iPhone backup takes forever - Apple does not support iTunes on Windows????

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iPhone backup takes forever - Apple does not support iTunes on Windows????

I have been trying to backup my iPhone but so far no luck. iTunes starts the backup process but the progress bar does not move; I left it running a day, i mean full 24 hours, but it did not finish the backup.

I noticed the following backup listed under the "Edit -> Preferences -> Devices" tab "after" I had started the backup: Unknown 12/31/2000 7:00pm (Hovering over the text Unknown shows the following message in the tooltip: Serial Number:00000000000)

Just to be clear, I am not able to back this iPhone since I got it back in 2008! I have tried backing up iPhone on both Windows XP and Windows 7 but no use. I took it to Apple store and they were like "we don't support Microsoft OS"! What a shame! The guy at the Apple store was able to install 3.0 OS on it just fine using MAC!

Googling on the topic did not help much either.

Can someone here share some thoughts and ideas?

Thanks

iPhone 3G, iPhone OS 3.0

Posted on Mar 19, 2011 10:42 AM

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Answer 1

wjosten

Level 10

95,345 points

Mar 19, 2011 11:12 AM in response to MannyJi

Why don't you delete all the backups listed under iTunes>Preferences>Devices and try again. If you get any error messages, post back.

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Answer 2

Ingo2711

Level 9

72,897 points

Mar 19, 2011 11:15 AM in response to MannyJi

Welcome to the discussions,
did you make sure that the iphone backup folder on your computer is empty before you try to backup?
This folder is located here:
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
Windows Vista and Windows 7: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

Did you try to back up manually by right clicking on your phone in the device list?

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Answer 3

MannyJi Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 20, 2011 8:39 AM in response to Ingo2711

wjosten and Ingo2711, thanks for taking the time to review my problem and for suggesting tips.

I tried what both of you suggested. I deleted the backup listed in iTunes, plugged my iPhone and manually started the backup by right-clicking the phone. I let it run throughout the night but it did not finish!

I was monitoring the C:\users\myuser\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup folder right after starting the backup and realized that the iTunes had created a folder named 5132f5f549d95ee3a318ee5851265879b955bf02. The backup was not finished even after 10 hours and the backup folder was filled with 15,483 files (MDINFO, MDDATA, .PLIST) which totaled around 540 MB! I had to cancel the backup b/c i needed to use the phone.

What is going on guys? Any help is highly appreciated.

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Answer 4

wjosten

Level 10

95,345 points

Mar 20, 2011 11:26 AM in response to MannyJi

First, navigate to your Backup folder and delete everything in the folder, but not the folder itself. You will have to turn on show all hidden files & folders to see it. Ingo has already given you the path. Next, one big cause of long backups are photos in your camera roll. If you have any photos in your camera roll, import them all to your computer & then delete them...leave no photos in your camera roll. Next, turn off all anti-virus software, firewalls, anti-anything. Once you've done all of the above, try to backup again. This first backup will take longer than a normal backup, but a few minutes at most.

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Answer 5

Ingo2711

Level 9

72,897 points

Mar 20, 2011 12:09 PM in response to MannyJi

Any podcasts on your phone as well? They can also be the cause for not being able to backup/sync.
Delete them on your phone like you delete mails (swiping).

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