Cannot Retrieve Photos

I want to transfer photos from my iPhone to my laptop. I don't have iTunes on my laptop because you can only have your iPhone associated with one computer.

Nevertheless, I thought my iPhone would have worked with my laptop as it does with my desktop when I plug my iPhone in to that with iTunes not open. My desktop sees the iPhone as if it were a camera. I could then download my photos to my desktop.

I cannot do this with my laptop. I think my laptop "knows" my iPhone is there because it appears as a device listed in Device Manager.

Hardware involved:
Computer (laptop): Acer Aspire 5920
Phone: iPhone 4S

Software involved:
Computer (laptop): Windows Vista HP SP2
Phone: iOS 6.0.1

 

It is entirely possible to sync your iPhone to more then one computer.

Excerpt came from http://macgroup.org/blog/2010/05/10/sync-your-iphone-ipad-or-ipod-touch-with-multiple-computers/

Don't know if that will help you or not.

 

I don't really know what to say in response.

My brother has told me you cannot. Of course, I am more likely to believe him. Another reason for believing him, that is besides his being my brother, he's an electronics engineer so he's quite knowledgeable on electronics. Thirdly, he's a definite Apple convert: he has only apple devices (computer, laptop, phone, etc.); he has nothing based on Windows unless it's the only option.

For you to believe him takes as much for me to believe you; however, I have been told the same thing by Apple. When I got my iPhone I synced it with iTunes on my desktop. It would not sync with my laptop. I spent over an hour on the telephone with an AppleCare agent trying to get my iPhone to sync on my laptop. They could not do it. They confirmed it will only sync with one computer.

I really want to believe you because I want to sync my iPhone with my laptop. It also seems to me intuitive that it should sync with more than one computer.

The bottom line is this: iTunes (when it was installed on my laptop) would not "see" my iPhone. When I connect my iPhone to my laptop (without iTunes installed) the iPhone only shows up in Device Manager.

So, I'm left with the same issue but no solution.:confused

 

Have you tried to see if it will sync with other software?

http://www.getsharepod.com

 

I am inferring that 'it' refers to the iPhone. I am not sure what other software I would sync it with.

I know that the problem has to be with my laptop (Acer).

My iPhone syncs perfectly well with iTunes on my desktop (HP) computer. When iTunes is not open on my desktop computer, if I connect my iPhone to it, it sees my iPhone as a camera. My laptop does not recognise the iPhone other than it appearing as an iPhone in Device Manager.

I have done everything that Apple recommend. I have used Revo Uninstaller to remove all Apple software from my Acer laptop: iTunes, Bonjour, QuickTime, Mobile Device Support, etc. I have removed everything. I have also done a manual check for any Apple software on my computer. Even though it is not in Apple's recommendations I have cleaned the computer with CCleaner, Advanced SystemCare, and WiseCare (using the latest versions). I have defragmented the computer using Smart Defrag (latest version).

I then downloaded iTunes. Before I installed iTunes I turned off anything that might conflict with its installation, i.e. SUPERAntispyware, my antivirus (avast), my firewall (Outpost), WiseCare, and WinPatrol. I also disconnected from the internet.

Before I connected my iPhone I, again, followed Apple's advice: I fully charged my iPhone and I reset it. Before connecting it I also turned off any possible conflicting software, i.e. the same ones as above I turned off before installing iTunes.

I have tried connecting my iPhone to my Acer laptop using both USB ports. I only have two to try. Again, following Apple's advice I connected directly to the Acer laptop rather than through a USB hub. I don't even have a hub on my laptop. I have one on my HP desktop and plug the iPhone in to it without any problems.

 

You seem dead set on using only Apple software. All I can say is good luck. Apple isn't exactly the most popular software for those who like to do what they want to do instead of doing what Apple lets them do...

Try Sharepod. You may just like it. http://www.getsharepod.com/help/iphone.aspx

Edit: I never had an iPhone but had an iPod touch. I only used third party software like MediaMonkey and Sharepod. After using those I rarely ever opened iTunes again.

 

Please tell me how I am supposed to find that in anyway helpful?

You clearly have an issue with Apple. That's your problem and I don't think this is the place to vent your problems.

This forum is about helping people with computer problems. It is not about people bemoaning a company.

This is the second post in which you have recommended not using Apple software. Perhaps you could be a little more helpful and recommend an alternative.

I have not said that I only want to use Apple software. If you cared to read what I said I have said that the problem appears to be with my laptop which uses a Microsoft Windows disk operating system. I do not see how Apple can be blamed for the problems I have.

The reason why I have given details of what I have tried is because if you don't people moan that you haven't given the full picture.

 

Actually I was wondering if you could get it to sync with anything at all, not just iTunes. My iPod Touch always showed up as a camera and it had no camera so I'm not sure thats anything to worry about.

May be a long shot but do you have Quicktime installed/updated also? iTunes and QT used to not function right without both being installed and that may still be true.

