itunes is no longer being supported by windows vista?

You might want to read through this thread. You can find some helpful information and links. iTunes 12.2 has dropped Windows Vista Support However, in the long run, you may also find it in your best interest to update your Windows. Like XP, Vista support will be discontinued soon which will put your device at risk.

The advice given by iTunes support is correct: Windows 7 or later is required to support iTunes 12.2. While I sympathize with you and others who cannot take advantage of the latest version of iTunes, I can also understand why Apple would choose to drop support for legacy Microsoft OSs. Mainstream support for Vista ended in April 2012, and all support will end in April 2017. While none of us have any insight into Apple's strategies, it is reasonable to assume that compatibility with the editions used by the majority of Windows users (7 and 8.1) and with Windows 10 is of higher priority than Vista or XP.

Apple have done a really bad job with the website updates associated with the release updates of 12.2, including confused/confusing information about exactly which OSs are supported. They have also failed to maintain any obvious links to the most recent version of iTunes that does support Vista and XP -

direct links to the installers are as follows:

• iTunes 12.1.2.27 (32-bit) - iTunesSetup.exe
• iTunes 12.1.2.27 (64-bit) - iTunes6464Setup.exe
• iTunes 12.1.2.27 (64-bit "for older video cards") - itunes64setup.exe

The third of these - which is actually the 32-bit application with a 64-bit installer - should be used if you get a warning about video card incompatibility when you install the standard 64-bit version, but also may resolve issues with playback, QuickTime compatibility, and problems with some third-party applications (including Outlook).

12.1.2 might be fine for XP SP3, but the last version that was truly compatible with Vista was 11.1.5. I know this because I am a Vista user who pays close attention to Windows problem reports.