Question about iTunes (iPhone Backup Files)?

Sorry in advance for the confusion. I'll try my best to explain my situation in the simplest way possible.

I just backed up and synced my iPhone to iTunes (photos, music, apps, videos, phone data, etc).

However I did this with iTunes installed on a secondary snapshot (using FD-Rescue Lite). I do NOT want to keep iTunes on this snapshot *but* I want to be able to back up and sync future iPhone updates and purchases.

Is there a way where i can SAVE all the backup data + sync data (either on removable storage or on DVD) from iTunes so that when I do a *fresh* install of iTunes in the future....I can transfer that saved data back to iTunes and re-sync my iPhone w/o having to keep the iTunes program permanently installed on my system?
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CLIFF NOTES: I do NOT want iTunes installed mainly because of bloatware and all the crap it installs and has running in the background....however I do need it for syncing my iPhone and I need to find an alternative method of doing this. What are my options?

 

Birdman,

Same here. I won't have it in my main OS.

I have a basic WinXP image and multiple differential images, one of which is for iTunes. I can restore this image to another partition while still in Windows. It takes 30 seconds. Then I restart and boot into the iTunes OS. I take another differential image to replace the previous one when the iPad sync has completed. The imaging is automated so all I lose is restart time.

 

I would also like to find an alternative to iTunes for syncing/backing up i products. I intensely dislike iTunes!! It is THE definition for bloatware and slowdowns in every computer I've ever seen it on.

Thankfully, one road block has just been fixed. Once iOS in mobile products has been updated to iOS 5, iTunes will no longer be needed to keep them updated for software/software patches.

I would even be willing to pay for something if that's what it takes...

 

just updated to IOS5 and uninstalled itunes right after the update, i am now backing up via iCloud. job done

 

tree,

My wife uses the iPad. When she tries to update to IOS5 she gets an error one minute into the backup process (backup just stops) so the update doesn't start. I gather this is a common problem. How did you do it?

 

One possible option is to store your itunes library on a separate partition. Go to Edit>Preferences>Advanced and change the itunes media folder location. That way when you install itunes in future you simply change the default location to where you have your library stored.

In my search for an itunes alternative i have been trying out a program called CopyTrans Suite. The full suite isnt free but it does have a free file manager which works quite well for transfering media to and from my ipad.

 

does it give an error code? its not the 3200 error code by any chance?

simple things to try first are to plug the ipad directly into the motherboard usb ports and not the front panel, disable firewall and av and restart the ipad (whilst killing all open apps) before trying again

 

good choice, its what i use to transfer songs to and from my iphone (note that IOS5 support will arrive soon) and the iCloud backup takes care of the rest

 

Tree, it was a 1303 error. There was a message about losing all your iPad data if you continue. We clicked Continue (as we had a backup) and the update succeeded. My wife thinks her data is still present.

Do you have any good links about iCloud?

 

setup icloud via lifehacker
setup icloud BACKUP via macworld

please not that icloud is kind of split into 2, on 1 side its job is to manage data between multiple 'i' devices and the other part of icloud is the pure backup section.
i have the icloud data push turned off and icloud backup set to a manual backup (or when the phone is plugged into power). it works on some sort of incremental backup system as the first backup took 3 hours and the next few took minutes.

NOTE- iCLOUD WILL NOT BACKUP YOUR MUSIC OR VIDEOS! unless your using the iMatch service but i dont know anything about that as its an america only service. to get around this i manually transfer music/video via the free program CopyTrans

never going to install/think about itunes ever again

 

Many thanks. iTunes will be going soon.