Where are iTunes backup files and folders stored? Where does iTunes store backups on your computer? How to change the iPhone backup path

iTunes is a must-have companion for any iOS device owner. The utility not only helps you exchange content between a PC and a mobile device, but also makes it possible to update or restore your Apple gadget, buy and download new applications and media files, create a ringtone, etc. However, perhaps the most important option of the program is making a backup, because today we store so much important and valuable information in our mobile assistants that it would be an extreme shame to lose it if it is lost/stolen or simply when the device breaks.

In this article we will tell you how to create a copy of data in iTunes, as well as where iTunes stores backup copies.

Creating a backup in iTunes is a very simple procedure and even a novice user can handle it. To perform a backup, follow these instructions:

Ready! All that remains is to wait until the program saves the created duplicate on the PC. The fact is that backup in iTunes, you can verify that it was successful by opening the “Edit” section of the program, then “Settings” and going to the “Devices” tab - the generated copy and the number of its creation will be displayed here.

As you understand, backups need to be repeated regularly. In this case, please note that only the latest current duplicate will be stored on the computer - when creating a new backup, old data is deleted automatically.

Where are iTunes backup files stored?

So, we figured out how to make a backup copy, but you probably have a logical question - where exactly does the program save the backed up information and is it possible to view it. Well, let's find out.

The directory into which the utility determines the copied data instance depends on what PC you are working with.

If you own a Mac, you can access the storage location as follows:

If you are using a Windows computer, to find the storage location of the backed up information:

How to view files and restore from an iTunes backup?

Now let’s talk about what a backup saved in iTunes looks like. It is a folder whose name contains 40 characters. There are a bunch of other folders hiding in this folder. None of the folders can be renamed, and on the official Apple support page it is highly recommended not to transfer the folder with the backup information anywhere. After all, something can be accidentally damaged - you can accidentally delete some important file, and if the duplicate is damaged, when restoring data, you will most likely encounter an error.

However, most likely, when you see this pile of folders, you will have a question not about how to move them somewhere, but how to restore any information from a copy that looks so strange. Well, that is, with iCloud everything is clear - if you made a backup in the cloud, you simply open the iCloud.com website, log in using your Apple ID and see all the backed up data neatly laid out in clear sections - “Contacts”, “Photos” etc.

With iTunes, everything is somewhat different - you cannot view the data here, but, in fact, this should not worry the user too much. After all, this will not prevent data from being restored from iTunes to a new iOS device. When transferring content, the user will only need to select “Restore via iTunes” during the initial setup of the new gadget and connect the device to the PC - all the work will be done automatically.

But what if you need to extract partially backed up content in order to later transfer it, for example, to an Android device. This is where you have to work hard. There are different mechanisms for each type of information. For example, you can see how to copy contacts.

By the way, a complete list of information stored by duplicate data in iTunes can be found in this article.

What to do if iTunes backups refuse to be created?

Unfortunately, sometimes when performing a backup, you may encounter an error: “iTunes was unable to create a backup.” There can be many reasons for this - from simple wear and tear of the synchronization cable to conflicts with virus software.

First of all, if the backup procedure fails, it is recommended to take the following measures to eliminate the error:

If none of the recommendations help and you still cannot perform a backup, read this article or contact Apple Support.

Let's summarize

Well, now you know how to create a duplicate of data in iTunes, and you also know where the program stores the folders with the copies made. Unfortunately, it is impossible to view the information in them directly, but this is not important for restoring content. If you made a backup via iTunes, you can always extract information from the copy using special programs and get it in the end in proper form.

Do not mislead people. With great desire and a certain amount of skill, this can be done without any data loss.

So, first you must understand that you can recover (use) data from your iPhone only from under his account AppStore using your Apple ID and password. If you are ready for this (the phone will be yours or your loved one’s), then you need to do the following (I’ll give the simplest solution to your question).

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer. In the iTunes program that opens (I hope you have it installed), on the right side of it, click on your iPad. In the window that opens, in the "Backups" section in the " Automatic creation copies", place a marker (check mark) opposite the item "iCloud". Then, click on the "Create a copy now" button. Wait until the copy is created. After creating the copy, close iTunes without disconnecting the iPhone from the computer.

