This is another in a series of public service announcements for technical problems I have encountered, and how they were solved. As always, your mileage may vary…
Do you have a nice new fancy Windows 7 computer? Running 64-bit Windows 7? Lots and lots of RAM? Do you have an iPod or iPhone? Does it spike the computer CPU whenever you try to synchronize it? Are you ready to throw the thing against the wall? Is that what’s troubling you, bunky?
Well, I just finished fixing this issue on a friend’s computer. Here’s what’s going on: it seems that there is an issue with the USB controller driver software in Windows 7 64-bit with certain nVidia and Intel controller chipsets where outgoing write operations send out uncontrolled system interrupts that eat up all the CPU’s available cycles. When this happens, the only way to get things to calm down is to unplug the device and restart the machine, which is unacceptable because the data doesn’t get transferred to your iPod or iPhone.
Now, typically, what happens here is the calls to technical support to a) Apple, b) Microsoft, and c) the computer manufacturer, where they engage in the Scarecrow response, each pointing at the other. Fortunately, this has been happening to so many people that it has been researched, and the issue solved by Microsoft. Here is the link to the hotfix:
Be sure to read the text thoroughly to make sure it applies to your computer. Fortunately, in my friend’s case, it fixed the issue and things are working as they should. Whew!
Have a happy New Year, everyone!