunes is still crashing every single time the program is closed. The most that can be said for Newtonsapple's suggestion is that it seems to alter the ratio of appcrashes to BEX errors. (Only BEX errors trigger DEP.) But like you, I have received at least 3 BEX errors since implementing the change. Even Newtonsapples mentioned getting "one last" DEP error (wishful thinking I'm afraid). If you check Problem Reports and Solutions, I believe you will find one of these for every "successful" close:

     

    Problem signature
    Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
    Application Name: iTunes.exe
    Application Version: 12.1.0.71
    Application Timestamp: 54c75edb
    Fault Module Name: ole32.dll
    Fault Module Version: 6.0.6002.18277
    Fault Module Timestamp: 4c28d53e
    Exception Code: c0000005
    Exception Offset: 00047456
    OS Version: 6.0.6002.2.2.0.768.3
    Locale ID: 1033
    Additional Information 1: d825
    Additional Information 2: 236509c865c9ea5b964d48c87e66ddf9
    Additional Information 3: bed0
    Additional Information 4: f3ff383918e1e64bb4f01a754d406879

    Extra information about the problem
    Bucket ID: 824736719

  • by Johnny DEP,

    Johnny DEP Johnny DEP Feb 1, 2015 6:40 AM in response to MR.IT
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 1, 2015 6:40 AM in response to MR.IT

    Speaking of Problem Reports and Solutions, I was about to try MR.IT's suggestion of disabling Windows error reporting (even though I strongly dislike the idea), but I seem to have hit a road block. When I go to the settings shown in his link (and other similar links I have found), it looks as if many of the settings have been blocked by Group Policy - except of course my Home version of Vista has no Group Policy GUI. Can any of my fellow Vista users help me to understand this? True, this is a little off topic - but I am the OP, and this thread is a magnet for Vista users. Here's a screenshot, which also shows that adding iTunes to the Block list doesn't solve the issue (although no report is sent to Microsoft with that setting):

    Block list iTunes.JPG

    BTW I have changed antivirus since starting this thread (formerly AVG, now Panda), with no effect on iTunes crashes.

  • by Johnny DEP,

    Johnny DEP Johnny DEP Feb 7, 2015 9:27 AM in response to Johnny DEP
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 7, 2015 9:27 AM in response to Johnny DEP

    Although adding iTunes.exe to the Block list as shown above does not prevent crashes, it does at least stop the accumulation of problem reports about an issue that is already well-known to Vista users and no doubt to Microsoft. I would therefore recommend that setting to Vista users who do not intend to downgrade their iTunes. I would not recommend turning off problem reporting altogether unless iTunes is the only program installed on your Vista PC. As for the question of why I cannot change certain settings as shown above, my best guess is that some Microsoft Fix-it that I once ran gave me some Group Policy registry keys (most likely this one: http://support.microsoft.com/mats/Malware_Prevention/en-us). If you have any knowledge about that, please post.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Feb 7, 2015 9:37 AM in response to Johnny DEP
    Level 10 (87,008 points)
    Apple TV
    Feb 7, 2015 9:37 AM in response to Johnny DEP

    Anything that be set using the group policy editor can be modified by patching the registry, but you have to know which keys you want to play with. Offhand I don't know how you would locate the one causing your limitation. Try http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=25250 if you really want to dive in. Several years ago I built some Windows XP lockdown .reg files for some PCs that weren't on a domain, but whatever I learned then has evaporated through lack of use.

     

    tt2

  • by Johnny DEP,

    Johnny DEP Johnny DEP Feb 7, 2015 10:01 AM in response to Johnny DEP
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 7, 2015 10:01 AM in response to Johnny DEP

    Getting back to Newtonsapple's suggestion, I've noticed that it gives you an additional MobileDeviceHelper Program Compatibility problem report:

     

    Problem signature

    Problem Event Name: PCA2

    Problem Signature 01: AppleMobileDeviceHelper.exe

    Problem Signature 02: 17.937.0.21

    Problem Signature 03: MobileDeviceHelper

    Problem Signature 04: unknown

    Problem Signature 05: Apple Inc.

    Problem Signature 06: 200

    Problem Signature 07: -1

    OS Version: 6.0.6002.2.2.0.768.3

     

    I've also noticed that you can "accomplish" the same thing (i.e. get an appcrash instead of a BEX) by simply ending the process. Of course the process will be running again the next time you restart the PC, and I would be very surprised if you can sync a mobile device without the process running.

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