Replacing my sync'd laptop?

[Ferl]

I have a 1st gen iPad. This is my only apple device so please bear with my iIgnorance. I currently have the iPad sync'd to iTunes on my laptop. From what I've read I cannot sync the iPad to more than computer. I am going to replace my laptop with a new one and I don't know how to deal with the iTunes/laptop link issue. Any help is appreciated.

 

[rd86]

Do you own an external hard drive?

 

[Ferl]

Yes

 

[rd86]

Right that's good forgot to ask are you a windows user and if so is it xp, vista or windows 7?

 

[Ferl]

Windows XP. I don't care about the music on the iPad. I want to keep the emails, bookmarks and apps. I also have some movies that I put on the iPad using the digital copy feature from the movies I bought on disc. I feel like I have to be missing something here. People replace computers all the time. Steve must have made provisions for the folks that replace the computer the iPad has sync'd to.

 

[rd86]

Are wanting to move everything from the iTunes on your current laptop or just the things currently on your iPad?

 

[Ferl]

Just what's on the iPad. When I connect the iPad to another machine with iTunes, it says it will erase everything on the iPad.

 

[twerppoet]

iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer

The Transfer Purchases options is the one you are most interested in.

Also, check this link as a good reference for other types of content you may want to transfer, and how. Because the first step of getting all your content onto a new device is to make sure it all gets on the computer

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2109


But the short of it is, cancel out of the sync/erase dialog, right click on the iPad in the column on the left, and choose Transfer Purchases.

 

[Ferl]

Thanks guys. I used a combination of sync/purchases and transferring files in the iTunes folder over my network. I have things where I want them, I hope. I now understand there is a difference between backup and sync. I hadn't paid much attention to them until now. I thought sync was a backup. It is apparently a combined process unless you launch them manually.