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Apple iTunes for Windows crashes PCs

Written by Lasse Penttinen @ 20 Oct 2003 12:26 User comments (24)

Apple iTunes for Windows crashes PCs Microsoft often gets complaints about the bugs in their software. Now it seems that Apple's start on the Win32 platform isn't much better. The "Best Windows software ever" is crashing PCs on system boot up.
The Windows market is a huge challenge for Apple. The market is full of all-in-one jukebox software, which have already reached huge user bases. Also there is an over-supply of free, albeit illegal, MP3 music via the networks (Kazaa, Direct Connect, etc). I'd say that Apple's main target is the non-techie PC user group -- releasing a buggy software doesn't help Apple to achieve their goals.
However, not everyone has been so happy with their iTunes experience on the PC. One of the most serious complaints came from a number of Windows 2000 Professional users, who said installing iTunes appeared to crash their machines.

Apple recommended that those who have the problem boot their machine in Windows' "safe mode" by holding down the Shift key while restarting and temporarily uninstall iTunes. Some customers also reported having problems while restarting in safe mode, though.
Source: News.com

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24 user comments

120.10.2003 04:59

Whew! Glad I didn´t install it yet.

220.10.2003 07:01
across04
Inactive

I think this needs to be put into perspective. I've checked quite a few message boards, and while a few people said they had problems, including the WIN2000 boot up problem, the overwhelming majority are loving the program. I've installed it on a WinXP machine and it works flawlessly. I've spoken to other friends who've also installed in on their windows machines. None of them are having any problems. I seriously doubt that ANY windows program could be installed by millions of people without resulting in problems for some people. But clearly those having problems are miniscule compared to the rest that are enjoying a great application! Just my two cents worth!

320.10.2003 07:06

I should also point out that I've installed it on my Win2000 box with no problems.

420.10.2003 08:46

I wonder if those that are having problems with iTunes in win2k are the same people who bought the upgrade to Win2k thinking it was the "upgrade" from win98 for their home computers that microsoft rushed WinME out for. Ive installed iTunes on 3 PC's all with XP pro and I have not one problem to report.

520.10.2003 09:54

I installed it on my sister's 1GHz Celeron running XP Home; about as mainstream a setup as you can get. All worked great. ripping from CD, burning to CD. All worked fine.

620.10.2003 10:05

Well I might try it out, but I don´t really have the time to re-install Windows at the moment.

720.10.2003 10:13

Pity it has to be that drastic a solution, Ghostdog ;)

820.10.2003 10:54

Is sounds like a lot of sour grapes by Windows die-hards! I'm an IT Manager for 50 PC's and have installed iTunes on about 8 PC's with different configurations. It's a great program and runs without any problems. I'm glad I can finally replace Windows Media Player & RealPlayer as my MP3 jukebox/CD ripper, and as a bonus it makes burning CD a one-step process.

920.10.2003 11:11

Hint to using iTunes: It is easier to use THAN YOU THINK. Unlearn the procedures imposed by archiac software. Just do what you want. Drag-and-drop where you want. ALSO, use the right-click! Apple has been using right-click in its apps and OS for about four years, now. It is just a Control key-click on the stock one-button Apple mouse, but it IS THERE.

1020.10.2003 11:14

Drag an MP3 from an iTunes playlist to your Desktop. Drag a song from a CD mounted in iTunes to your "Library" entry in iTunes' "Source" pane. Better yet, select a whack of tunes (or all of them) from the CD and drag them to A BLANK PORTION of the "Source" pane. Without fanfare, watch what happens. Simpler than you think, yet highly functional. It just works.

1120.10.2003 13:16

I installed it on my Win200Pro machine and didn't have a single problem. Works great, and I'm proud to be one of those 1st million Windows LEGAL downloaders!

1220.10.2003 13:18

Let's be honest a minute. Any experienced Windows user knows about Registry Bit Rot. The longer we use the computer and add/delete software, the more brittle the OS becomes. Since I'm the computer 'expert' at work, I've been called on twice to deal with iTunes problems. Or, more properly put, computer problems that iTunes made obvious. In one case the user admitted that his CD burner doesn't work most of the time unless he reboots and immediately burns a disk. Well gee, do you think maybe he had a problem BEFORE iTunes was installed? As for the people complaining that iTunes has a lousy interface...sorry. They just don't know what interface means if lousy is the word they use to describe iTunes. It is, as another user exclaimed after I showed him a few tricks, "Too cool for words and awesome simple."

