Want to sync 3GS with new computer

I've had my 3GS synced with an iMac for two years but just got a new MacBook Pro. I want to sync my iPhone with the MBP. I was able to transfer my entire library of music, videos and apps via Home Sharing, so there's no problem there. The problem is that when I connect my iPhone to my laptop, it wants to erase my phone and resync the entire library. I don't mind doing that for music, but I do for apps. If I'm correct, when it reinstalls all my apps, they will be as if I had never used them before. All my high scores on games, all my contacts and anything I have stored on stuff like Air Sharing will be gone. Is there any way to avoid this? I want to sync it so that I can download music on my MBP and so that I can create app folders. Is there any way to tell iTunes that my library is already on my phone so there's no need to erase everything? Thanks.

JP100 wrote:
<...>Is there any way to tell iTunes that my library is already on my phone so there's no need to erase everything? Thanks.
Yes, but it involves editing two files on your original computer to find two values then editing two files on your destination computer and replacing the values. One of the files is easy, it is in ASCII. The other is in binary and requires a hex editor.
Google is your friend. Perform a search for
sync iphone with multiple computers
Worked for me, no guarantees from me.

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Can I preserve my applications if I want to sync to a new computer?

I don't have my computer that I used to sync my iphone with. Howver, I want to preserve my apps, contacts, and other information... I don't mind if I loose my music. How can I do this if I want to sync to a new computer?

Install iTunes on the new computer and Authorize it in the iTunes store to the same account you have on the iPhone.
On the new computer create at least one contact in the Contacts app supported by iTunes for the OS you are using. Do the same for Calendar if that is important to you.
Connect the iPhone but DO NOT SYNC YET.
Go to the iTunes File menu and choose Transfer Purchases... This will copy your purchased music, videos and apps to iTunes on the new computer.
Go to the Summary tab and set up the applications to sync to, then sync the phone.

How can i sync ipod with new computer?

bouight a new computer and want to sync ipod to new computer, not to the old one any more

Launch iTunes on your new computer.
From the menu bar click Store / Authorize This Computer
Now go to the iTunes File menu and click: Transfer Purchases From...
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to a computer

Sync iPhone with new computer (w/o access to old computer)

I'll make this quick!
Helping a friend of mine sync her iPhone to a new computer. She wants all the info on her iPhone to stay on her iPhone after the sync on the new computer. Problem is, iTunes wants to erase and restore her iPhone (because its a new computer).
The concern here is not about her music, but actually, she just doesn't want to lose her text messages, contacts, etc. from off the phone. What can I do to get her iPhone syncing with her new computer, while retaining all the info she's got on it?
Thanks.

You just have to set your preferences in iTunes.
You can choose not to delete contacts etc from the iPhone. After you connect the iPhone, click on the iPhone icon that shows up in iTunes, and go to the appropriate tab, and check / uncheck what you want or don't want.
I don't think text messages get deleted or changed.

Trying to sync iPhone with new computer

Bought new computer. When I tried to sync iPhone it wanted to erase info on phone and sync with new computer iTunes which has nothing in it.

Sync with new computer
http://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141

Sync iphone with new computer without removing items from iphone

When trying to transfer library from iPhone to my new computer, it wants to delete the library from my iPhone. How can I transfer without removing from my phone?

If you do not have access to the iTunes Library on your Old computer... or its Backup...
See these 2 Links...
Syncing to a New Computer...
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141
Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991
If you do have access... See Here...
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
Or...
From your OLD computer...
Copy your ENTIRE iTunes FOLDER to an External Drive... and then from the External Drive to your New Computer..
Full Details Here > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751

Syncing 3gs to new computer, withou losing memory?

So i haven't updated my phone in a while! If I download itunes to my newer computer can I sync my phone without losing it's memory? I don't have access to the old computer that I had itunes on before, and that the phone was origionally hooked up to!!I don't have the phone backed up on any memory drive. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

The iPhone is designed to sync to only one computer at a time.
When you set it up on your new computer, it will erase all content on the device, that's the way it is.
If you still had your old computer, you could simply sync to it and get everything current. Then move your library from the old computer to the new computer. Once that was done, although iTunes would still erase the iPhone when syncing to the new computer, you could simply restore everything right back.
You can look for other solutions, but there is no Apple solution to your issue.

Syncing iPhone 3GS with new computer

Hi everyone!
I got a new MacBook for christmas, and I just downloaded some music on here which I want to transfer to my phone but when I drag it across nothing happens! From what I've read on the internet, I gather that you can't sync with more than one computer. I tried to tick the "manually manage music and videos" box on my new MacBook, but get the message that all my content will need to be erased and replaced!
I wanna keep some of my old songs and definitely my apps - since they all have high scores etc..
The old computer is also a MacBook, if that makes any difference.
So basically,
Question 1: Is there any way at all to add this music from my new laptop to my iPhone without deleting the old stuff?
Question 2: If the only way around this is in fact erasing, which things will actually be deleted from my phone?!
Thank you SOOOO much in advance to anyone who can give me a bit of help here!

