just an update in case anyone at Apple is listening:
I went through all of the steps outlined in the second box of the troubleshooting for windows guide. Uninstalled and removed all of the Itunes files, bonjour, etc. Ran as administrator. The same problem occurred. Windows shuts down every time. Beginning to wonder if I don't have a virus on my phone.
Anyway, I then uninstalled and removed all the files again, and tried 12.1 version for older video cards. Plugged in the iphone 5, it recognized it right away, I tried to sync apps, and it crashed itunes.