I reformatted and forgot to save my backup files. Help!

[cleanup]

So, I was so excited about my new PC that I went ahead and got started on setting it up. I put in my SSD (which had my previous Windows installation on it) and start reformatting. I was under the impression that I had backed everything that I needed up. Little did I realize that iPhone backups are actually stored on the main boot drive, and in the process I erased them.

So right now I'm mortified of plugging in my iPhone. I'm not particularly worried about music or anything like that; I remembered to backup my music library. I AM particularly worried about contacts and photos.

How do I ensure that iTunes does not wipe these? Is there a way to create a backup file from the phone, independent of iTunes, with third-party software?

All of the data is on the iPhone. I just need it to be on the computer as well.

Also, is there any way I could achieve this via signing up for MobileMe briefly?

Cheers.

 

[IrishVixen]

MobileMe wouldn't save your photos, and I don't think they're allowing sign ups for it since iCloud was announced.

I *think* you can just turn off auto-sync in iTunes so it doesn't start a sync as soon as the phone is plugged in, then plug the phone in and do a backup by right clicking on it and selecting backup. But I've had so many problems with iTunes, I can't guarantee that will work, and I'd hate to see you lose critical data if I'm wrong or if iTunes hiccups in some way. Hopefully someone with a better experience will give you a more concrete opinion on that.

If you need third party software, TouchCopy is a good one that works for Windows. It's not a one-touch backup solution; I don't think any of the third party options are. But you'll be able to make a copy of contacts, photos, and other vital things before allowing iTunes to touch the device. You'll still need to turn of the auto-launch/sync capability in iTunes first.

 

[cleanup]

MobileMe wouldn't save your photos, and I don't think they're allowing sign ups for it since iCloud was announced.

I *think* you can just turn off auto-sync in iTunes so it doesn't start a sync as soon as the phone is plugged in, then plug the phone in and do a backup by right clicking on it and selecting backup. But I've had so many problems with iTunes, I can't guarantee that will work, and I'd hate to see you lose critical data if I'm wrong or if iTunes hiccups in some way. Hopefully someone with a better experience will give you a more concrete opinion on that.

If you need third party software, TouchCopy is a good one that works for Windows. It's not a one-touch backup solution; I don't think any of the third party options are. But you'll be able to make a copy of contacts, photos, and other vital things before allowing iTunes to touch the device. You'll still need to turn of the auto-launch/sync capability in iTunes first.

Cheers for the reply. Still some good info here.

Is it true that I can make a backup of a phone that technically isn't synced to the computer, though? iTunes will think the phone is "foreign," if that makes any sense; it will think that the phone is synced to someone else's computer, which is only half-true. I would imagine it to be a security issue if I could plug anyone's iPhone into my computer and make a backup of it, effectively stealing their info.

However, I hope to goodness that this is true.

I'll report back perhaps tonight when I try it. If anyone else has any suggestions I'm all ears.

Note: I do also own a MacBook Air that has no iOS devices synced to it.

 

[cleanup]

Alright, it looks like I had nothing to worry about, due to the way I transferred my iTunes library over. I copied all of the files in my AppData folder so that my library was instantly restored to the last detail. I didn't realize this also included whatever iOS devices I had hooked up in the past, but apparently it does. My iPhone thinks it's the same computer, simply because iTunes appears to be the exact same. Backup made. No fuss, no muss!

Thank you, IrishVixen!