iPad Backup Syncing taking Forever!

[Sprank1]

Hello,

I also have very long backup times with my ipad. I was wondering if we could start a list of apps that are known to cause long backups.

The only one I knew of was the Zinio Magazine app. I'm not sure if they fixed that problem or not because I don't use it anymore.

Anyone know of others that cause backup issues? Let's see if we can start a list.

Thanks

 

[Dannyboy85]

I think it has soooo much to do with your processor. I like many found iTunes slow. I was using a 1.6ghz 1GB ram netbook and it took literally hours..... But with my shiny new i5 2.4ghz 4GB ram it's just fine.... In my opinion it could be optimized for the slower processors?...!

 

[JonB]

The jury is still out on this one. But..after I installed IOS 4.2 today I immediately did a backup. Which took about 10 minutes..it was taking 100..perhaps new OS fixed this. We will see

 

[guru]

Sometimes reinstalling itunes helps

dannyboy: apparently reinstalling itunes (and possibly other stuff) can sometimes make a difference. Maybe reinstalling everything on your new computer helped.

I notice from the backup files that the transfer is just godly slow, so there has to be something bad going on between the usb itself.

 

[Rishabh]

Hi guys,

This might be a little off topic but I have problems syncing my apps from iTunes to my iPad. I upgraded to iOS 4.2.1 yesterday, and all the apps I previously had, vanished from my iPad.

Now when I try to sync them back from iTunes (I had a backup of all my apps and books on iTunes) to my iPad, only the free apps go through, the paid apps don't transfer to the iPad.

Does anyone have a clue?!

 

[whosaidthat]

Huffington Post was my culprit

JonB's post hit it right on the head (at least with the slow issue I was having.) I went in and watched my backup take place via the folder he mentioned and noticed that the Huffington Post App was the issue (each story cached) stuck close to 2 hours. I deleted the app and re-ran the backup....25 min from beginning to end.

Thanks for the guidance!

 

[trashman]

Do not have the Huffington Post App so thats not the cause of my pain.

My iPhone backup which is 27GB takes only a short time say 5 -10 minutes max ... my iPad with about 25 GB takes 3 hours plus.

To me it's a hardware or driver issue which should have been solved with the new OS releases ... whatever it is, Apple knows ... their silence means they are wrestling with a profit over recall issue and everyone knows "you better take care on Wall street when the index is low".

 

[JonB]

CuCusoft Backup Utility

I'm not sure that this software is the answer. The apple backup does Not backup music, videos, or photos..from their native locations. The problem is this..for example..there are several apps that allow me to copy images from computer iPad via wifi and put them in any folder I want. I have yet to see any backup software that is smart enough to find these photos and do something with them.

A traditional backup system lists folders and you pick what to backup. Since the iPad has a rudimentary file system this is not possible

Many apps are how adding their own backups to DropBox or other websites.

I think if you take a close look at CuCusoft you will see, it cannot handle 3 Ed party app data.

I will try my new IOS 4.2 backup today and see if my theory about this has any validity. Thanks

 

[Scar]

Trying Your Advice JonB

Jon B,

Thanks for the advice. I can't confirm it yet but at least it's a place to start. For me, it looks like the offending apps were:

Vanity Fair
Sports Illustrated
Ny Time Editors Choice

 

[Scar]

Well...I can confirm it now. I deleted Zinio, Huff Post, Sports Illustrated, Vanity Fair and NY Times Editor Choice. My backup time went from...(I don't know what really. It was two hours and 1/3 completed when I cancelled it) to less than 30 minutes. I highly recommend JonB's advice... The only thing I can add is that you might have trouble finding the location of the backup files. If you do, just do a search on *.mdinfo files and it will help lead the way.

 

[JonB]

IPad Backup

Everyone...since I upgraded to the new Operating System..4.2..my backup issues disappeared. My back takes about 5 minutes. I have 131 apps. I wasn't aware that there still was an issue.

 

[guru]

I think a lot of problems are electrical issues. I switched data cables and things went to under 5 mins. I was watching the backup files come in and it was taking a minute for very very *very* small files!

TRY A DIFFERENT USB CABLE!!

I also learned that a lot of apps (like various news apps) are storing cached files and not cleaning them up when the articles are months old and can no longer even be viewed in the app. (retarded!) I noticed this in all/most of the apps I use on a daily basis. So all the apps people are suggesting as problems are probably because they use them daily versus ones they rarely use. If I remove the app, then reinstall it, it's back to normal. Too bad all these files are taking up flash memory when they will never again be accessed --- then also taking up backup time!

 

[gjw46]

Infinite backup times

I have a 32gb I pad, granted it is filling up and previous backups were taking near 8hours. Thus It has been some time since my last I pad confession.
Plugged in on Saturday afternoon to also add the new 4.2 update, it has been on there with no interuptions and is now 10am Monday morning, and is less than halfway!!

Its gonna run out of battery before it completes this backup, and I'm pretty sure I will cancel it before this. I am using my old I-pod lead so maybe this is partly to blame. I also hear the ft app can be a drag on backups (soon to be culled)
I also have a lot of stuff on dropbox, due a clearup

Any insights into how I can speed this up would be greatly appreciated. And if I cancel halfway through the backup, will it pickup where i left off next time?

 

[Scar]

Read the jonb threads. His advice works.

 

[guru]

I have a 32gb I pad, granted it is filling up and previous backups were taking near 8hours. Thus It has been some time since my last I pad confession.

Hilarious!

I am using my old I-pod lead so maybe this is partly to blame. I also hear the ft app can be a drag on backups (soon to be culled)
I also have a lot of stuff on dropbox, due a clearup

Use a new ipad cable, not ipod ones. They look the same but must be different. Ipod cables on my ipad run slow!

Also, any app you use a lot could take a while to backup as it has more files in it's "filesystem". I removed Blastr then reinstalled it and that sped my backup up a lot. A lot of apps dont clean up files they download - like old news articles.