iPhone iOS 5 restore error -34

I got error -34 from iTunes when it seemed like my iPhone was near the end of the update. After retrying a few times without disconnecting the phone, the last time I got error -34 I did the following and it worked fine:

1. Unplugged the phone from my computer

2. The phone went through the iOS 5 setup wizard with no problems. Once the phone was set up, my old apps were already there and my phone already was set up with its old email accounts, etc.

3. Plugged the phone back into iTunes, when it asked if I wanted to restore it from backup I said No (Delete the backup).

4. Synced the phone to copy back all photos and songs.

I have 8 different restore dates...if i go thru this process will i be able to restore settings/contacts from one of those? I have ios5 setup on my 3gs but not of my restore attempts are working...i'm doing another firmware restore to see if I can do the process you said. it wont delete my different restore sessions will it?

Update.

I have a method to update that works, but it's ugly & time consuming.

1. Backup an iOS4 phone with the same amount of space as the phone having problems.

2. Restore your old backup onto that iOS4 phone

3. Edit down the content to leave a few more gigs of space.

4. Archive ie make a new backup.

5. Take that backup and restore to the iOS 5 phone.

6. now restore the iOS4 phone with rht right restore file.

Ugly but it works.

Also in the course of doing all this, I discovere that even though my iOS5 phone had no apps music or videos, all my photos were preserved and my user data was preserved. I could just redownload all the apps/music/video and everything semmed fine. The only issue is downloading the "lost" apps is super tedious. Especially w/ 200+ apps

That makes sense. I dont have any other iDevices so I'm trying to use my friends ipod touch that had the same amount of storage but I'm not sure how to get my iPhone backup restored (or rather stored in this case) to Ipod

pro bowler, whats the webpage called?

Spot on pro bowler, thanks

Me too! thank you so much, Pro Bowler. I got the -34 error near the end of my restore and the only thing I had not recovered was my photos. I tried Delete Backup and it almost instantly gave me back my photos. But I did notice that the music takes up A LOT MORE SPACE than it did with iOS4.

Thanks again

Hi all - got this error message while updating last night and ended up disconnecting and shutting down. I was able to update to iOS5 and install iCloud. Pretty much everything was restored - EXCEPT my music (~25GB). Any ideas on how to restore from my iPhone backup now that it's a day later and I've disconnected from the update? My only option on the summary page when I connect my phone is to restore to factory settings, but I don't want that, right?

There is a new Stanza update in the App store. Version 3.2 dated 11/10/11

The App Store update says "iOS5 compatibility updates"

Pro Bowler, Perhaps you can help find a solution to my phone, I think i slept on my phone and eventually a call came through, And it showed a static apple screen and dint go off, I tried to restore, but it never completes, error 1603... Dunno what steps to take? it doesnt even come on, unless i put it in my laptop, doesnt show the charging sign

Solutions to iphone5 restore error code 1603 anyone pls?

Weirdly I know this. 1603 is a USB error.

From Apple:

This error is often related to USB timing. Try changing USB ports, using a different dock connector to USB cable, and other available USB troubleshooting steps (troubleshooting USB connections. If you are using a dock, bypass it and connect directly to the white Apple USB dock connector cable. If the issue persists on a known-good computer, the device may need service.

If the issue is not resolved by USB isolation troubleshooting, and another computer is not available, try these steps to resolve the issue:

1. Connect the device to iTunes, confirm that the device is in Recovery Mode. If it's not in Recovery Mode, put it into Recovery Mode.
2. Restore and wait for the error.
3. When prompted, click OK.
4. Close and reopen iTunes while the device remains connected.
5. The device should now be recognized in Recovery Mode again.
6. Try to restore again.

If the steps above do not resolve the issue, try restoring using a known-good USB cable, computer, and network connection.