iTunes Auto Starts When it Shouldn't

[Teflon]

Here's a tricky one for you (well I think it is anyway!)

One of the casualties of my upgrade to Win 10 Home was my iTunes library. Basically, iTunes could no longer find my music, even though it hadn't moved. To cut a long story short, I ended up creating a new library and all was well - or so I thought. Since then, however, every time I boot my PC, iTunes loads at startup, and the curious thing is that there is no reference to the programme in any of the startup folders, nor in Task Managers Start Up list. I also use CCleaner, and that also shows that nothing apple related should be running at startup.

Clearly something is causing iTunes to run - any ideas? I should add, there are no iPods connected to the PC, and iTunes helper is also disabled via CCleaner.

Steps taken so far:

• Un-installed iTunes, then re-installed. Still runs at start up
• Tried loading Windows with all services disabled - iTunes still auto starts
• Found a restore point prior to iTunes misbehaving. Restored to that point - iTunes still auto starts
• Un-installed iTunes again, this time using Revo Uninstaller Pro. It found a shed load of registry entries and files etc left behind after the standard install. Removed the lot, and then did the same for Bonjour; Quick Time; and all the other sundry Apple programmes and services. Rebooted - all good. Re-installed iTunes from scratch - not good. Back to auto running at start up.

Just to check my sanity, I installed iTunes on our lap top (also Win 10). It runs fine, with no auto loading issues. Seriously, what the hell is going on here, why won't iTunes play nicely on my PC? There surely has to be a rogue registry entry somewhere causing the issue. Any thoughts?

Many thanks.

 

[Trouble]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Maybe grab a copy of this https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396
Unzip it and run autoruns (not autorunsc) as administrator.
See if that shows what's going on.

 

[Teflon]

Many thanks for that. Downloaded and run and it certainly looks comprehensive - a lot more happens at startup that I realised! Sadly though, at first glance I can't see any references to iTunes, but will make sure I have a more detailed look later today.

Just thinking out load, and assuming there aren't any references to iTunes auto running (should never assume!) would it be logical to assume that another startup program is causing the error? Afterall, if Windows isn't telling iTunes to run, something must be.

I'll report back later today after I have had a more thorough look.

Thanks once again,

Cliff

 

[Teflon]

Okay, had a better chance to check things out. As I first thought, there is nothing showing to suggest the iTunes should run at startup. Still a very helpful post from "Trouble" though, as it prompted me to discard Windows as the culprit and start to look elsewhere for the answer.

I started by disabling all programs in Startup (even though none were iTunes related) and hey presto, iTunes stopped loading at startup. So, after a process of elimination, I have found that the culprit is Plex Media Server. Everytime it starts, it's dragging iTunes along with it. I could just re-install Plex, but I think I'll have a play around with it first to see if I can identify why it's misbehaving.

Thanks for you reply "Trouble",, that program was a massive help.

Cheers,

Cliff

 

[Teflon]

Glad I didn't just re-install Plex, as it wouldn't have helped! All sorted now though.

It transpires that, since version 12.2, iTunes no longer generates a physical XML file for its library database by default. When I re-created my iTunes library following the initial problem, no XML file was created, which Plex needs in order that it can run its iTunes plug in properly. Plex was therefore starting Plex in order to access my music library.

The cure was simple. Just a single tick needed in the box "Share itunes XML with other apps". This forces iTunes to create a physical xml file, and keeps Plex happy.

All that effort for a single tick in a box. LOL

Hopefully, if anyone else has the same issue, this post may help.

Cheers,

Cliff