worried about wiping my iphone 3GS

[deshels]

Hi there
I've been having trouble with my laptop for a few months which is mainly due to memory issues. As I result when opening iTunes none of my library was present. I solved this problem by finding the library file in my iTunes folder and dragging it to my library in iTunes - the result - all my music is now present.
My problem now is when I plug my iPhone in it is being detected as iPhone instead of 'Helen's iPhone.
I'm worried that if I sync with iTunes it will wipe the phone as it seems to be seeing it as a different device.
I'm desperate to upgrade to the new iPhone software so I can get some uptodate apps and know you can turn the automatically sync option off.
Can anyone tell me if I go ahead and update software will it wipe my phone? I know I can transfer purchases but I am worried I will lose all my SMS history and photos. I've backed photos up.
Thanks - I really appreciate any advice

 

[jasonmanikin]

hello, it sounds like you need to re-register your phone which means that when you put the new software update on it, it will wipe your phone. I would suggest that you save a back up of your phone on you computor using a software which isnt associated with itunes. 4media has a good piece of sofware called iphone transfer which should do the trick (for all your music,photos,contact etc), also ensure that you transfer all purchases before doing anything, if you do lose your apps they should be recorded with your apple account so you can always contact them if anything goes missing which is from the apple store.