HT201413 suddenly itunes will not open and I get a message that the "Data Execution Prevention" is blocking itunes from opening....why????

Question

itunes will not open and I get a message that the "Data Execution Prevention (DEP)" feature in Windows is preventing it from opening. (this is after I've been using itunes for years???? If I try to manually deselect itunes from the DEP filter, of course I get a message that itunes cannot operate without the DEP active...another Catch 22 from the evil program designers....

Answer 1

Go to Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs (Win XP) or Programs and Features (later)
Remove all of these items in the following order:
iTunes
Apple Software Update
Apple Mobile Device Support (if this won't uninstall move on to the next item)
Bonjour
Apple Application Support
Reboot, download iTunes, then reinstall, either using an account with administrative rights, or right-clicking the downloaded installer and selecting Run as Administrator.
The uninstall and reinstall process will preserve your iTunes library and settings, but ideally you would back up the library and your other important personal documents and data on a regular basis. See this user tip for a suggested technique.
Please note:
Some users may need to follow all the steps in whichever of the following support documents applies to their system. These include some additional manual file and folder deletions not mentioned above.
HT1925: Removing and Reinstalling iTunes for Windows XP
HT1923: Removing and reinstalling iTunes for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
tt2