IPhone and new PC?

bristow84

Member
May 28, 2011
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Im getting a new PC and I'm wondering how I can sync my IPhone to it without losing all my data. And if I have to lose it all, how can I backup my contacts?
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
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Sep 15, 2004
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Copy the iTunes folder from your old PC.
Put it on your new PC.
You should be good to go.
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
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Sep 15, 2004
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that is great..how about Mac?

Exact same process should work, it is how I have moved my library from one reinstall/system to the next over the years. I find it works best if you do the following;

Update iTunes on the old system
Copy the old iTunes folder
Install/Update iTunes on the new system
Run iTunes on the new system
Make sure in the preferences that it is pointing to where you want the library to be
Quit iTunes
Copy over the library to the new location
Launch iTunes, all the files should be there, with playcounts and everything.
 

akugami

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2005
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You might have to authorize the new PC if you've bought music on your iTunes account. You only get 5 authorizations in a given year. After a year you can reset the authorizations and authorize a fresh 5 devices with the older authorizations being revoked. To keep your 5 devices, you can revoke the authorization on an older computer. Simply open iTunes on that computer and there should be an option to unauthorize it somewhere in the menus.
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
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Sep 15, 2004
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You might have to authorize the new PC if you've bought music on your iTunes account. You only get 5 authorizations in a given year. After a year you can reset the authorizations and authorize a fresh 5 devices with the older authorizations being revoked. To keep your 5 devices, you can revoke the authorization on an older computer. Simply open iTunes on that computer and there should be an option to unauthorize it somewhere in the menus.

In the menus...
Store > Deauthorize this computer

What about keeping contacts?

The backup files should copy over with your iTunes library, so when you connect your iPhone to the new computer it should recognize it as the same device and you won't miss a beat.
 

bristow84

Member
May 28, 2011
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Got it. So I just put the backup data in the same folder on my new computer huh? Why does Apple have to make it so freaking complicated.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
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Got it. So I just put the backup data in the same folder on my new computer huh? Why does Apple have to make it so freaking complicated.

Be thankful they at least have given you an option, on my EVO if I didn't have Titanium Backup I would be SOL as to backing up my phone.
 

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
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Be thankful they at least have given you an option, on my EVO if I didn't have Titanium Backup I would be SOL as to backing up my phone.

You don't have automatic wireless sync with Google for contacts, calendar, photos, etc? You can't mount your EVO to your computer and transfer and backup files? Nandroid? Free Titanium Backup. Dropbox? You have so many options with Android. I still don't understand why you're using Android. You claim used iPhone4 costs too much yet you spent like $500 on iOS apps. Your Evo plus $200 should get you an iPhone4.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,939
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You don't have automatic wireless sync with Google for contacts, calendar, photos, etc? You can't mount your EVO to your computer and transfer and backup files? Nandroid? Free Titanium Backup. Dropbox? You have so many options with Android. I still don't understand why you're using Android. You claim used iPhone4 costs too much yet you spent like $500 on iOS apps. Your Evo plus $200 should get you an iPhone4.

the sync doesn't back up app & app settings, when I flashed my phone I tried that and I lost all my text messages and a bunch of other stuff. And that $500 I spent was over close to 3 years. I will get an iPhone 4, when they're in the $250 range on CL, which at this rate won't be until well into 2013. I don't like the wireless sync much anyways, it took all my hires contact pictures and replaced them with uber compressed resized ones that look absolutely horrible on the full screen caller ID app I bought. They might have fixed this in GB, but I doubt it since when I contacted them about it last year they didn't even consider it an issue.
 
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zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
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the sync doesn't back up app & app settings, when I flashed my phone I tried that and I lost all my text messages and a bunch of other stuff. And that $500 I spent was over close to 3 years. I will get an iPhone 4, when they're in the $250 range on CL, which at this rate won't be until well into 2013. I don't like the wireless sync much anyways, it took all my hires contact pictures and replaced them with uber compressed resized ones that look absolutely horrible on the full screen caller ID app I bought. They might have fixed this in GB, but I doubt it since when I contacted them about it last year they didn't even consider it an issue.

Yes Gingerbread syncs all your apps
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,939
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Yes Gingerbread syncs all your apps

but does it sync the app's data too? My Droid 1 always re-installed all my apps right after I wiped and installed a new rom. But none of the data from the apps was ever there. I'm not running GB so it's a moot point but something I should read up on for the future.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
but does it sync the app's data too? My Droid 1 always re-installed all my apps right after I wiped and installed a new rom. But none of the data from the apps was ever there. I'm not running GB so it's a moot point but something I should read up on for the future.

It backs up all app settings, even passwords and Wifi data.
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
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Sep 15, 2004
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Well I appreciated it when i had an iPhone, a sort of simple thing, anytime I plugged in to sync the phone, a backup was made. So if I ever needed to replace the phone, I wouldn't miss a beat. Now that I have a Windows Phone that needs to be replaced I am a little anxious, I don't know how it is going to go. Am I going to lose all my text messages?