Upgraded to iTunes 11.4 using the App Store, seems to install OK then at the end I get this message...



Anyone else get this?

iTunes seems to launch OK, so not too concerned, but might try downloading the standalone installer and see if that gives the same error message. Think I'll leave the 10.9.5 update for now though!!

I got that message too.

However the update appears to have installed OK and is functioning as normal, although it did take a while longer to load.

OK, a quick update for anyone who's interested...

Waiting for iTunes 11.5 (or more likely 11.4.1) wasn't an option, as the first time I tried to sync my iPad I now get this error message which is stopping syncing.



So, this has forced my hand into addressing the problem.

I went to the following folder...
Macintosh HD >> System >> Library >> Extensions >>

...and found this file that was the culprit...
AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext

I moved this into a new folder called "OLD" just in case I need it later, but notice the Modified Date shown here...


I then downloaded the standalone iTunes 11.4 installer from the Apple website - before running it, I tried to trash the existing iTunes application but it wouldn't let me, saying something along the lines of "You can't remove iTunes as it is required by the system" - WFT, Apple? OK, so I left the existing iTunes 11.4 in place and just ran the installer anyway, didn't have much choice really!

Afterwards, I checked the "Extensions" folder again and the "AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext" file had been replaced. However, notice the modified date on this one...

...strangely, the modified date isn't closer to when iTunes 11.4 was released. You'd expect a date in September, or maybe late August, wouldn't you? Also, having done a "Get Info" on both the replaced file and the old one, both are listed as "Version 7.0" - it's just the created and modified dates that are different. I guess at some point Apple have updated this kext file but maybe kept the version number the same - sloppy coding if you ask me!

Anyway, connected my iPad now and syncing is working, so I'm a happy bunny again. Still, you shouldn't have to do this, and not everyone would be able or willing to fiddle around with system extensions. You'd have thought this would have been picked up in beta testing - sadly, with iOS 8 and Yosamite taking priority, I suspect Apple's software developers are stretched to breaking point.

Or, it just didn't happen in their beta testing. I've heard no reports of this being a general issue. There are (allegedly) something like 100 million Mac users in the world and the number of possible combinations of hardware/OS/third party driver software tweaks etc. that any app can install against is bordering on infinite.

I can say one thing for example - maybe you didn't include a step or two for brevity's sake, but even an admin account (which isn't root on Mac OS) should have to jump through a few hoops to be able to move stuff in and out of `\System\Library\Extensions'. Did you get a 'type your password in here' box when you did that? If not, it means something has been fiddling with the file permissions in your system folder. Which may well have tripped the installer up when it tried to update the AppleUSB kext.

For curiosity and security's 's sake, maybe you should run a 'repair permissions' in Disk Utility? That'll tell you what bits of the system have permissions which aren't 'system default'.

Put simply, this sort of weird crap isn't necessarily the fault of the person who wrote the installer of the app you're installing now, it could just as well actually be the fault of whoever wrote the installer of an app you installed six months ago. That may actually have been someone else inside Apple, to be fair .

The while 'you can't uninstall iTunes because the system needs it' is a proper 'WTF' though, I agree.

If you're on Mavericks, there's an update out 10.9.5.
Might be worth giving a whirl - IIRC, that kext is something that's been updated with the update.

There are plenty of reports if you search for "iTunes 11.4 AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext error", including a multiple page thread on Apple's Discussions forums...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6525794


Well, not really, compared to Microsoft Windows which really does has to run on on an infinite combination of hardware and software, Apple have got a tiny fraction of hardware/software combinations to support and beta test.

A look at that Apple discussion suggests I'm not on my own here. I don't install lots of third party software or hacks and regularly check the hard drive for errors that can crop up over time. The fact that both versions of that kext file have the same version number but different creation/modified dates suggests something's not right with Apple's versioning system, which could well have tripped up the installer - maybe this creeped in via a previous iTunes installer but is only becoming a compatibility issue now, I dunno?

I did have to enter an administrator password to move the kext file, but appreciate I didn't mention it in the steps above. I was expecting the same when I tried to remove iTunes prior to running the installer, except it didn't give me that option, just a flat "NO" with the message that "iTunes is required by the system" - I'm sure this never used to be the case that iTunes is so interlocked with the system that it cannot be deleted - maybe a recent change with Mavericks?

Anyway, all seems to be working again, for now. I certainly won't be hitting Update so soon next time without at first doing lots of research. I've also now done the 10.9.5 update, although I held my breath when it was installing! Got iOS 8 to do next, but may wait a while for iOS 8.0.1 before doing that!

Not much help to you, but for the record I've just updated my MacBook Pro and Mac mini iTunes to 11.4 and both went without issue.
At least you seemed to know what you were doing with your screwy install, so that's something.

Mark