AppleMobileDeviceService.exe stays at high CPU – reason is LSPs

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[UPDATE 11/21/2011] Apple has a very good page explaining how to work around this problem, albeit while not acknowledging that it is their problem.

Here is the original post:

My Intel Core2Duo Windows 7 64-bit computer started having this problem with the AppleMobileDeviceService.exe taking 50% of the CPU usage continuously, whether iTunes was open or not. Some may see 100% of the CPU in use.

Apple’s support recommended a painful “uninstall everything in this exact order and reinstall everything.” I generally hate that approach because they just aren’t trying to figure out what’s wrong, plus many users were saying it just came back immediately or a week later.

This sounded like a more reasonable solution (downgrading the Apple Application Support from 2.0.1 to 1.5.2), but it made me nervous that it might affect functionality with the iPhone 4S or iPad2. I assume that when Apple included this update is when the problem started for me.

Then, I found this blog that recommended a “netsh winsock reset” which sounds like a true fix to me. I did that and my Bsecure/Bsafe CloudCare (internet filtering software) popped up a notice that it had repaired itself. After restarting, the problem still persisted. I then uninstalled Bsecure CloudCare and the problem was gone! [Clarification: I do not recommend the “netsh winsock reset” because of the risk to messing up the computer!]

On that blog the author says, “Apparently the Windows TCP/IP stack can get corrupted and this will reset the Winsock Catalog to its default state – i.e. one that works properly.” I think he is correct, except for the “corrupted” part. According to Wikipedia, “a Layered Service Provider is a DLL that uses Winsock APIs to insert itself into the TCP/IP protocol stack.” Bsecure CloudCare and other webfiltering solutions use LSPs to do the filtering. Some malware/adware in the past insert LSPs, as well. I bet that there are a heck of a lot of computer users out there with a non-standard TCP/IP protocol stack that are suffering badly from this software bug of Apple’s making.

I’m not 100% certain on this, but with my own experience and seeing how doing the “netsh winsock reset” fixes the problem, it makes sense.

If you are thinking of trying the “netsh winsock reset,” be aware that it could be fixing a problem, or creating a worse problem than Apple’s bug.

[UPDATE 10/17/11] Based on Matt McLaughlin’s comment, I’m feeling more confident about my theory. He looked at his “Winsock Providers” tab in Sysinternals’s Autoruns. Check it out to see if there is anything there if you have this problem. I will not recommend what to do about it.

[UPDATE 11/21/11] SO, it looks like Apple has endorsed my conclusion about what it causing this problem (link to Apple’s support document about this very problem). And their solution to this problem: REMOVE ANY SOFTWARE THAT USES LSPs. Yep, these vendors use LSPs for 10 years or more and Apple’s software has a bug that causes our computers to malfunction and we must remove the other vendors’ software, not get an update from Apple to fix the bug…

[UPDATE 12/18/11] Here is a list of software that is rendered unusable and needs to be removed because of this problem:

  • Bsecure CloudCare/Bsafe
  • CA Antivirus Suite (Computer Associates, free with Time Warner cable)
  • PC Tools Antivirus (not the newest version)
  • Alienware’s Xeno Power Suite
  • Kaseya – remote management
  • Integard from Race River – filtering
  • SafeEyes – filtering
  • Filternet – filtering
  • Apple’s list:
    • Bigfoot Networks
    • ByteMobile, Inc.
    • Covenant Eyes
    • SpeedBit Video Accelerator
    • VMWare

[UPDATE 1/21/2012] Bsecure has somehow released a “fix” that allows CloudCare and iTunes to both work fine together. Here are their instructions:

  1. In order to run the iTunes fix we will need to determine if you are on a 32 bit or 64 bit system.  You can do this here:
    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/find-out-32-or-64-bit
  2. Now click on the link for your system
    32 bit computers – CLICK HERE
    64 bit computers – CLICK HERE
  3. Run itunesfix32.exe OR itunesfix64.exe
  4. If you are using Mozilla Firefox, it is possible that you may have to ‘download’ the file first, and then double click on it in the downloads list.
    Note:
    Internet explorer may require you to click keep, and then run.
  5. You will know the fix has finished when you see a black box appear on your screen for a moment, and then disappears.
  6. After this happens, reboot your computer one last time.

iTunes store should now work properly & the mobile device service will no longer conflict.

