Alan wrote:

> Thanks for that. If this is the same with all Apple programs, should they be
> avoided?
>
> 'It's generally a good idea to download the latest version of any software
> from the net if you've got access, versions on CDs can be very old in some
> cases'
>
> It never occurred to me (again) that it would be a good idea to do that, I
> will from now on,
> Regards,
> Alan.
> "Paul Smith" <Paul@nospam.windowsresource.net> wrote in message
> news:%23D1cd1YEGHA.2380@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> > It's not the first I've heard of this, or the other problems they've had
> > like incompatible iTunes and firmware on the iPod itself too.
> >
> > But considering the amount of applications it loads up in the background,
> > if you want or need them or not, it's not surprising it runs into problems
> > on some systems.
> >
> > Apple have always had this problem, even with small applications like
> > Quicktime which constantly wants to start qttask for no reason every time
> > Windows boots.
> >
> > It's generally a good idea to download the latest version of any software
> > from the net if you've got access, versions on CDs can be very old in some
> > cases.
> >
> > --
> > Paul Smith,
> > Yeovil, UK.
> > Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
> > http://www.windowsresource.net/
> >
> > *Remove 'nospam.' to reply by e-mail*
> >
> > "Alan" <alan111@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> > news:OapDVvYEGHA.1736@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> >> Hi,
> >> My friends machine took a turn for the worse after loading the program on
> >> CD that comes with an Apple iPod. It became extremely slow and kept
> >> shutting down, when restarted a Windows message appeared saying it had
> >> recovered from a fatal error.
> >> Both of us thought it was malware of some kind, but by chance when
> >> speaking to PC World Helpline in the UK he mentioned that he had recently
> >> loaded the iPod discs and was told that there was a known problem with
> >> this software, apparently especially with Packard Bell machines (I fail
> >> to see why that should be, but that's what he was told).
> >> They gave him a fix over the phone which he followed and the problem
> >> seems to have gone. What the fix was I don't know as he did it on
> >> instruction and cant remember for sure what it was. He was advised not to
> >> use the discs but to download the necessary from Apples web site.
> >> Anyone know anything about this?
> >> I know a bit, but not much more than my friend about this stuff, that's
> >> why I got involved. He told me that he'd used the iPod discs, but from a
> >> company like Apple it never occurred to me to question their software.
> >> Regards,
> >> Alan.
> >>
> >
> >

IMO, especially with iTunes software, before downloading and installing the
"latest version" it's best to check the user forums/discussion groups. Let
someone else do the beta testing for you -- and you might not need or want the
features in the latest version anyway..