Apple rolls back problem driver in new iTunes 8 update
Apple has responded quickly to reports that its initial release of iTunes 8 caused STOP errors (AKA the Blue Screen of Death) on some Windows machines.
The issue is documented in support article TS2280, "iTunes 8: If Windows Vista displays a blue screen error message when connecting iPhone or iPod," which tersely describes the symptoms:
After installing iTunes 8 for Windows, some users may see a blue screen error message when connecting iPhone or iPod to a Windows Vista computer. In some cases, the computer may immediately restart when connecting iPhone or iPod to the computer.
The recommended solution is to first uninstall Apple Mobile Device Support and iTunes, and then download and install the most recent version of iTunes. (Delete any previously downloaded versions.)
I've just installed the new version on the same test system that gave me fits earlier in the week. The license agreement remains unchanged, and the only components that were upgraded, according to Control Panel, are Apple Mobile Device Support and iTunes. The GEARAspiWDM.sys driver already present on my system was not replaced. The Apple USB driver now shows a date and time stamp of September 10, 2008, 4:45 PM. The version included with the initial release of iTunes 8 was dated September 5, 10:16 PM, as shown here.
Curiously, however, the supposedly "new" driver actually has an older version number. The September 5 file is version 1.35.0.0, and the September 10 replacement is 1.29.0.0.
As it turns out, that version number is identical to the one on the driver included with iTunes 7.7 (date-stamped July 22, 2008). Both 1.29.0.0 files are the same size (31.2 KB) and are smaller than the 36 KB for the 1.35.0.0 release. From the evidence, it's pretty clear that Apple ditched its new driver code and simply rolled back to the older version. Here are the side-by-side properties of the two files:
I'll do more testing and update this post if I discover anything new. This feels like a quick fix, and there's no word from Apple on what if any features were enabled in the new driver that will be lost with the rollback to the older edition. Except, of course, for those pesky system crashes.