 

 

88 replies
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  2. Matt McLaughlin says:

    I’ve struggled with this after installing 10.5 on four different systems. I tried the uninstall/reinstall. No difference. I tried the resetting winsock. No difference. But it’s winsock related! Using Sysinternals AutoRuns and found several winsock catalog entries that were pointing to a invalid filepath. I removed the bad entries using AutoRuns. Rebooted and voila…ITunes without a CPU hogging AppleMobileDeviceService!

  3. brmorris says:

    Here is a follow up from Matt:

    I use a remote management/monitoring product called Kaseya. Their agent created the winsock entries. I think it was for a feature I used in the past. I don’t their agent software properly cleaned up after this feature was disabled. But others could also have the “bad” entries in their winsock catalogs which may cause the issue.

  4. Brad K says:

    i’ve been having the same problem on a Windows XP machine for weeks – since I updgraded to iTunes 10.5. Did the same install on another PC at work with same config, but no issue there. I went through the uninstall process in the sequence that has been suggested (e.g., iTunes, then Quicktime, etc., etc.). Then reinstalled iTunes fresh when all Apple software had been removed. No fix.

    Sounds like you guys are onto the problem, but have you got a solution for layman, as I don’t speak your language? L-)

    Only thing I have found that “works” is to disapple the Apple Mobile Devices service, but of course, while that stops it from using 99% of the CPU, it also stops iTunes from synching up to my iPhone.

    Thanks in advance to anyone who can explain the actual fix to me like I am a sixth grader!

  5. brmorris says:

    Sorry, I know this is complicated! Apple is the only one that can “fix” this, not you. I “fixed” it by removed my web filtering software, which I’m doing temporarily, assuming Apple will fix this. I’m afraid to give steps on how to “fix” it because it might destroy your computer’s ability to get on the internet.

  6. Todd Nelson says:

    I also use Bsecure CloudCare filtering software, and I just started having this same problem with AppleMobileDeviceService.exe as well as two other related Apple programs. The three of them were each taking 25% of my CPU and preventing me from backing up. I’ve been running iOS 4.3.5 for a while and was trying to do a backup and sync today before installing iOS 5 when this happened. I also got error messages saying the backup could not be saved to my computer. Frustrating! I tried installing iOS5 anyway, but that wouldn’t work either. Kept timing out on a fast 3MB connection. More frustration.

  7. Steve says:

    I have checked numerous forums for a solution to this problem and stumbled across something. I saw a couple of recommendations to disable your firewall and one to reset your winsock catalog, so I diag’d my TCP/IP stack and once I reset it, i could connect to the itunes store (i was getting system hang at “accessing itunes store”) and my cpu utilization for applemobiledevice was restored to normal. do these two commands at a cmd prompt. (you’ll need to “run as admin” in vista and win7)

    netsh winsock reset
    netsh int ip reset c:\logfile.txt

    and then reboot

    this won’t change any of your IP settings and should fix your problem. i had this issue on two separate dell inspiron 6400’s and it fixed them. good luck

  8. Mark says:

    Guys, thanks for the fix! I’ve been struggling with this, and done all the uninstall/reinstall steps, but was still locked up. I ran the above two commands, rebooted, and everything works great! I really appreciate you all sharing your solution.

  9. Nix says:

    Integard from Race River has the same conflict as other Internet filtering software. I raised a case with them and Race River have been able to replciate the problem and are working on a solution.

  10. John F. says:

    Thanks for the post. I WAS having the same issue after upgrading iTunes. Unfortunately I did try re-installing itunes prior to find this blog. The re-install didn’t fix it but resetting the winsock and restarting my system fixed the CPU from getting pegged out by the two apple services.

  11. Joshua J. says:

    brmorris mentioned that he has Kaseya on his machine as his RMM software. There is an option in the kaseya management console on the audit tab to disable the network driver that Kaseya uses. This driver uses certain hooks into winsock. We didn’t find any invalid paths using autoruns. With further troubleshooting we discovered that disabling the driver has resolved the issue for us.

