Rachel said:
Actually that doesn't happen. I tried to back up my iTunes and it checks for
media and then just stops. And when I go to the device box where the driver
should be it's blank. I've tried deleting and re-installing iTunes but can't
seem to get it to work.
Well, as may have been discussed before, Apple includes a driver
for the optical drive, provided by GEARSoftware. GEARSoftware is
not under any obligation to provide direct user support, since
they sold their product to Apple, for Apple to use. So, strictly
speaking, the staff at Apple should be answering the questions.
But being nice guys, they still have web pages at GEAR, to help
you.
http://www.gearsoftware.com/wiki/index.php?title=GEAR_Powered_Products
I'm really surprised the iTunes software didn't put up an error
dialog, indicating they cannot find the software or the
drive it controls. I would want an error message, to confirm
why there is no backup device shown.
What you can do, to start, is *don't* follow the instructions
in the next link, until you've had a look around first. Modifying the
registry can have side-effects and consequences. For example,
there have been people who thought they were erasing the
correct "Upperfilter" registry entry, who instead erased
one controlling their keyboard. The result, was a computer
with a keyboard that doesn't work. Imagine trying to fix that!
(Pretty hard, when the keyboard doesn't work, and plugging in
another keyboard doesn't help.) To start, simply use regedit, to
look and see if the settings are there. And then check, to see
if the GEAR driver files were actually installed in the folders
mentioned here.
http://www.gearsoftware.com/wiki/in...versions,_etc#Manual_Removal_.E2.80.93_32-bit
You should also look in Device Manager, to see if there are
any complaints by the drivers there, about starting any
of the devices. (Just in case it is a problem from the
Windows side of things.)
I did have a tool, some time back, that reported all the things
that installed a filter driver, but I had some system problems
when I used the tool, so I definitely won't be recommending
that tool to anyone. (I threw it away.)
I tried looking up the GUID values listed in the gearsoftware
article, and one of the three is probably the most important
one, to getting your backup device to work (the first one).
4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318 CD/DVD ?
6D807884-7D21-11CF-801C-08002BE10318 Magnetic tape device ?
CE5939AE-EBDE-11D0-B181-0000F8753EC4 Medium changer ?
If GEARSoftware was a responsible company, they would make
a "cleanup" tool, to eliminate customers from bricking the
computer while deleting files or registry entries. The
instructions in that article have an element of danger, and
even suggesting the deleting of stuff, as the proper way
to "manage Windows XP", is not the right way to go about
things. I don't want to recommend any procedure to you,
that is going to stop the computer from working (such
as a broken keyboard).
If I thought the iTunes installer would be clever enough
to "repair" the GEAR installation, I'd be telling you
to try that. But I suspect, that removing the GEAR
stuff, and trying iTunes again, might be more likely to work.
If Apple want the "$0.99 per song", they should be
helping you out
Paul
