Slow Backup via Itunes - How to Speed up>?

[narkoslakare]

Is the very slow backup something to do with the 11GB of movies and TV series I have loaded on to my iPad?

 

[newfmp3]

you can watch the files go into your user directory ( at least in Windows). Mine literally takes 10 min for just a one meg file at times. First I thought it was Zinio doing it, then it was oplayer, then it was EVO magazine, then it was another app.....then I came to the conclusion that it's not app related at all.

Whats weird is that I can take it to another computer, and it'll work....so it's the computer right? Wrong. Fresh install did nothing. I tried 4 computers, and it only worked on one old one once and even after the first initial backup...even that machine is slow too now. And the backup is the only thing slow. If I copy 5gig of pictures or music to and from ipad....instantly quick

There is something majorly wrong with how the iPad backs up.

 

[ChipRodgers]

FINALLY Got to upgrade to iOS 4.2

This is crazy... but my iPad backup was running for over 20hrs and NEVER completed successfully. This meant I was not able to upgrade to 4.2 because iTunes FORCES a backup before the upgrade.

Yesterday I was completely frustrated. I did all the things people are talking about on this forum to solve it: Deleted magazine apps, deleted GooodReader and all files, used the original iPad cable, uninstalled and reinstalled iTunes, did a hard reboot of my iPad, etc, etc. NOTHING CHANGED ANYTHING. Still was running for 20hrs and finally just stopped. (Of course this took up lots of my time over the last week trying new things and letting the backup run unsuccessfully -- and very frustrating.)

But yesterday a friend on Twitter suggested using an app called BackOff. It's online here and is free: www (dot) digidna (dot) net /products /backoff

It WORKED! At least it turned off the automatic backup on iTunes. So when I ran the upgrade, it skipped the forced backup and went right to the upgrade and WORKED fine.

So now at least I have 4.2 on my iPad. Now I'm going to try running a separate backup of my iPad and see if the new iOS helps with backups speed... Who knows?

Anyway... it's not a perfect solution because I still don't have a backup, but at least I now have iPad folders, multitasking, printing, and all the nifty goodies on 4.2...

 

[NumbLock]

I also use BackOff for every day syncs. But I do regular backups anyway, and you should too.

Even with BackOff, you can still right-click YourRealName's iPad and choose Backup. I do it about once a month or after an apps buying spree - um, like today.
(By the way, there are deals now in the app store)

What I do:
1) Find Apps like GoodReader, VLC and ReaddleDocs that "store stuff".
2) Even though most of the content in these apps comes from the hard drive, I copy all the content to the hard drive just to be safe through iTunes -> MyRealName's iPad -> Apps (scroll down)
Alternatively, only for GoodReader, use GoodReader USB
3) Find apps with a ton of downloaded content.
4) Be sure to look at the help section of the app if your downloaded content can be re-downloaded then take a deep breath and delete those apps.
5) Reinstall the Apps, recopy the content and re-download the content that I really want. (Did I really need four months of Wired?)

You'll find my post about BackOff here: http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-help/4659-backup-slow-toggle-off.html

 

[ChIpad]

Mine always worked fine on iphone and ipad, never took more than a few mins, past week or so I had to get up and leave either of them alone, backup was taking 30+ mins, that is crazy!


Oh to add, my iphone 3gs is only 8 Gigs, my ipad is 64 lol they should not be taking the same amount of time to backup..

 

[wrecklass]

It's not the app, it's the backup process. So essentially you're fixing the symptom not the problem. The problem is that some apps, not just that one, can trigger ridiculously long backups. Sure deleting those apps "fixes" it but it is not fixing the actual problem. That is fixed in 4.x and above.

Michael

Sadly that is not true, I have 4.2.1 installed and backups still take nearly 30 minutes.

 

[NumbLock]

It's not the app, it's the backup process. So essentially you're fixing the symptom not the problem. The problem is that some apps, not just that one, can trigger ridiculously long backups. Sure deleting those apps "fixes" it but it is not fixing the actual problem. That is fixed in 4.x and above.

Michael

Sadly that is not true, I have 4.2.1 installed and backups still take nearly 30 minutes.

I heard that there are some improvements in the backup process, but in practice I have to agree. When I clean out my "store stuff" apps, the backup time is dramatically reduced.

A quick browse of Apple - Support - Discussions - Syncing makes it clear that it is a general problem and not an isolated one.

 

[Tinman]

It's not the app, it's the backup process. So essentially you're fixing the symptom not the problem. The problem is that some apps, not just that one, can trigger ridiculously long backups. Sure deleting those apps "fixes" it but it is not fixing the actual problem. That is fixed in 4.x and above.

Michael

Sadly that is not true, I have 4.2.1 installed and backups still take nearly 30 minutes.

Mine are as fast as ever. Never more than 2 minutes. But I don't keep much on my iPad--stream most everything.

However, the backup issues some have FAR exceed 30 minutes. Be careful about complaining.



Michael

 

[pcimaging]

So from all I have read thus far it looks as if Zenio is the number one offender. ESPN app could also be an issue. The sync cable that is used ness to be the original from Apple for the iPad, not generic. The anti virus application may need to be disabled during the backup. It would seem that once you have completed your backup , you may just want to disable the option to perform a backup each time you connect your iPad. Instead just perform a sync of your apps and music or what have you.

 

[hapishap]

Here is one thing it took me for ever to figure out....My Back ups were taking foooor evvverrr and I mean for ever, eventually I figured out (and that took a looong time) that my old Wacom tablet was to culprit. Took it off my system and backups take less than a minute (from taking hours and hours while it was hooked up).

I guess my over all point here is your BU's are taking a long time start to remove some of the peripherals you have hooked up via USB, that may just be the answer. Even if you have to remove something temporarily just to do the BU and then hook it back up it may be the difference between pulling your hair out and getting the job done.

 

[Oric]

Here is one thing it took me for ever to figure out....My Back ups were taking foooor evvverrr and I mean for ever, eventually I figured out (and that took a looong time) that my old Wacom tablet was to culprit. Took it off my system and backups take less than a minute (from taking hours and hours while it was hooked up).

I guess my over all point here is your BU's are taking a long time start to remove some of the peripherals you have hooked up via USB, that may just be the answer. Even if you have to remove something temporarily just to do the BU and then hook it back up it may be the difference between pulling your hair out and getting the job done.

Indeed it is !

hapishap thank you for giving me back my precious hours. Disconnecting a USB dvd writer changed everything dramatically !

 

[Diane B]

Well thanis for this as it never occurred to me. I have a Wacom and other peripherals via USB. i'll try this next backup.
Diane