iPhone, iTunes, and hard disk wipe/reload

[DaveM]

I have an iPhone 4, not jailbroken. When I sync to iTunes the backup is saved to my Win 7 laptop (not iCloud). The phone is working great and is set up the way I want it. I need to wipe the hard disk on the laptop and do a reload and I want to make sure that I don't have any issues with iTunes or my phone when I'm all finished. I've been doing some reading on the Apple website, but am a little confused about the difference between the libraries and the backup (or IS there any difference?). I'd appreciate any guidance in the steps I should take before I wipe the hard disk.

[Ads]

[bbrks]

Simply backup your phone to iCloud, wipe out your HD, put the fresh iTunes on it, log in as always and that's it. If ever needed, you can always restore from iCloud backup

[DaveM]

Is it possible to save off all my iTunes settings/preferences?

[DaveM]

Simply backup your phone to iCloud, wipe out your HD, put the fresh iTunes on it, log in as always and that's it. If ever needed, you can always restore from iCloud backup

Thanks bbrks. How would I do this without using iCloud?

[bbrks]

Sorry I never used anything else than iCloud, so maybe someone else could answer that