iPodService.exe killing cpu usage

Same here...

I have an brand-new 80 GB iPod Video which I fromatted for Windows usage on a friend's computer. iTunes 7.0.2 worked fine with it there.

Then I installed iTunes 7.0.2 on my WinXP Pro computer, connected my iPod, and Windows recognized it. Started iTunes, but it wouldn't be recognized there. Even worse, services.exe takes 60-80% of all cpu power and cannot be killed. Only a reboot gets my PC back to work again.

Then I did all the steps mentioned on http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93716, but none of them would help, some even couln't be made (i.e. stopping services.exe, PC hangs when trying). Also when having unset all entries/processes in msconfig it wouldn't work.

So I reinstalled iTunes (a couple of times) but still services.exe would slow down my whole PC as soon as I connect the iPod, using at least 60% cpu power. And of course no iPod in iTunes.

Then I tried iTunes 6.0.5, but having that one installed, not even Windows would recognize my iPod anymore. So I'm back on 7.0.2 again.

I'm not a beginner when it comes to computers, HDs etc. at all. And I really tried a lot of things again and again, tried to kill processes, connected my iPod to other USB ports and stuff. This is really annoying. Please, can anyone help? There's got to be a way to get this services.exe working...

Windows XP Pro

It's me again. I just noticed something. When I kill iPodService.exe, services.exe will continue its work at the normal 0% cpu usage. But, as I mentioned already, as soon as I restart iPodService.exe and connect my iPod, iPodService.exe is back up at about 30% and services.exe at 70%.

BTW, I have an Athlon 64, too (3000+), maybe it's a hardware issue? Apple says on http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93716 that the problem may be caused by third-party system processes, which I doubt since I also tried to run iTunes after having disabled/stopped all kinds of system trays/processes...

I've had the same problem with my 60 gig iPod. I start iTunes, hook up my iPod, and wait. After a couple of minutes, 100% of cpu is being used. I can end iTunes, but I can't add or modify any songs.

I don't buy Apple's answer about a third-party process. iTunes and my iPod worked just fine before I upgraded to iTunes 7.

Any word on a fix?

HP Pavilion zv5000 Windows XP 1 gig ram 2 ghz processor

Same here. I am about to send my iPod back because of this problem.

Best regards
hj

Same problem here, too. I have an iPod with dock (3G?) and a fully capable and fully functional PC. Previous versions of iTunes were OK (other than being turtle-slow), now iPod Service hogs the CPU and I have to shut it down to use other programs.

Does anyone from Apple monitor this forum?

If anyone comes up with any fixes, other than tossing iTunes in the garbage, please let us know.

On the possibility that other processes are conflicting with the iPodervice.exe, I wonder if you guys have tried using MSCONFIG to troubleshoot conflicts as in this Apple article.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302538

Just a thought, if you haven't already done it.

On the possibility that other processes are
conflicting with the iPodervice.exe, I wonder if you
guys have tried using MSCONFIG to troubleshoot
conflicts as in this Apple article.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302538

Just a thought, if you haven't already done it.

I sure did. Not only with MSConfig, but with other means as well. I relly made sure there was not a single process running that didn't necessarily have to.

This is the exact same problem I am having. Ipodervice.exe is using 25-30% of the CPU and seems to be driving services.exe to use the rest. iTunes is pretty much useless at this point. I can open iTunes without my ipod connected and do some things. However if I want to actually sync my ipod I have to do it after a fresh reboot. Also it can only be done when iTunes first opens up. If I try to sync after making some changes....it's all over for iTunes. It locks up hard. I can not even kill the service in administrator tools. The computer will continue to limp along with whatever CPU power Windows can borrow from iTunes, but I can only gain full control of my computer again after rebooting. Actually in general the computer is still sluggish compared to before I installed iTunes. Should I give up on iTunes all together and install something else? Maybe wait for Apple to release an update or something? This is really frustrating.

Another thought, have you heard of Process Explorer? It was from Sysinternals but now seems to have been taken over by Microsoft.
It gives more information about processes than Task Manager.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/ProcessExplore r.mspx

Since iPodServices.exe "allows both iTunes and iPod Updater to access devices" is it possible to invesigate those a bit more? It sounds as though it is trying to do something and not succeeding. Could it think something else is an iPod? On my system iPodServices.exe briefly goes to 30% CPU usage when the iPod is first plugged in then rapidly drops to zero.

< Edited by Host >

I did not notice anything special except services.exe trying to handle threads and apparently failing...

Praetorian85
I can't make much of that either, I wonder if services.exe is any more informative?

If I understood you correctly, in your particular case, the problem is that although Windows recognises the iPod, iTunes does not, and the the high activity of iPod services.exe is a symtom of this rather than a primary problem in itself?

You didn't say if you have a network drive but presumably you checked this out as well?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93499

Do you have anything else mapped to a drive letter that might confuse iTunes? I heard memory card readers can sometimes do this.

Hi ,
Maybe overkill , Suggestion , reapply Service 2 for XP, technically MS wants everyone to reapply service packs after software installations. There might be some Dll that got "touched". Also try this tool "CCleaner" to clear out old crap. And check if all drivers are up to date for motherboard etc.

D.

In my case, iTunes recognizes my iPod, but iPodServices is hogging the CPU, so everything runs at a snail's pace.

Praetorian85
I can't make much of that either, I wonder if
services.exe is any more informative?

If I understood you correctly, in your particular
case, the problem is that although Windows recognises
the iPod, iTunes does not, and the the high activity
of iPod services.exe is a symtom of this rather than
a primary problem in itself?

You didn't say if you have a network drive but
presumably you checked this out as well?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93499

Do you have anything else mapped to a drive letter
that might confuse iTunes? I heard memory card
readers can sometimes do this.

It seems to me that the high activity is actually the reason why iTunes doesn't recognize the iPod.

I don't have a network drive attached, but theres a few other things about drives I probably have to say:
First of all, I have another external hard disk for USB. Whenever that one is attached, not even Windows recognizes the iPod. So that's a bit weird, too. Of course all the problems mentioned above apply for that hard drive being disconnected.
The second thing is more relevant. When I set up my PC, I made the mistake of connecting my memory card reader before installing Windows. That resulted in the memory card drives taking drives C, E, F and G, where D is my DVD-ROM drive. Hence, my system drive is H, and the other partitions take drives I and J. Since I don't use the memory card reader very often and the drive letter confusion caused some problems with other software as well in the past, I decided to unplug the card reader about a year ago. So the letters C, E, F and G are free now. As a consequence, my iPod takes the letter C when I connect it. That's what I assume to be the cause of iTunes not being able to find the iPod or iPodService.exe/services.exe having a hard time respectively.

So what I just did is the following: I killed iPodService.exe, connected my iPod, changed the drive letter from C to W using 'Disk Management' as described at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93499 (note that when I tried to change the letter directly 'Disk Management' crashed, so I had to remove the letter assignment first and reassign it again afterwards). And guess what: It works now! I started iTunes and the services do their job as smooth as a baby's bottom, at 0% cpu. My iPod appears in iTunes now. Yay!

It's a bit complicated to connect my iPod now, but hey, I don't mind. Thank you very much for hour help, especially polydorus, your link solved the problem. I hope my description will help everybody who encounters the same kind of problem.