proper steps for iPhone/iTunes/Windows backup/restoration?

[anon6]

Is there a tutorial on the steps you do each time you have to reinstall Windows? If you just reinstall iTunes you may lose user settings and/or iPhone back ups.

 

[TheStu]

This is what I do on OS X, you should be able to repeat most of them in Windows. Before doing this, make sure you are running the latest version. If for some reason you are not, and have a good reason for it, then make sure that you can re-install the same version that you have.

1: Hook up your iPhone to back it up
2: Make sure that your library is all in one place
-:File-Library-Organize Library-Consolidate Library & Organize Library
3: Copy everything to another drive/partition, something that isn't going to be deleted.
-:By everything I mean everything inside the iTunes folder, the library files, the media, EVERYTHING
4: Reformat
5: Do all your Windows install/update stuff
6: Install iTunes
7: Update iTunes
8: Open iTunes (just for giggles, copy a file into it, just to make sure that it goes where you want it)
9: Close iTunes
10: All that everything you copied before? Copy it back.
11: Open iTunes
12: Everything should be set up, with play counts and all that.
13: Reauthorize iTunes