1320.10.2003 13:18

Sorry, Win2000Pro, that is!

1420.10.2003 16:07

Yup, Dell Precision 220 w/Win2K Pro[original w/o service packs] died on re-boot. Compaq 1500 laptop w/ XP Home - iTunes works well, but I couldn't buy a song - kept getting BUSY error message on Friday. I'm a Mac user [OS 9 on older Powerbooks & iMacs] so I was thrilled to see iTunes on Windows. Looking forward to OS/X 10.3 - Panther this week! Will buy new Powerbook. IMHO iTunes is a great Trojan Horse for Windozers

1520.10.2003 16:53

I've installed it in Windows 2003 Server, and it works pretty much fine. There's a few display update glitches, and I've heard a few skips, but the software itself is working fine. The problems I'm experiencing are VERY minor. iTunes is fantastic. Bye-bye to all those other awful MP3 player programs I've always HATED.

1620.10.2003 17:47

An application should never crash a *real* operating system. Problem with programming for Windows is you never know where the OS ends and the app starts.

172.11.2003 12:40

I installed it on Windows 2000 pro. I works ok now I mean after it corrupted my user profile. It will probably take me 6 months to find all the stuff to reconfigure on my desktop. But so far this apple software works about as well as windows software SNAFU.

188.12.2003 03:40
mars_cat
Inactive

I have Win 2000 at work and Itunes doesn´t recognize audio-cd´s or mp3-cd´s. Have tried several times to uninstall and reinstall it but without luck. At home Itunes is superb on my Imac!

1923.5.2005 13:29

Hi folks, Unfortunately itunes refuses to play on my dell XP. We installed itunes it worked just fine, than the system crashed XPCOM reciever problems and since than itunes will not even start, get the message report problem. no amount of installing and uninstalling is solving this issue. My browser is FireFox that ran perfectly before sarting with the XPCOM error. Not Dell nor Microsoft nor Netscape Mozilla have been able to solve the problem. I'm now reduced to make do with the XP media player but I'd love to have my itunes back. If someones could help. That would be appreciated

2020.11.2005 05:48

I installed recent iTunes on my PC with Windows 2000 SP4 and I am not able to boot it again - not in save mode eighter. I am in PC business more than 20 years - never saw a software which crashes the OS!

2120.11.2005 05:58

tinu11 go back to another registry,as win-2000 has one ye can go back to,pressing f8 on second start up window,select (meaning a back up registry}last known good configuration. if its up and running,uninstall the program and remove its folder.. xp can do the same thing as i posted above cheers also read my post on backing up your system I AM GOING TO TELL YE A BETTER WAY TO BACK UP YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM.. click here http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/226518

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 20 Nov 2005 @ 6:20

2220.11.2005 06:14

@ireland Thanks a lot for your feedback. Seems to work - well I tried it before but I didn't wait long enough. It took quite a long time then Win2K started again. I'll uninstall iTunes - that's for sure.

2322.12.2005 09:34

I also got bit by the iTunes BUG. Worked like a charm on XP but cratered my 2000 machine. I wanted to post and say thanks for the help guys. Except for you arrogant Mac users, I swear you guys are worse than Microsoft. Overcompensating for your 1% market share I guess.

2422.12.2005 09:45

iTunes, Quicktime, security flaws p2p news / p2pnet: A heap overflow vulnerability exists for all current and prior versions of Apple iTunes and Quicktime for Mac OS X and Win32, says indie security researcher Tom Ferris. It could allow an attacker to cause a crash, and or execute arbitrary code in the context of the user who executes the player, he states How severe is the flaw? It's bad, says Ferris – "think about how many ipods sold this year alone". He gives links two testcases for the vulnerability and says Apple has been notified. http://www.security-protocols.com/poc/sp-x21-1.mov <(=-- this one crashes QuickTime http://www.security-protocols.com/poc/sp-x21-2.mov <(=-- this one will crash iTunes and QuickTime Ferris told eWeek he flagged the issue to Apple more than a month ago, "but only received a cursory confirmation that the bug was being investigated". Attackers can, "rig QuickTime movie files to trigger a denial-of-service crash that may lead to malicious code execution," says the story. http://p2pnet.net/story/7390

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