  12. Tricia G says:

    The winsock reset did the trick! I had uninstalled and reinstalled three times to no avail and was at wits end. Thank you so much, Steve, for the magical posting. A non-technical person such as myself would never have figured this out unaided.

  13. JohnR says:

    Solved my problem also!! I ditto Tricia G’s comments. Thanks Steve! It worked. I’ve spent a day and a half working on this issue. Itunes and AMDS are using less than 5% of CPU now on average.

  14. Bobby says:

    Windows XP…….”at a cmd prompt…

    netsh winsock reset
    netsh int ip reset c:\logfile.txt

    and then reboot”

    WORKED!!!

  15. dave says:

    From what I understand you have to do the “netsh winsock reset” every time you start your computer right?

  16. brmorris says:

    No, it should be one time and done. In my case I had filtering software that would “fix” itself by reinstalling the LSP after that comment removed it. That could be happening to you. Keep in mind, this is Apple’s bug – they should be fixing their software, not us.

  17. cgomezmoreno says:

    This is terrible!
    When I upgraded to 10.4 the unistall/reinstall sequence worked for me. I had to upgrade to 10.5 for the new 4S and the unistall did NOT work.
    And this is a work laptop that I don’t have administrator rights to, so I can’t run the winsock fix either! I’m stuck!
    I can’t understand how Apple hasn’t fixed this in the months since it came out! I’m disappointed!
    Not happy right now!

  19. scmanley says:

    I just spoke with the tech support at bSecure… they are aware of the issue, and working on it. The very nice lady that answered the phone on the first ring was much nicer than the Apple Tech that I held for 45 minutes for this morning… she advised that the ONLY way to access iTunes 10.5 is to completely uninstall the filtering software. There is no way to enter an exception into bSecure, to use a different (administrator) account on the computer, etc. The ONLY option is an uninstall. By the way, it is not just bSecure, almost all content filters have the problem.

  20. TimS says:

    Thanks Steve this seemed to work … i’d tried the uninstall / reinstall procedure as well as the winsock reset with no luck, but the winsock / ip reset combo seems to have worked, at least for now. Many thanks.

    >< Spoke too soon; on restart the problem is back.

  21. jo says:

    Got this form the thread on the link.

    It seems a better fix as the service still starts but without the high CPU usage.

    Quoted from “happyfrosh”:

    “I had luck with the following:

    Start… Run

    services.msc

    select Apple Mobile Device Service

    right click to open Properties

    change from startupType automatic to startupType automatic (delayed)

    reboot”

  23. thelastchinaman says:

    Brian,

    I just want to make sure I’ve got this straight, the problem will persist as long as content filtering software is on my computer? That at the present time, there’s no way for me to keep the filtering software and not have applemobiledeviceservice.exe hang at 50% of my cpu?

  24. brmorris says:

    To all that I’ve been able to figure out, yes, that’s true. Apple needs to fix this!!

    The other new idea I haven’t tried is in the comment by “jo” above. Try that.

  25. Doug says:

    Windows XP…….”at a cmd prompt…

    netsh winsock reset
    netsh int ip reset c:\logfile.txt

    and then reboot”

    WORKED!!!

  26. Tony says:

    Brian,
    Sorry to be dim but exactly what do i do with the netsch winsock data above? I’ve no idea what “at a cmd prompt means, can you help a simpleton please?
    Thanks.

  28. Mark says:

    I had the problem with BSecure as well. You have to remove BSecure from your individual PCs, but you have the option to put “Whole Home Filtering” on your router and that filters everything on your network. This works better for me anyways since it filters all network devices. See the BSecure website for details.

  29. Marco says:

    Bobby wrote:

    Windows XP…….”at a cmd prompt…

    netsh winsock reset
    netsh int ip reset c:\logfile.txt

    and then reboot”

    WORKED!!!

    I confirm that work!

  31. brmorris says:

    Tony,

    No need to be embarrassed — remember I’m not recommending doing this —

    “at a cmd prompt” = Start menu > Run > type “cmd” > OK — now you get a DOS window, which is a cmd prompt!

