Users of the Microsoft Windows operating system who install the music manager iTunes will notice a large number of background processes that are connected to that program. The processes that all users are going to see are AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe, iTunesHelper.exe and iPodService.exe with some running in the background even if iTunes has not been opened since system start.
At least two of the processes seem to be connected to mobile devices like Apple’s iPod or iPhone which seems like a waste of system resources if none of these devices are owned by the computer user. To say it more clearly: Why would someone need to run these processes if they do not need them? The following paragraphs will show how to disable the three processes AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe, iTunesHelper.exe and iPodService.exe effectively.
Disable AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe
AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe is a Windows Service that “provides the interface to Apple mobile devices”. It does not therefor make sense to run this service if no Apple mobile devices are owned by the user. The easiest way to disable the service is to press [Windows R], type in the run box [services.msc] and press the [enter] key on the computer keyboard.
This opens the Services window which displays all Windows Services. Locate the service Apple Mobile Device, right-click it and select Properties from the menu. Click on the Stop button first to stop the AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe service from running in this session.
Now click on the Startup type menu and change the type from Automatic to Disabled. A click on the Apply button will complete the process of disabling AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe.
Disable iTunesHelper.exe
The ituneshelper.exe process is also running in the background all the time. This process is however started from one of the autorun locations. Getting rid of it is quite easy. Press [Windows R], type in [msconfig.exe] and hit the [enter] key on the computer keyboard.
Switch to the Startup tab on top of the window and locate the iTunesHelper entry there. Uncheck that entry to disable the autostart of it when Windows starts. A click on Apply will complete the process. You do not need to restart Windows at this time.
Disable iPodService.exe
This one is tricky. IpodService.exe is a Windows Service. The problem is that it will be launched by iTunes even if the service is set to be disabled. Closing iTunes on the other hand will not close the iPodService.exe from running in the background. Here is what needs to be done to get rid of this process as well.
Open Windows Services again by pressing [Windows R], typing in [services.msc] and hitting the [enter] key. Locate the service iPodService. It is described as “iPod hardware management service”. Right-click the service, click on the Stop button if it is running and set it to disabled in the startup type menu.
The second step is needed as iPodservice.exe will be launched by iTunes even if it has been disabled. Locate the file iPod iPodservice.exe on the computer hard drive. It is by default installed into Program Files\iPod\bin.
Delete iPodservice.exe from the /bin/ directory and create a new text document. Give the text document the same name (iPodservice.exe). You should now have a 0 Kilobyte iPodservice.exe file in the /bin/ folder. To test if the procedure worked start iTunes. If everything worked out fine iPodservice.exe should not have been started and should not show up as a process in the Windows Task Manager.
Verdict: Windows users who want to use iTunes but do not own an iPod or other Apple device can now disable unneeded processes from their computer system. It does not make sense having them run in the background all the time.
Related Articles:
Install iTunes Without Unnecessary SoftwareGoogle Chrome: Disable Tab Previews In Windows 7
Disable Windows 7 Homegroup Feature
Disable restart after Automatic Updates
Enable or disable the Windows Firewall in Vista in one click
Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ using the icons below.
thanks man! i had to end the process everyday!
This is Apple’s way of trying to persuade everyone how bad Windows is by programming their own applications so poorly that they screw your system up with this garbage. Even worse, you’re not even given an option to not have this stuff installed. Apple never practices what it preaches.
IMHO iTunes/Quicktime should be classed as malware, There are plenty of alternative ways to manage your MP3 player and to play Quicktime media, all of which are better and carry no baggage.
i hear you on that I never looked at apple as a good company they are really greedy ..
agreed!!!
hmmm, are there any reason for installing itunes for those who don’t own ipod ? for Mac look Windows mod ?
Some like to shop in the iTunes store for example. Some might have had an iPod and switched to another mp3 player later on.
Thanks for this great article & I totally agree with Taomyn, I have installed iTunes on an old laptop just to avoid the bloatware that comes with it, I will never install it on my main PC and for excellent alternative for itunes/quicktime
Winamp
Sharepod
The KMPlayer
Thank you. Unfortunately that evil virus called iTunes has made these steps absolutely necessary.
I have an iTouch and I use I tunes to download media to my device. Can I safely remove AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe, iTunesHelper.exe and iPodService.exe and still use my iTunes to download to my iTouch?