ZY If you don’t have iCloud configured or you don’t know what it is, then here it is: http://ipadstory.ru/icloud-na-ipad-nastrojka-icloud.html

2. Download the archive with the iTools program (http://122.228.70.14/dl/iTools1107R.zip), unpack it to any place convenient for you, for example, on your computer desktop. Launch the iTools program (in Win7 as Administrator). When the program has opened, click on the application item, which is located under the name of your iPhone and wait for iTools to scan all the programs installed on it. Then, put a checkmark at the very top of the program selection column, thereby selecting all of them. Click on the "Floppy disk" button on the top panel of buttons. A window for selecting the folder for saving the backup copy of the programs will open. Select (create) an “archive” folder and click “OK”. When asked by the program: “Save application/game settings?”, answer “Yes”. After this, the application backup process will begin. This process is quite long and depends on the number and volume of programs and their data. After archiving, copy the application folder to another computer.

3. Thus, at the end you will receive a copy of the iPhone data in the iCloud cloud and copies of the programs installed on the iPhone. During activation new iPhone, enter your account information in the AppStore and select recovery from iCloud.

4. Install iTools on your computer (iTunes must be installed on your computer before and identify your iPhone at least once). Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTools. After the program has detected the tablet, click on the “Applications” item, which is located under the “library” item. Click on the first button on the button panel and, in the pop-up menu, select the “Folder...” item, indicating the copied folder with applications. Select them all and click on the green “Install” button. Wait for the applications to download to your iPhone.

At the exit you will receive an iPhone with your applications.

Backup on a PC has already been mentioned more than once. Cause transferring an iPad backup to another drive, is that there is simply not enough space on the main hard drive and there is a need to transfer data to another HDD. Backing up iOS devices eats up quite a lot of free space, and naturally there is a desire to transfer copies. iCloud, designed for these purposes, is not held in high esteem by everyone. So, today I will talk about transferring an iPad backup to another drive (including an external HDD) using an example operating systems Windows 7/Vista, Windows XP and Mac Os. This manual is suitable for transferring iPhone and iPod backups.

Instructions for transferring a backup copy for Mac OS

Let's say you have two hard drives in your laptop - SSD and HDD. It makes no sense to place a backup copy on an SSD drive. In this case, we set ourselves the task of transferring the backup copy to another disk.

1. Remove unnecessary backups. iTunes - Settings - Devices

2. Make sure backups are deleted. operating room Mac system OS has the following directory containing backups of iOS devices:

/Users/[Username]/Libraries/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

Important Note: if you cannot find this directory through the built-in Finder tool, then install the free file manager MuCommander (or similar software).

View of the folder contents before deletion:

View of the folder contents after deletion:

As you can see in the example, there is 1 extra folder - this way you can get rid of old backups, which can be safely deleted, following the rule: 1 backup = 1 folder.

3. Create on hard disk (HDD) new folder with the title " «.

4. Move the folder (or several folders corresponding to the number of backups) containing the backup to the folder on another disk (HDD).

Delete the folder " ", located on the SSD disk.

The directory looks like this:

/Volumes/SSD/Users/UserName/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup ln -s /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Users/UserName/Backup /Volumes/ SSD/Users/UseName/Library/Application\Support/MobileSync

What does this command mean:

ln -s- command to create a symbolic link

/Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Users/dmitry/Backup - directory for storing backups.

/Volumes/SSD/Users/dmitry/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync — the directory where the symbolic link is located, pointing to the folder on another disk (HDD).

As a result of executing the command in Terminal you will get the following: in the folder Mobile Sync a semblance of a shortcut will appear on the SSD disk, linking to a folder in the HDD.

Now run iTunes, then backup and as a result iPad backup will be saved on another drive.

Instructions for transferring a backup copy to Windows Vista and Windows 7

For operating systems Windows Vista and Windows 7, symbolic links are created using OS tools. The first two points are similar to the method for Mac OS described above.

1. Again identify unnecessary backups and delete them in the application settings iTunes and from Conductor on your hard drive. Backup storage directory in Windows 7:

\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

This directory is hidden because it belongs to system folders. You can use the Total Commander file manager by turning on the display of hidden and system files in the settings, or go to Control Panel - Folder Options and uncheck the “Hide” option system files and folders."

2. Suppose you want transfer iPad backup to Local Drive D. In this case, create a folder on this hard drive iTunes(the folder name and path are arbitrary) and transfer the entire folder with backups from drive C to the created folder iTunes on drive D.

3. Click Start and enter cmd in the search bar. Applications to launch the command line will appear on the top line - cmd. Launch it by right-clicking and select Run as administrator.

4. Now enter the command to create a symbolic link correctly:

What does this line mean:

mklink- command to create a symbolic link

/D- specify the directory for the symbolic link

New way- directory where backup copies are located on drive D.

Example of command execution:

Ready! It remains to make sure that the iPad backup is saved to drive D.

Instructions for transferring an iPad backup to Windows XP

These instructions apply to both Windows XP and other Windows family systems. Windows XP is awarded in an additional way due to the lack of a command on this OS mklink, so we will use the utility junction. You can download it from this link.