Have you de-authorized it from the original computer you had it synced with?

 

No, I have not because I do not know any other software with which I can synchronise an iPhone.

I do not worry about it. The point I was making is that the computer with which I can use my iPhone recognises it even when iTunes is not open. I have another computer that just will not recognise my iPhone at all.

Yes, I have QuickTime installed my computer.

No, I have not because I do not want to do that. Plus, in Post #2 another poster has claimed that an iPhone can be synchronised with more than one computer. Are you saying that an iPhone can only be synchronised with one computer, which until this thread was all I had ever heard and believed.

I simply want to transfer photographs from my iPhone to my laptop computer. I want to take the photographs off the iPhone and make more space on my iPhone.

I have transferred my photographs to my desktop computer. But, I want to show my mother photographs of her grandchildren. Obviously, I can only take the laptop to my mothers.

 

From your first post.

I have given you an option to transfer the photos using Sharepod and you refuse to try. You wont try anything I suggest or that Gaming Insider suggested. Why ask for options?

Sharepod. As I suggested above.

I have said I never owned an iPhone but my iPod Touch (iPhone without the phone, basically) synced with lot's of third party software as mentioned above. You are not bound by iTunes alone. There is other software that you can use to sync, transfer etc. with your iPhone.

Again, Sharepod.

And finally.

Check my first and second reply.

For the third time. www.getsharepod.com
If needed I also gave this link above. www.getsharepod.com/help/iphone.aspx

 

You have failed to understand what I have posted. Thank you for responding but you clearly do not have any solution for my problem.

 

I do not need software with which to synchronise my Apple iPhone 4S. I need to discover why my Acer Aspire 5920 laptop computer (running with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 2) does not recognise my Apple iPhone 4S when I connect them together.

 

Is it possible the driver didn't install correctly or is corrupt?

Try running USBDeview. It lists all USB devices that are currently connected to your computer, as well as all USB devices that have previously been connected. I have had to do this a few times with good results for mp3 players when the driver had become corrupted.

The output you want to look at will look something like this (only with more information in each string):

Port_#0005.Hub_#0005 M575 Digital Camera Still Imaging

If you see iPhone, Apple or what you think/know the phone is named then right-click it and choose Uninstall Selected Devices. Then plug the phone back in and see if it starts the install process.
- I'm not sure but you may want to restart the computer after Uninstalling Selected Devices.

Be sure the phone is not connected to the computer when uninstalling.

 

Thank you for recommending that application. I will see what results it produces. I am sure the problem is with the driver. When Apple (who I expect know a lot more than I do) told me there was nothing that could be done I did leave the problem. However, it has niggled me. I am sure there must be a solution.

When I have carried out your recommended solution I shall report back with the outcome.

 

Cool. If you have plugged the phone in to more then one USB port it will show up in the list more than once so you may want to look at each entry to be sure you remove all of them.

 

I did what you recommended with usbdeview.

Then I restarted my computer.

After the computer restarted I plugged the iPhone into one of the computer’s USB ports.

A message came up saying: “installing driver software”. A dialogue box opened. The name of the dialogue box was ‘Found New Hardware’. It said: “Windows needs to install driver software for your iPhone” It gave the following three options:

“Locate and install driver software (recommended)
Windows will guide you through the process of installing driver software for your device.”

“Ask me again later
Windows will ask again the next time you plug in your device or log on.”

“Don’t show this message again for this device
Your device will not function until you install driver software.”

There was also a cancel button available to click on.

I clicked on the first option: “Locate and install driver software …”.

A User Account Control box opened. I clicked on Continue.

A box opened saying: “Installing device driver software device”.

A box opened called ‘Device driver software was not successfully installed Please consult with your device manufacturer for assistance getting this device installed.
iPhone Failed

Finally, a box opens called ‘Found New Hardware – iPhone’. In the box it says:

“Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device

“Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.

“Apple Mobile Device USB Driver

“Access is denied.

“If you know the manufacturer of your device, you can visit its website and check the support section for driver software.”

 

Well we know it's a driver issue now. Have you tried pluging it in with iTunes open?

Found this, you have probably already seen it. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1538

 

I have tried repeating the entire process with iTunes open. The same error messages are given.

I do not know how this Apple Article might help. The symptoms it aims to treat are:

The device cannot be restored in iTunes – I am not attempting to restore my iPhone (iTunes cannot even “see” my iPhone).

An exclamation point, question mark, plug symbol, or “X” appears next to the device’s entry in Device Manager – my iPhone does appear in Device Manager but it has none of these symbols next to it.

During an update or restore, the device may no longer be recognized by iTunes – on this computer iTunes has never “seen” my iPhone.

I do not know if you have looked through the recommended solutions. I have worked through this before and it has not helped. In relation to each of their recommendations:

1. My iPhone has never appeared as a device on iTunes. It has never even get recognised a camera.

2. I have the latest version of iTunes and my computer has one of the necessary operating systems.

3. I have restarted my iPhone.

4. My iPhone is fully charged.

5. I have connected and reconnected the iPhone. I have tried using both USB ports on the computer. I connect the iPhone directly to the USB ports and not via a USB hub.

