Should I jailbreak my iTouch in order to back up my data?

My iTouch 3rd generation has an issue and cannot properly connect to iTunes, therefore I'm not able to upload any new connect via my computer. iTunes would like for me to restore it to factory settings but of course I have a gazillion game apps and I don't want to loose my progress. I have tried the "reset" on the device which didn't help, I tried to repair my iTunes which didn't help either, and I tried to connect to a freshly installed iTunes.

Due to the issue I am not able to back up my iTouch data, and the last time I did was easily a year ago. I'm trying to find an easy and FREE way to back up my data without using iTunes, and then be able to later restore it to my iTouch once I've reset the settings.

I know nothing about jailbreaking but based on what I saw on YouTube it seems pretty simple. I watched a video about using DataDeposit with the Dropbox app and this seems super simple and exactly what I am looking for! But the only way I can use DataDeposit is by jailbreaking my iTouch so I can access the app.

I would appreciate thoughts or opinions about doing this, does this seem like a good plan? Do you know of any other ways or have any other suggestions?

I've read that jailbreaking is reversible, since I have no other use for it I would like to reverse it if it is indeed possible without it seriously affecting my iTouch.

Thanks for any feedback!

 

The best way to do this is to troubleshoot the connection to iTunes. Make sure no security software is blocking the connection (by wireless or local means), and nothing else is running that could possibly interfere with it. Also, make sure that the Bonjour service, Apple Mobile Device, and all other iTunes-related .exes are running.

You can also use TinyUmbrella if you find that your iPod Touch is stuck in DFU mode. The latest one should be able to pop your iTouch in and out of DFU mode. DFU mode will typically force you to factory reset the device, therefore, this program can disable that requirement.

If you have no idea what any of this means, use Google or Wikipedia to interpret the terms.