The only one of these processes I had running was AppleMobileDeviceService.exe. Although curious as to why it was on my computer, (I don’t own an iPod or have iTunes installed) I’m glad it’s gone.
Thanks for taking the time to publish such a clear explanation
Note that if you reinstall iTunes, or if click ‘OK’ when prompted to upgrade your existing iTunes installation, the actions listed on this page will be undone and you will need to go back disabling the services, deleting the EXEs, and so on.
Good old Apple, thinking they know how we want to work. Sometimes it becomes clear why their market share is so low…
Thank you sooooo much! I have been disabling these things for a while now, only to see the Applemobiledeviceservice.exe turning itself back on.
The above wasnt helpfull for me.
I uninstalled itunes, but this anoying prog keeps comming up…
if i kill the proces it starts itself up again in about a minute.
There is on my pc no file with the name “applemobiledeviceservice.exe”
Cant find it in services either.
Is it possible a virus is using this?
I know Im infected with virut..
Nice work. Big help. Thanks.
Many thanks
ipodservice.exe를 제거 하는데 많은 도움이 되었습니다.
파일을 지워버리는 방법을 미쳐 생각하지 못했었습니다.
감사합니다. thank you
Thanks again! Too many services running in the background, that I don’t use, just irks me to no end. Bothers me more when they start back up after terminating it lol.
Hopefully this helps though!
Thank you. Very, very helpful.l
Thank you for some very clear guidance on what was a constant irritant. God I loathe companies who think they have the right to tell me what to run on my PC – I admire Apple’s design of their products but their policy of treating their customers as if they all have a very low level of computing ability is SO stupid. I shouldn’t need to jailbreak my Iphone, which is a lovely device, just to get it working the way I want — I own it!
The second step for deleting iPodService.exe is not clear.
You say “Delete iPodservice.exe from the /bin/ directory and create a new text document.” Do you mean an actual .txt document, using WordPad?
Then you say “Give the text document the same name (iPodservice.exe). You should now have a 0 Kilobyte iPodservice.exe file in the /bin/ folder.” Do you mean we need to change the .txt document to a .exe?
George yes that is exactly what I meant. You need a 0 Kilobyte file with the same name in the same directory.
thank you
for your help
Goodbye ITunes! And even after uninstalling it, I had to separately uninstall Bonjour, MobileDeviceService, etc. Winamp is simply a much better (and more honest) program.
I am new to computers so am a bit scared of deleting things I don’t understand. I downloaded ITunes which I noticed took ages and before it finished a message came up that my memory was full and the installation couldn’t be completed. It asked me to delete other programmes or empty the Recycle Bin. I thought what a cheek so I deleted everything to do with ITunes. I now have nothing to do with ITunes on the computer but keep getting a message saying ”Apple Application Support is required to blah blah blah” when I start my computer. Could you please help me to stop this message.
Yours Mr Andrew Rogerson
If you have deleted the files manually then some leftovers are still on your system. This can either be a startup item or a service that is autostarted. You can access both by pressing Windows R, typing msconfig and hitting the enter key.
You have asked me to press Windows R. What or where is Windows R.
Is it a web page?
I have just found Windows R we’ll see what happens now
It means to press the Windows key and then the R key
Do I now tick the box for basic startup
You a) click on the Services Tab and try to locate Apple related entries there. If you find them remove the checkmark and see if that helps. You can sort by manufacturer. you b) go to the Startup tab and locate Apple related entries there and remove them using the same method. Restart your computer afterwards.
Yes. This seems to have done the trick. Thankyou for your help. No doubt I will be writing to you again as your site is very good and so far free!
Genius !!!!!!!
THANK YOU. I’d wondered why I had these processes and couldn’t get rid of them.
Thanks so much for this info. While I have an iPod, I don’t need these things running all the time.
Thank you. Very clear instructions. So glad to shorten the long list of programs I have running in the background.
Well, almost a year since the last comment, and it’s still useful!
Thank you for a clear and concise fix.
I can only add agreement with comments above – I despise sloppy, arrogant software that rearranges my machine. The iTunes behaviour is matched by Adobe and Realplayer, which clobber my desktop and startup on every update.
If the programmers aren’t competent to check the current state of the machine, they might just find it simple to *ask* first.