We all know that moving or reinstalling Windows is a pain, leaving aside the chore of installing the related applications, iTunes also appears which in one move deletes all the applications and music from your phone if you are not careful.
Let's make the transition from one computer to another/from one Windows to another easier.
Step 1
For Windows 7 I think like Vista, iTunes saves everything you have installed in C:\Users\user name\My Music\iTunes (for other versions of Windows the path is certainly different but in My Documents you will find the file) like this that the first step is to navigate there. What interests us: from the iTunes Media folder, the Downloads, Mobile Applications, Music and Ringtones folders, here are saved all the applications installed and downloaded through iTunes, the music copied to the phone as well as the ringtones.
Step 2
It's very possible that you don't have music saved in the Music folder in iTunes Media, it's normal that iTunes doesn't save music automatically, but that's okay, open iTunes and select Library and Organize library from the File menu. A small window will appear in which you will check Consolidate files, this option will copy all the music installed on the phone to the Music folder in iTunes Media.
Step 3
After you have copied all the music in that folder, you can save the Downloads, Mobile Applications, Music and Ringtones folders on a USB/CD/DVD stick or on another partition (if you are just reinstalling Windows).
Step 4
After reinstalling Windows or moving to another computer, open iTunes WITHOUT HAVING THE PHONE CONNECTED TO THE COMPUTER and drag & drop for all applications and ringtones in their iTunes categories, do the same with music. You can copy the moved folders back to the path where you got them, but I haven't tested this option and I don't know if it works or not.
Step 5
After you have put everything in place, you can connect the phone to the computer without any problems.
If you encounter other problems that are not covered by this tutorial, please ask me using the support page located here.
Tutorial made at TDK29's request, if you need other tutorials don't hesitate to ask me using the contact page.