Right okay, haha. I think I have a little bit more of an idea of what I need to do now!
I'm not bothered about having my whole iTunes library on my new computer, so will it still work if I just copy across any songs/videos/apps that I want to?
And about the contacts - I never used Mail/iCal/Address Book on my old Mac - mainly use my computer for iTunes, the internet and some games! lol. So do I still need to add a contact/event?
Good to hear about the text messages, though! Is there anything else that won't be touched?
I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet I think - it would be an even bigger pain if I could never use my phone on this computer!
Sooooo, basically, if I click the erase and sync thing, everything will be replaced with all the stuff currently in my new library and if I check the manual box, then I can add things to my phone whenever I like? sounds okay - just need to know what I'm actually gonna loose. xD
Also, do you recommend I back up my iPhone on my old computer? SO CONFUSING! hahahah.
Thanks ever so much again!

Syncing iPhone with new computer

Please help and bear with me. I have read many similar threads but have found none that seem to match my situation. My old computer was unstable so I restored it to original settings. It created a backup file of my stuff. It still was trouble so i'm done with it. I now have a new computer. I'm trying to sync my iphone 3gs with it and of course it wants to erase every thing as it can't find the files and iTunes libraries etc. In my old computer's windows created backup file I have an itunes folder. It has several dated library files and about 1.3 gb of stuff. I have many contacts and pics/videos from the camera on it that I want to save. I could care less about the music. There is not much there as I have a seperate ipod synced with a diferent computer for my music. I just want to keep what is on my iPhone currently and back it up and save on my new laptop. I do not have the icloud. My phone is currently on ver. 4.2.1 and has 7 gb of stuff on it.
Thanks in advnce for pointing me in the right direction.

I had the same problem. I decided to erase my drive and instill 10.5 and all of my apps fresh. What I did to keep my contacts and calendars is something I've done often in the past when restoring from backups.
This only works if you have a backup of your previous user folder. Go to your user folder, then the library folder. You should see a folder called calendar, move those files into the user/library/calendar folder in the new computer/system.
Do the same for your address book contacts. You will find those in user/library/application support/addressbook
You can do this for a number of other applications. I have done this for years with my the support data for web browsers (saved passwords, address).
You might also try this since itunes just asked me (and if you don't have a copy of your old user folder). Make sure that you check sync calendars/contacts in the iphone section in itunes. After I did that, it just asked me if I wanted to replace the information on the phone on merge its info with the new computer... That might make the process above unnecessary.

Keeping Contacts & Apps when syncing iPhone with new computer

I just got a new netbook with Windows 7 Starter. I would like to transition from using my current work laptop to the netbook as the manager of my iPhone. When I try to sync my iPhone with the new computer it says that my iPhone's library is linked to another computer. It appears that all of my contacts and apps will be erased if I sync these items on the netbook.
Does anyone know a way that I can keep this information without erasing? I already erased my music content from the iPhone. I foresee a real problem since this netbook doesn't have Outlook and all my contact information is in that format. I also don't want to have my apps all wiped out. Thanks for the help.

iTunes content can be synced or manually managed with an iTunes library on a single computer, and photos can be transferred to the iPhone via the iTunes sync process from a single computer only. When transferring iTunes content and photos from another computer, all iTunes content and photos transferred from a different computer will be erased from your iPhone first.
No other content is touched or erased when doing so including iPhone contacts especially if you don't select to sync contacts with a supported application on a new computer.
iTunes includes an option to transfer iTunes content that was purchased/downloaded from the iTunes store, but this is for iTunes content that was purchased/downloaded from the iTunes store only. With your iPhone connected and without syncing, at the iTunes menu bar go to File and select Transfer Purchases From - the name of your iPhone. If you haven't activated the new computer with your iTunes account with iTunes, you should do so before doing this.
With Windows, contacts can be synced with Outlook 2003 or 2007 along with calendar events, or with Windows Contacts for syncing contacts only.
If you don't have Outlook 2003 or 2007 available on the new computer, you will have Windows Contacts available. Before syncing contacts with Windows Contacts, enter one contact in Windows Contacts. Make the contact up if needed, which can be deleted later. This will provide a merge prompt with the first sync with Windows Contacts, which you want to select.
There is no Outlook format or Apple address book format with contacts. You can sync contacts with Outlook 2003 or 2007 or with Windows Contacts on a PC, and sync contacts with Apple's address book on a Mac.
Contact, calendar events, and Safari bookmarks can be synced with the supported applications on multiple computers. With two Windows computers, with two Macs, or with a Windows computer and a Mac.

Trying to sync ipod with new computer and add music frrom my ipod to

my new desktop.
I apologize in advance if this question gets asked all the time. I am trying to move all the music on my ipod to my new desktop. I am currently using my ipod as a HD on my new computer. I would like to be able to add the new songs i've downloaded on my new computer to my ipod, but i'm not sure if i can do that without losing all of my old songs.
Can someone help me out?
Again, my apologies. I'm sure this gets asked all the time.

