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How to change iTunes file storage location. Computer help, computer and laptop repair

I don’t know about you, but for me the contents of the memory of my iPhone 5s are much more expensive than the device itself. If you bought it once, you can buy it a second and third time, but to restore the information accumulated over the years, even if it is possible, it is not easy to do.

How to Move iTunes Backups to Another Drive in Windows 7, 8 and 10

  1. Close iTunes.
  2. Copy or move the folder “C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\” to another drive (replace username with your own). Just in case, copy the folder somewhere else.

    In my virtual machine Windows 10 in Parallels Desktop it is located at: C:\Users\le7andr\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

  3. Run the command line (command line processor) “cmd.exe” with administrator rights (“Start” -> “Search programs and files” -> “cmd” ->

  4. Enter the command: MKLINK /D “from” “to”

    Example:
    mklink /d "C:\Users\Alexander Varakin\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\" D:\iTunes\Backup

    Instead of “Alexander Varakin”, enter your username. If there are spaces in the path (here Apple Computer), it must be enclosed in quotation marks (""). To avoid typing the path manually, drag and drop the desired folder into the command line window. Press Enter.

  5. Example of command execution.


How to Move iTunes Backups to Another Drive in Windows XP

  1. Close iTunes.
  2. Copy or move the folder “C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\” to another drive (replace username with your own). Just in case, it is better to copy the folder somewhere else.
  3. Delete the "Backup" folder on system disk(where the backups were moved from).
  4. Download Junction from the link, unzip it, for example, to the root of drive “C”.
  5. Run the command line “cmd.exe” with administrator rights (“Start” -> “Search programs and files” -> “cmd” -> Right-click the context menu on the file “cmd.exe” and select “Run as administrator” "). The name of the command line window must include “Administrator: C:/Windows/System32/cmd.exe”.
  6. At the command line, enter the command: C:\Path_to_Junction\junction.exe “from” “to” -s,
    • “from” - the previous location of the “Backup” folder on the system drive;
    • "Where" - new way to the backup folder.

    Example: C:\Junction\junction.exe "C:\Users\Alexander Varakin\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\" D:\iTunes\Backup -s

  7. Launch iTunes and check for backups in the program settings on the “Devices” tab.

How to Move iTunes Backups to Another Drive on Mac OS X

For Mac computers with Reserve copy using the Time Machine program built into OS X or third-party iBackup and ChronoSync, the issue of saving backup copies is not so pressing, but it will still be useful to someone.

On Mac computers running OS X, the procedure is slightly simpler:


Backups transferred to another drive will be available in iTunes until the next reinstallation of the operating system, after which the symbolic links will need to be created again.

As you can see, there is nothing difficult about finding an iTunes backup on Windows computer or Mac. It’s not difficult to move “heavy” backups to another drive (partition or external drive) and associate them with iTunes using symbolic links.

If you have any questions or additions, write them in the comments and we’ll discuss them.

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 are 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.

Is such an iPhone recovery tool. It can help you recover the deleted data such as contacts, SMS text messages, music, pictures, videos and so on from an iTunes or iCloud backup files, or even from iPhone directly:

  • 1) Just download iMyfone D-Back and install it on the computer, then connect your iPhone to the computer as well using the USB cable.
  • 2) Switch the software into “ Recover from iOS Device” mode, and after your iPhone has been detected, click “ Start” and the software will find out all deleted data on your iPhone.
  • 3) You can view all the lost data now, just select all you want, and click “Recover”, all your lost important data will be back later.

I don’t know about you, but for me the contents of the memory of my iPhone 5s are much more expensive than the device itself. If you bought it once, you can buy it a second and third time, but the accumulated value over the years, even if it is possible, is not easy to do.

How to Move iTunes Backups to Another Drive in Windows 7, 8 and 10

  1. Close iTunes.
  2. Copy or move the folder “C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\” to another drive (replace username with your own). Just in case, copy the folder somewhere else.

