Reinstalling my PC with Windows 7. How do i transfer my iphone?

Discussion in 'iPhone Tips, Help and Troubleshooting' started by Zimpaz, Nov 19, 2009.

  1. Zimpaz macrumors regular

    Jun 11, 2007
    Hey all,

    Im really sorry if this has been answered already somewhere but i cant seem to find it.

    Im currently on XP, and backing up all the stuff from my computer so that i can do a clean install of windows 7 64 bit.

    I was just wondering if there was an easy wy of transfering my iphone to the newly installed pc? Do i just have to back everything up, reimport it all to the new copy of itunes and somehow get my phone to sync with it?

  2. steve-p macrumors 68000


    Oct 14, 2008
    Newbury, UK
    What I think you want to do is make sure you have backed up the whole iTunes folder (i.e. not just iTunes Music but the level above it that contains the iTunes library, artwork and iPod games folders etc). After you have installed Windows 7 and iTunes, run iTunes and it will create a new folder containing a new completely empty library. You can then close iTunes, rename that folder out of the way, and replace it with the one you backed up. When you re-open iTunes, you should see your library intact. The information about which devices have synced with iTunes is in the library, so when you connect your phone, it should just sync as normal.

    This is fundamentally the same procedure as moving from PC to Mac (or vice versa) and it worked fine for me - the phone and iPods were all happy as if nothing had changed.

    One pitfall is if you don't allow iTunes to organise your music. If you keep it in a different folder instead, you need to be sure you have backed it up as well and put it in the same place on Windows 7 so that iTunes can find it. It's easy if you let iTunes organise stuff though, as it's all inside the iTunes folder.

    The obvious advice is check you have backed up everything before starting. Then check again :)

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