Using the junction utility is similar to the method of transferring a backup copy of iOS devices to Windows 7.

1. Download the program and unzip it. Place it in any convenient folder on your PC hard drive. Let's assume at the root system disk: C:\Junction

2. Follow steps 1, 2, 3 of the above instructions for Windows 7 and Vista.

3. B command line cmd run the following command:

C:\Junction\junction.exe SymbolicLinkName NewPath

Using these methods you can transfer created iPhone, iPod and iPad backups to external hard disk if desired. If you accidentally deleted or renamed a symbolic link, then iTunes during the next process backup iOS devices will again create a folder for storing backups and continue saving the backup copy in its original location. Backups in the previously used directory will not be deleted. To return to your previous backup settings, remove the symbolic link and return the folder to its original place.

Oh, how often this question was asked in the comments. We will correct ourselves and respond. The main problem is that there is not enough space on the main hard drive and you need to transfer all the data to another drive. iOS device backups are just one of the space hogs we'd like to move. Yes, not everyone uses iCloud yet. :)

In the article I will talk separately about transferring a backup copy to another drive (including an external one) using the example of Windows 7/Vista, Windows XP and Mac Os.

Instructions for Mac OS

The fact is that I have two hard drives in my laptop - SSD and HDD. Having a backup on an SSD is certainly luxurious, but it doesn’t make much sense. Therefore, I decided to transfer the backup to another disk.

1. We delete unnecessary backups. iTunes -> Settings -> Devices

2. Make sure that the backups have been deleted. For Mac OS, the path to backups is as follows:

/Users/[username]/Libraries/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

Important: If you don't see this path through Finder, then install free program: file manager MuCommander (or any other analogue).

Before removal:

After removal:

As you can see, I still have one extra folder - so there are very ancient and unnecessary backup copies that can also be deleted. There should be one folder per backup.

3. Create a folder on the HDD – call it Backup.

4. We transfer the folder (or folders, if there are several copies) with the backup copy to Backup on another disk.

4.1. Delete the Backup folder using the old path. In my case: /Volumes/SSD/Users/dmitry/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup

ln -s /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Users/dmitry/Backup /Volumes/SSD/Users/dmitry/Library/Application\Support/MobileSync

In fact, nothing complicated - I’ll explain the command:

ln -s– command to create a symbolic link.

/Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Users/dmitry/Backup – the path where you will now store backups. Note the backslash “\” before HD. I just escaped the space character in the path.

/Volumes/SSD/Users/dmitry/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync – the path where your symbolic link will be located, roughly speaking a shortcut to the Backup folder on another disk.

In general, after executing the command in the terminal, you will have something like the following picture. In the Mobile Sync folder on the old drive, something like a shortcut (using Windows terminology) will appear to a folder on the other drive. Let's look at the properties.

Launch iTunes. We start the backup. That's it - the backup copy is saved to another disk, which is exactly what we needed.

Instructions for Windows Vista and Windows 7

Everything here is not much more complicated than for Mac OS. For these two systems, symbolic links can be created using the system itself. If you have Vista or Seven, I recommend creating links exactly as I will describe.

In order not to repeat myself with screenshots, I will briefly describe the initial steps (for more details, read points 1 and 2 of the instructions for Mac OS just above).

1. Find out which backups we have and delete them in the iTunes settings and in the file system. The paths where the system stores them:

\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

These paths through a regular explorer may not be available - I recommend using a file manager (Total Commander or Far Manager). Be sure to enable the display of hidden and system files in the file manager settings.

2. Let's say we want to transfer the iPad backup to drive D. Create an iTunes folder on drive D (choose the name and path yourself) and transfer the entire Backup folder with all our backups from drive C to this same iTunes folder.

3. Click Start and look for CMD in the search bar. In the results, right-click and launch CMD (command line) with administrator rights.

4. What remains is the most difficult and the simplest at the same time. Enter the command to create a symbolic link correctly:

Explanation:

/D– we indicate to the command that the symbolic link will lead to the directory

New way– A new path, in this case on drive D where iTunes will save backups.

An example of the command execution is shown in the screenshot:

That's all - we're testing. Let's try to save a backup copy. The copy is saved to drive D, which is what was required.

Instructions for Windows XP

This add-on is suitable for both Windows XP and others Windows systems. As you know, the mklink command is not available in Windows XP, so you can use the junction utility. Download it from this link.

Its meaning and use are completely similar to using the command .