"I would like to be able to add the new songs i've downloaded on my new computer to my ipod, but i'm not sure if i can do that without losing all of my old songs"
If your iPod is set to update automatically take care when connecting back to your computer and a different iTunes. If it is set to automatically update you will get a message that your iPod is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press *No*. Pressing "Yes" will irretrievably remove all songs from your iPod. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list from where you can change the update setting to manual and use your iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it.
You can also use a keyboard command to prevent your iPod auto-syncing with iTunes. While connecting the iPod to the computer on Windows hold down the Shift + Ctrl keys (on a Mac hold down the Option and Command (⌥ and ⌘) keys). This will stop the iPod from auto-syncing with iTunes and the iPod will appear in the source list. Wait until you are sure the iPod has mounted, and that it will not auto sync and then you can let the keys go. This may take between 20 to 30 seconds depending on your computer. Then go to Preferences>iPod and check the "Manually manage songs and playlists" box: Managing Your Songs Manually
You can't sync or drag your music back directly from an iPod to iTunes, the transfer of music is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there is a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive and copying songs but not playlists back to iTunes on Windows posted in this thread: MacMuse - iPod to iTunes
If you prefer something more automated then there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod, this is just a selection. Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these, they are generally quite straightforward.
iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
PodPlayer Windows Only
iGadget Windows Only
Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync again.

Sync iPhone with new computer after old one died

Hey,
My previous laptop (PC) motherboard died and I just recently brought a new laptop. I did not have a external hard drive or anything, so I lost everything from the laptop. Is there anyway that I can sync my iPhone to the new laptop and have everything, including the songs on the new computer? The new laptop is running Windows Vista.
Thank you in advance

The iPhone is not designed or intended to be a backup storage device.
When syncing an iPhone with an iTunes library on another computer, all iTunes content on the iPhone that was transferred from a different computer will be erased from your iPhone first, and the same applies to photos transferred to an iPhone via the iTunes sync process.
First you need to authorize your computer with your iTunes account with iTunes. iTunes includes an option to transfer iTunes content that was purchased from the iTunes store from an iPod or iPhone, but this is for iTunes content that was purchased from the iTunes store only. With your iPhone connected to iTunes and without syncing, at the iTunes menu bar go go File and select Transfer Purchases From - the name of your iPhone. If all 3rd party apps do not transfer to your iTunes library on your new computer, you can re-download the apps with iTunes on your computer and you won't be charged again for a purchased app as long as you use the same iTunes account to re-download the app that was used to purchase the app originally.
Before syncing contacts with a supported application on your computer, which can be with Outlook 2003 or 2007 including calendar events, or with the address book used by Windows Mail (Windows Contacts) for contacts only, enter one unique contact in the application on your computer - the same for a calendar event if you have Outlook 2003 or 2007 available. This will provide a merge prompt when syncing this data, which you want to select.

Sync iPhone with new computer but keep text messages / photos etc

Hi,
So I have an iPhone 4 that I always synced with my Mac Book Pro. I now use a Mac Pro tower computer as my primary machine. I hear you can only sync with one computer at a time (is this true?) well if so, I'd like to start syncing my iphone with the tower for now on, but am concearned cause my friend was in the same predicament and had a bunch of stuff erased. I see online a lot of people say to manually transfer your music to the new computer and sync, but I want to make sure everything else is properally done as well including contacts photos and the text message / call history etc.
My itunes music is already transfered to the tower. I beleve my "contacts" app is mostly updated on my tower , and even more updated on the phone itself. The photos are only on my iphone, and the text message / call / voicemails are only on the phone ( I dont even think those could be backed up). So - should I just go ahead and try and sync it with the new computer?
What option would I choose...I don't think I wanna swipe it...and although I have my music on the tower, my contacts / photos are on the phone so what is the best way of properly doing this?
Thanks

You just have to set your preferences in iTunes.
You can choose not to delete contacts etc from the iPhone. After you connect the iPhone, click on the iPhone icon that shows up in iTunes, and go to the appropriate tab, and check / uncheck what you want or don't want.
I don't think text messages get deleted or changed.

Sync ipod with new computer

my old dell just crashed. we got a brand new hp S2031 and my old computer had all mine and my sisters itunes stuff stored on it. itunes gives me a message saying my ipod touch 4G is synced with another computer and it gives me the option to erase and sync but I dont want to do that. is there any way to fix this? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

try to authorize the computer, so that it can sync to two computers
after doing so, enter your Apple ID. You can have 5 computers synced to your ipod.

Can u use itunes match to sync iphone with new computer

can you use itunesmatch to sync iphone music and pictures to new computer

You can use iTunes Match to make your iTunes library available on another computer, to either play or download the music to it. But iTunes Match doesn't have anything to do with pictures and other data, and it doesn't sync your iPhone with your computer.
If you are changing computers and have previously syncing your phone with another computer, you should copy the entire iTunes folder (not just the music) from your old computer to your new one using one of the methods explained here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527. That will allow you to sync your phone with your new computer just as you did with your old one.

Want to sync 3GS with new computer

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