  32. rnail says:

    I’m afraid of the winstack and IP reset. what exactly do they do? How can you save a backup of these, so that they can be easily restored if this screws things up?

  33. brmorris says:

    rnail,

    I don’t blame you, this is why I’m not recommending it, I’m hoping Apple fixes it, but I don’t even know if they are acknowledging the problem yet. I don’t know of a good way to restore, other than maybe a Windows System Restore to a prior date.

  34. ratman says:

    Bobby wrote:

    Windows XP…….”at a cmd prompt…

    netsh winsock reset
    netsh int ip reset c:\logfile.txt

    and then reboot”

    WORKED!!!

    I confirm that work!

    I confirm that work…..
    wonderful bobby….. by from Italy

  35. cgamble says:

    Confirming that the “solution” is to simply uninstall bsecure. iTunes 10.5 worked fine, sync’d and updated my phone to IOS5. Then I reinstalled bsecure.

  37. GraysonWolfe says:

    I just want to put out there that the “netsh” fix worked for me. Thank you so much for providing this workaround. Its been weeks since I was able to use iTunes and I appreciate your help. Now that the issue is resolved I am posting my symptoms to contribute to the conversation. Before running netsh, I had the high CPU issues with the AppleMobileDeviceService.exe taking up most of my CPU and I was unable to access the iTunes store. Thanks again!!

  40. Doug says:

    I want to add my voice to the thanks for this post. netsh winsock reset fixed the high CPU utilization by applemobiledevice.exe for me too.

  41. Wes says:

    BSecure here too, removed all worked. Sure hope BSecure (and others) can come up with in interm fix until Apple gets it together. Glad I found this article.

  42. brmorris says:

    I’m thinking that BSecure *can’t* make a workaround, this iTunes bug is due to exactly how Bsecure does the filtering..

  43. Mark says:

    I’ve experienced all of the same problems. I’ve reset netsh winsock, uninstalled and reinstalled itunes and no matter what I did – nothing fixed it. I then googled the problem in conjunction with PC tools anti virus software – and hey presto – there is a problem with their previous version of the anti virus program. Just uploaded the latest version and all problems fixed. Even my PC usage which was hitting 100% when I was launching itunes is now down at 4-10%. There is obviously a conflict with some antivirus software as we all seem to be having the same problem albeit with different protection in place. Hope this helps someone as its driven me nuts for days! good luck!!

  44. catec says:

    I have been having this problem for weeks. Tried everything, uninstalled and reinstall itunes 3 or more times, did the winsock and other reset but all to no avail. I finally managed to get on to the itunes store after I unstalled my PC tools anti virus software – thanks to Mark. But as soon as I reinstalled it I got the itunes store white screen of death. But that at least isolated my problem. I finally googled “PC tools interfering with itunes” and discovered that there was a need version of PC Tools internet security software. I updated it and bobs your uncle!! I foolishly assumed that given I have automatic updates turned on that I would get the updates! Nice one PC tools – nice of you to tell us that the old version was not compatable with the new version of itunes!!! No thanks o PC tools but thanks to Mark I seems to have fixed my problem after hours of trying to resolve it.

  45. Mark says:

    Catec, pleased to hear it helped. Like you, I had auto updates turned on for PC Tools but apparently it doesn’t load up the latest version automatically! I am still accessing itunes Store without a problem so it was definitely an anti virus issue.

  47. Kate says:

    Yes, this worked me fine as well. Thanks for the post, I guess you solved many people’s problem. After putting the command ‘netsh winsock reset’, restarting the PC, now it works well, no 100% CPU usage. Thanks!!!

  48. Jay says:

    Did the netsh winsock reset. It ended the CPU high% however my CA antivirus asked me something about scanning emails I likes yes without thinking now I get a RPC error and my computer restarts every 5 minutes

  49. steve says:

    The netsh winsock reset
    netsh int ip reset c:\logfile.txt

    Worked great for me without a problem and solved the problem after a reboot! Thanks Much!!!!

  50. Dan says:

    Thanks, Steve! Your tip did the trick on an 8+ year old PC running Win-XP

    Execute the following commands at the cmd prompt; the first one may take a while to complete:

    netsh winsock reset
    netsh int ip reset c:\logfile.txt

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