1. Download this program. Let's unzip. We upload it to some folder on the disk. Let's say C:\Junction

2. Follow steps 1,2,3 instructions for Windows 7 and Vista.

3. On the command line, run the command:

c:\Junction\junction.exe SymbolicLinkName NewPath

For an explanation of this command, see paragraph 4 of the Instructions for Windows 7 and Vista above.

Usually, you don’t have to know about the accurate location of iTunes backup files because iTunes will show them for you automatically. But what if you purchase a new computer and want to transfer the backup files from the old PC to the new one, you have to know the location of the backup files so that you can have a copy for them. This article will show the following several parts:

Part 1: The location of your iPhone backup files

1: The location of your iTunes backup files

If you are a Windows user, you can find your iPhone backup files under the path just as below according to your operating system:

Note: In order to show the hidden folder, you should enable “show hidden files” firstly. Just open an arbitrary folder, go to “Tools->Folder Options->View”, and then enable “Show hidden files, folders and drives”.

For XP: C:\Documents and Settings\ (username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

For Vista:

For Windows 7: C:\Users\ (username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

For Windows 8, 8.1: C:\Users\ (username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

For Windows 10: C:\Users\ (username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

(The “C:” means the system drive of your computer.)

You can open an arbitrary folder and enter the path above into the address bar and then tap the Enter key, to access to the target path quickly.

If you are a Mac user, you should go to “ ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/” and view all your iPhone backup files there.

2. Location for iCloud backup files

As to iCloud backup files, since they are all saved in the remote storage, you cannot find iCloud backup files on computer but can still view them very easy.

To Mac users, you have to go to “System Preferences” under Apple menu, and go to “iCloud” and click “Manage” Menu.

To Windows users, just click Start| All Programs| iCloud| iCloud and then choose “Manage”, if you are using Windows 8, you can find the relevant title in the Start Window.

Besides, you can also view the backup data directly on your iPhone. Just go into Settings->iCloud and then choose “Storage & Backup”.

Part 2: Change the storage path of iTunes backup files

Since you know where your backup files are, you must wonder how to change the default storage path and save your backup files in other places so that you can save more space for your system drive. This is not really complex. Here are the steps:

For Windows XP:

• 1) Close your iTunes. And you have to download the junction utility from the Internet.
• 2) Extract the junction utility, and copy “junction.exe” to your username folder.
• 3) Go to the path which saved your iTunes backup files, copy all the backup files to other places.
• 4) Click Start, click Run and input “cmd” into the text box, then tap the Enter key.
• 5) Now the command prompt will pop up, now you have to create an NTFS junction point. Input below commander and tap Enter key:
  Junction “C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup” “(the new storage path you want)”
• 6) Now back up your iPhone file with iTunes once, and go to the new storage path to check whether the new backup file is saved there.

For Windows Vista/7/8:

• 1) Go to the location of the iTunes backup files, and copy all the files into the new backup storage path you want.
• 2) Both tap Windows and R, and input “cmd” into the popping-up textbox, and then click Ok.
• 3) Now command prompt will pop up. Input the commander just as below and tap Enter key:
  mklink /j “C:\Users\username\App Data\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup” “(the new storage path you want)”
• 4) Backup your iPhone file with iTunes, and go to the new storage path to check whether new backup file is saved there.

For Mac OS X:

• 1) Exit iTunes, and go to the iTunes backup location and copy all backups to the new storage folder.
• 2) Launch Terminal and enter the command prompt. Input the commander just as follows:
  ln -s /Volumes/External/Backup/ ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup
• 3) Back up your iPhone file with iTunes, and go to new storage path to check whether the new backup data is saved there.

Part 3: How to delete iTunes backup files

Although backup files can give you a chance to get your important data back after deleting them by accident, too many backup files may also waste the storage space. In this case, you may need to delete some files which are already out of date and make room for the new backup files. As to iCloud backup files, deleting the useless backup files in time is also very important. As we know, your iCloud storage is limited and precious, so you have to delete some out-of-data backup files or you may not have enough space to back up your iPhone anymore.

Since you have known where your iTunes backup files are, deleting them can be very easy. Just go into the storage folder of iTunes backup files, and choose what you want and delete them directly. As to deleting backup files in iCloud server, you can just finish the task on your iPhone: Just go “Settings”->”iCloud”->”Storage& Backup”->”Manage Storage”, and then select the backup you want to delete, and then tap “Delete Backup”.

Part 4: How to recover iPhone data without any backup files

Deleting backup files is really easy, but if you just deleted certain important backup which contains your precious personal files by mistake, and you just want to use it to restore your iPhone, it can really be a great disaster. Just in case, you have to know how to retrieve the lost data without backup files as well. Actually, there are some methods to get the deleted data back without backup files, and the easiest way is to choose a well designed tool to help you.