OK. Preamble...(solution is below so feel free to skip ahead) At some point in iTunes version history, they added a very annoying "feature". Whenever i plugged in my iPod Touch (1G) iTunes would fail to recognize my iPod. It got worse, iTunes would freeze up as soon as i plugged my iPod into my computer, lasting 5-15 minutes before unfreezing and still no recognizing my iPod in iTunes. Even worse, iTunes would lag out for even longer if i tried to edit certain preferences. I could not figure out this issue!
I gave up on my iPod touch for a long time (it got old) but i eventually got iPhone 4 and the same issues applied. I was furious that I could not initialize or whatever my iPhone on iTunes. So I had my brother in law (a computer repair tech) fix the issue. He told me it was a simple settings issue in preferences in iTunes and that I was a dumbass and to figure it out on my own next time. Well, iTunes updated to 10.2.1.1 this week and I wanted to update to iOS 4.3. The same old freezing song and dance turned up and I became infuriated once again.
But this time I believe i have figured out which simple setting my brother in law changed.
But before you can have that tidbit, lets recap.
-Windows Vista
-iPhone 4 (and iPod Touch 1G)
-iTunes 10.2.1.1 (or many earlier versions too)
-iTunes works fine until you plug in your iOS device, then it lags to hell
-after iTunes unlags, start twiddling around in edit-preferences.
-select the devices tab in preferences
-procede to lag to hell even worse than before.
-ragequit and come back a week later
-repeat!
SOLUTION
-unplug your iOS device and wait for iTunes to unlag. This may require quitting iTunes or rebooting or whatever.
-Goto iTunes-edit-preferences-devices (hopefully it will not lag since your iOS device is not plugged into your computer right?)
- Find the option called "Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically"
-UNSELECT this option.
-Select "OK"
-quit iTunes, restart iTunes (this may be optional)
-Plug in your iOS device.
-Device should now be recognized
-Enjoy