6. I have tried restarting my computer.

7. I have uninstalled iTunes and all Apple software. I have even used Apple’s instructions on how to do this to ensure everything is removed. I have then reinstalled the latest version of iTunes.

8. To prevent conflicts with third party software I have turned off possible conflicting software, i.e. avast!, Outpost Security Suite 7.1, SUPERAntispyware, WinPatrol, and Wisecare 365.

 

The part of the instructions under "Verify the Apple Mobile Device Support is installed" (#3 down) is what I was looking at. I'm pretty sure the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver is what is failing to install.

 

It might be that. If it is that do you know of any solution.

The reason for my doubt is because Apple Mobile Device USB is installed on the computer. That leads me to believe there are two possible problems but I do not know of a solution to either of them.

Either:

1. Apple Mobile Device USB Driver is not installing properly on my computer;

Or

2. For some reason access is being denied to Apple Mobile Device USB Driver.

I really do not know what is going wrong and certainly do not know how to fix it!

 

Did you look in Device Manager to see if Apple Mobile Device USB Driver has an exclamation point next to it?

Does the computer have all Windows Updates?

 

It is not listed.

I think I should mention under Other devices (which is where my iPhone is listed when connected to the computer) there is an Unknow device listed. That has no symbols, e.g. exclamation mark, next to it.

Yes, it does.

 

I looked through the Apple website and could not find a download for the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver. I did however find it hosted on various other websites I would not trust to download from.

Reading through countless articles the one common fix that sounds plausible is this.

Just download iTunes (itunessetup.exe) to your desktop. Right click on it and choose from your archive program to "Open archive". Then find AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi and run that. You might use the right-click "Run as Administrator" option in hopes of cutting down on potential errors.

I'm not bashing Apple, I have spent plenty of money on their devices, but they SHOULD have the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver available on their website since so many people have issues with it!

Hopefully that works.

 

To say I am very angry would be a great understatement.:mad

Not at you, at technology in general and Apple in particular.

Thank you very much for the advice but as you may have inferred by now, the problem is not resolved.

I tried the steps you advised but to no avail.

Apple make some great products but what they really want if for you to have nothing but Apple products so they don't really care when an Apple device won't work with a non-Apple one. Plus, their after care is not that good.

 

I'm kind of at a loss for a next suggestion. :confused

The only thing I can think of is creating a new user account and trying to install iTunes on that to see if the driver will install when the phone is plugged in. Reaching for straws I know but maybe something with the current account has become corrupt?

 

Thank you for your help so far.

I have another user account on the computer so I shall try it on that. As that account is as old as mine it might be damaged in a similar way. I don't know if it is, I'm guessing. If that has the same problem I'll create a new one.

This computer has a few problems anyway and I've been thinking of doing a new install of Windows. I just need to find its recovery disks:-o

 

Your welcome.

I'll keep this in mind if I happen to come across another suggestion.

 

To find out if the problem was with my user account I logged on to the other user account on the computer. Before doing so I went in to Control Panel to give that account administrator rights.

I went through the same procedures but, again, to no avail. I had a look in Device Manager and right-clicked on the iPhone and selected update driver software. I did this to check that the correct driver software for the device was on the computer. I then chose the option to allow the system to automatically search for new software.

At the completion of the process I received an error message. I’m posting it because I don’t know if it will help or give you any ideas as to the problem. Rather than type it out, and, potentially, make an error in copying it, I’ve attached it as an image.

 

Obviously something is blocking the driver from installing.

Try starting the computer in Safe Mode With Networking and see if the install process will complete. Maybe whatever is running that's blocking it will not be running in Safe Mode.

 

I had a go at installing it while running Safe Mode with Networking. It would not do anything other than generate the error message seen in the attached image. I thought well I might as well try it in Safe Mode but I received the same error message.

 

dr.moriarty pointed out that you have two antivirus running on the computer. This is never a good idea as they can conflict with each other and could possibly be a part of the problem. I suggest keeping one and uninstalling the other.

avast!
Outpost Security Suite 7.1

 

When, where, which post; I cannot see it.

I use "Outpost Security Suite 7.1" as my firewall. All the anti-virus/anti-malware functions are turned off.

 

Ok that works. When I see security suite I immediately think all-in-one. Not all antivirus are easy to disable. You think they are disabled but there are still components running. Outpost however I think does let you shut off the AV components so you should be okay.

 

Could you please ask you to have a quick look at this thread. A lot of people have looked at my OP and no one has replied. I accept that no one may know the answer. Maybe no one has seen it who knows what it means. Thank you!

 

What website were you trying to view?

 

This one but it is OK now, weird.:confused

 

It may have been a glitch with their server. You can get some strange error messages when servers are temporarily off line.