IPod Touch (2nd gen) not recognized by computer and iTunes

Question

When I connect my iPod Touch to my laptop, running Windows 7, neither the computer nor iTunes recognizes my iPod. Everything worked before with Vista.
When I plug the iPod into the computer the iPod does turn on put the battery doesn't charge and the iPod does not show on the Device Manager.
I have gone through and uninstalled and the reinstalled iTunes, QuickTime, Apple Software Update, Apple Mobile Device Support, Bonjour and Apple Application support. With no positive result. In fact I have done it twice.
In going back to make sure everything had installed I have noticed several things.
The Apple Software Update, Bonjour, iTunes folders and Common Files are located in Program Files(x86) There are also copies of the Bonjour, iPod, Common Files, and iTunes folders are also located in the Program Files folder. Are these file locations correct?
Also, I have read somewhere that there should be usbaapl.cab, usbaapl.inf, usbaapl.sys files. I can't find any of these file. Are these files necessary?
Any help will be appreciated.

Answer 1

greetings rkonrv and welcome to Apple discussions !
it seems your have seen this KG then.
maybe this tip by Beebopp (though a little off topic) will provide some pointers:
+This solution is very similar to one above but worked for me. Am using iPod Touch 2nd Gen with 32 bit version of Windows Vista where the iTouch is being seen by Windows but does not show in iTunes. In my case it was being identified by Windows as a camera. I tried un-installing and re-installing iTunes and all the other Apple apps with no luck. Was almost ready to throw in the towel when I did one last search for alternate solutions and found the following instructions to reinstall the drivers, but instead of having the system look to the c:\Windows\inf or c:\windows\system 32 folders for the drivers, the path is changed to C:\program files\common files\Apple\Apple Mobile Support\Drivers, which is apparently where Vista installs the drivers. Once I changed the path the driver properly reflected the iTouch as a USB device, and not a digital camera. Try this if you are having similiar issues.+
+Here are the steps:+
+1. Verify you have the following files usbaapl.cat, usbaapl.inf & usbaapl.sys in the following directory "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers"+
+2. Log in using an ADMINISTRATIVE account+
+3. Single left click on START+
+4. Single left click on RUN (You may need to change the start menu to 'classic view' to see RUN, you can change back after if you like)+
+5. Type in " devmgmt.msc " then hit Enter (Don't type in the quotes)+
+6. Look for Imaging in the Device Manager window, and click on plus sign (In Vista you may not see the "Imaging" option. Look under "Portable Devices" as an alternative)+
+7. Now you should see " Apple iPod " as a device underneath Imaging (or Portable Devices)+
+8. Right click on " Apple iPod " then single left click on Properties+
+9. Single left click on the " Driver " tab+
+10. Single left click on " Update driver "+
+11. Select " Install from a list or specific location " or "Browse my computer" whichever shows on your version of Vista+
+12. Single left click on " Include this location in the search " if shown+
+13. Paste " C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers " (Don't type in the quotes) into the box " Include this location in the search "+
+14. Single left click NEXT and keep clicking through until " Apple iPod USB Driver " is detected, if no list appears then you should see the little animated circle thingie spinning. It's looking and working. Be patient.+
+15. Hopefully you will get a successful message.+
+16. The correct drivers(s) are now installed.+
+17. Start up iTunes, and see if you iPod is detected again.+
good luck !