How to download iPhone photos to Windows XP

iPhone photos and Windows XP tip: How to download iPhone photos to a Windows XP computer.

Okay, this was surprisingly hard. I just went to download all my iPhone photos to my Windows XP computer, and assuming this worked with the normal iTunes sync process, I started the 'sync', waited a very long time, and then at the end, all my photos were ... wait ... none of my photos were downloaded from my iPhone to my Windows XP system. What the heck?

Surprise! It turns out that's not how you're supposed to download iPhone photos to Windows XP. While iTunes is supposed to be THE interface between your computer and your iPhone, apparently your iPhone photos don't count. Um, thanks Apple. How about a little iTunes message stating that this isn't how iPhone photos are downloaded?

Solution: iPhone photos and Windows XP - How to download

To save you several hours, here's how I finally figured out how to download my iPhone photos to my Windows XP system. I don't have other Windows versions, so this may be slightly different on Windows 7, but here's how the photo download process works on Windows XP.

As a quick intro here, we'll be using a Windows XP application named "Scanner and Camera Wizard" to download your iPhone photos. Here are the steps you need:

1. Click "Start"
2. Click "All Programs"
3. Click "Accessories"
4. Click "Scanner and Camera Wizard" (there may be a short wait here)
5. Select your iPhone (mine is named "Al's iPhone")
6. After this, just follow the wizard, which is very simple, and you'll be able to download your iPhone photos to a Windows XP folder of your choosing. You'll see your photos in a subsequent screen, and be able to choose which ones you want to download, and you'll also be able to choose a download folder/directory.

The iPhone photos and Windows XP download process

I have to say, once you know that you're supposed to use the "Scanner and Camera Wizard" application to download your photos, the process is very simple, so kudos to Microsoft. Dear Apple: It sure would be nice if you provided a note in iTunes about how to do this. (Yeesh.)

I currently have over 1,000 photos on my iPhone, and I didn't want to lose them during the upgrade, so downloading them to my Windows XP computer is pretty important to me.

I hope this tip on how to download your iPhone photos to Windows XP computer has been helpful. I'm not much of a Windows XP expert, but I can tell you that a copy of my iPhone photos are now happily sitting on my Windows hard drive.