Cant get iphone 4 to show as a device in iTunes *Solved*

Hi , for some reason my iPhone has stopped showing up in iTunes which means i cant sync anything or do backups. This happened a month or so back and i haven't been able to find a fix. When i plug the iPhone into my main computer i get a window pop up asking me if i want to import pictures from the iPhone. So a connection is being made its just not recognizing it as an iPhone.

Ive tried uninstalling iTunes and then deleting the preferences ('apple computer folders' ) in app data and roaming data. Ive tried plugging it into all the different usb ports.

I've got a feeling its a configuration problem as I've installed iTunes on a notebook just to test if it might be the lead or the phone and it connected up fine. Maybe i need to strip out all the drivers when i uninstall iTunes.

A complete reinstall of the OS is just not an option.

My main computer is :

Windows 7 ultimate 64bit
Intel i7 64bit
ASRock z77 pro3 mobo
32gb ram
1tb SSD
Radeon HD 7970

Often times it's the Apple Mobile Device Software.
Try following these steps, removing the software in the order indicated:
Apple Support

Yeah,
I went through all of that as well as three long assistance calls with Apple.
After about 3 months of not being able to sync my phone I bought an upgrade from windows 7 to windows 8.

Everything worked fine after I did the windows 8 upgrade.

I believe that there is a failure between the windows 7 and Apple upgrades that caused the issue. Apple was extremely helpful but couldn't solve the problem because they said the issue was a registry problem in windows.

By the way, a reinstallation of windows 7 did not fix the problem. It took a windows 8 upgrade for me.

I hate windows 8 by the way.

It forces you to operate a computer like an ADHD 12 year old uses a cellphone.

reply to post by sageturkey


Thanks for the link sageturkey i've managed to get it to show up now.

I followed the instructions in the link you sent and after that i did a scan of my c: drive searching for
"iTunes"
"bonjour"
"apple"

The scan found a whole bunch of folders that still remained even after following apples instructions. I deleted all the folders and then restarted the computer. After reinstalling iTunes my iPhone is finally showing up.

reply to post by PhoenixOD

Awesome! So you didn't try it before deleting all of the extra folders? Just curious...
I see that a lot where the uninstall routines leave stuff behind for various reasons. Wish they had a cleanup tool as well.

reply to post by sageturkey


No i just deleted everything, i might program my own cleanup tool now i know what to get rid of to make it work.