Resolving perplexing "the iPad could not be synced" problem - it could be real simple

Date: Sat Apr 26 2014 iPad Sync Problems »»»» iPhone Troubleshooting »»»» iPhone Sync Problems »»»» iPad Troubleshooting
Recently both my new iPad and iPhone4 stopped syncing with the iTunes on my Mac Mini.  Plug the device in to the computer, and a couple moments later this message pops up:  "the ipad could not be synced because the sync session failed to start".  I tried several things at random, nothing worked.  I yahoogled the phrase and found some complex discussion on the Apple Support discussion boards.  For example, this problem existed for Mac OS X 10.5b1.  In my case I'm on Mac OS X 10.7.3 and iTunes 10.6, so that wasn't the culprit.  Other suggestions talked about doing a hard reset on the device, or a restore of the device.  Someone talked of having gone to the Guru's at the Apple store, and not get any satisfaction.

My solution?  I didn't want to do anything drastic.

I quit iTunes .. then plugged the device into the Mac.  This restarted iTunes automatically, and then the sync started right up.

Whew, way simple.