BACKUP in itunes is too slow

Likewise.....the backup time is ridiculous each and every time...5-10 minutes......All I want to do is put today's podcast's on my 2G iphone.......I am assuming the issue is iTunes and not the 2.0 software?

To solve this problem go to preferences in itunes and disable auto syncing. Problem solved.

It's not just on auto-syncing, it's on any sync including one that's manually initiated. I have auto-syncing off, and when I press the 'Sync' button on the general tab, it still does the backup.

Note that the backup only happens once per cable connection; if you sync several times but leave the cable connected, it only does the slow backup on the first sync.

Here's my temporary fix.

If you add some music or apps or make changes to your library and then plug in your phone your only option is to click "Sync". This uploads your recent additions, makes your recent changes, and backs up the phone -- which takes forever. However if you make changes to your settings while the iPhone is plugged into the computer you get another option, "Apply". This uploads your recent additions and makes your recent changes without the back up.

Sometimes you have no choice but to add music or make changes without the phone plugged in. So I've made an album in iPhoto with one picture in it. Whenever I want to sync my iPhone but not back it up I plug it in, go to the Photos tab in iTunes, and toggle that photo album on or off. Doing this reveals the "Apply" button.

Guess I will have to try the workarounds as well... My backup just took 20+ minutes, nailed my battery, and made the phone very warm to the touch (through a case at that)... I really hope this gets resolved...

Also suffering from INCREDIBLY slow backups occurring almost every time I plug in the 3G iPhone. The backup up takes 45min to an hour. All I can do is cross my fingers and hope no calls come in during that time or I have to start over again. However the backup process operates since the update, the process just doesn't seem right.

Just did a restore - and as soon as applications are loaded back on it takes forever to backup again in iTunes.

I don't care WHERE the problem is, whether it's the 2.0 software, or if it's iTunes... I just want it fixed. Soon.

The iPhone 3G will back up every time it is connected to the computer. I wouldn't interrupt this process as if you do and something goes wrong, you won't have a backup to get your info back. A restore of the phone probably will not do anything in this situation. Try it in another user, if that doesn't work, uninstall and reinstall iTunes.. Even with the phone fully loaded it shouldn't take more than a few minutes at most to backup.

If you do need to do a backup, make sure to switch to airplane mode. if you cancel the backup halfway you will not be able to use it as it will come up with a "corrupt" message the next time you try to restore using this backup.
mine takes about 2 hours almost, and just had someone call me about 2 min before it finished...
F&%@*&

You can disable backup in general using
defaults write com.apple.iTunes DeviceBackupsDisabled -bool true/false
in the terminal or use the small app I wrote for disabling backups:
http://www.eidac.de/?p=50

My iPhone is taking so long, but a software error pops-up usually?

Make sure you are connected to a USB 2.0 port and not USB 1.0. If your PC is more than a few yrs old it may have USB 1.0 and it is SIGNIFICANTLY slower than 2.0. USB 2.0 is comparable to Firewire.

My 2.5G iPhone was backing up at OK speeds over a USB 1.1 Hub.
Yesterday I changed to a USB 2.0 port on my Mac Pro to get the faster USB 2.0 speeds and now the backup takes FOREVER!!! It was going just fine on the USB 1.1 hub... Very Odd.

???

I just went from a 2.5-hour sync time to 14-minutes after upgrading to iTunes 7.7.1. Can a few others please update iTunes and confirm that their sync times have decreased. 14-minutes isn't great, but it's a whole lot better than 2.5-hours!

I went the opposite way, 20 min sync to.. well.. so far an hour and im about half done.... really..... what the heck? This is getting ridiculous.