    In my virtual Windows machine 10 in it is located along the path: C:\Users\le7andr\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

  3. Run the command line (command line processor) “cmd.exe” with administrator rights (“Start” -> “Search programs and files” -> “cmd” -> Right-click the context menu on the file “cmd.exe” and select "Run as administrator"). The name of the command line window must include “Administrator: C:/Windows/System32/cmd.exe”.

  4. Enter the command: MKLINK /D “from” “to”

    Example:
    mklink /d “C:\Users\Alexander Varakin\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\” D:\iTunes\Backup

    Instead of “Alexander Varakin”, enter your username. If there are spaces in the path (here Apple Computer), it must be enclosed in quotation marks (“”). To avoid typing the path manually, drag the desired folder into the command prompt window. Press Enter.


  5. Example of command execution.
  6. Launch iTunes and check for backups in the program settings on the “Devices” tab.

How to Move iTunes Backups to Another Drive in Windows XP

  1. Close iTunes.
  2. Copy or move the folder “C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\” to another drive (replace username with your own). Just in case, it is better to copy the folder somewhere else.
  3. Delete the “Backup” folder on the system drive (from where the backups were moved).
  4. Download Junction from the link, unzip it, for example, to the root of drive “C”.
  5. Run the command line “cmd.exe” with administrator rights (“Start” -> “Search programs and files” -> “cmd” -> Right-click the context menu on the file “cmd.exe” and select “Run as administrator” "). The name of the command line window must include “Administrator: C:/Windows/System32/cmd.exe”.
  6. At the command line, enter the command: C:\Path_to_Junction\junction.exe “from” “to” -s,
    • “from” - the previous location of the “Backup” folder on the system drive;
    • “where” is the new path to the backup folder.

    Example: C:\Junction\junction.exe "C:\Users\Alexander Varakin\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\" D:\iTunes\Backup -s

  7. Launch iTunes and check for backups in the program settings on the “Devices” tab.

How to Move iTunes Backups to Another Drive on Mac OS X

For Mac computers with a backup function using the Time Machine program built into OS X or third-party ones, the issue of the safety of backup copies is not so acute, but it will still be useful to someone.

On Mac computers running OS X, the procedure is slightly simpler:


Backups transferred to another drive will be available in iTunes until the next reinstallation of the operating system, after which the symbolic links will need to be created again.

As you can see, there is nothing difficult about finding an iTunes backup on a Windows or Mac computer. It’s not difficult to move “heavy” backups to another drive (partition or external drive) and associate them with iTunes using symbolic links.

If you have any questions or additions, write them in the comments and we’ll discuss them.

By default, music, TV shows, movies, podcasts, and other files that appear in iTunes library , are stored here:

user folder/Music/iTunes

You can change where iTunes media files are stored.

How to change the storage location of imported files

    Select the iTunes menu >

    Click Change and select a new location for the files.

    From now on, new songs and other items you import will be stored in this new location. The songs you imported previously will remain in their original places.

    To return to storing imported files in the iTunes folder, choose iTunes > Preferences, click Add-ons, then click Reset.

How to collect files in the iTunes folder

Depending on how the objects were imported In iTunes, some library items may be stored in other places (for example, in a different folder or on a different hard drive).

You can collect all the files in your library in an iTunes folder, for example, to make it easier to transfer your library to a new computer.

    Choose File > Library > Organize Library.

    Select Collect Files.

    The files remain in their original location, and copies are placed in the iTunes folder.

    To create folders (Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, Audiobooks, etc.) inside the iTunes folder and organize the imported media into their appropriate folders, click Reorganize Files in iTunes Media Folder.

Adding files to your library without adding them to the iTunes folder

When you do, iTunes places a copy of the file in iTunes folder. The original file remains where it was stored.

You can change this setting to add files to your iTunes library without adding them to your iTunes folder. This may be necessary, for example, if you prefer to store video files on external drive, but want to view them on iTunes.

    Choose iTunes menu > Preferences and click Add-ons.

    Uncheck "Copy to iTunes Media folder when adding to library."

The next time you drag a file into your Library or choose File > Add to Library, the item will appear in iTunes, but the file itself will not be copied or moved.

Tip: You can temporarily reverse this setting by holding down Option key while dragging files into iTunes window.

Finding the Location of iTunes Files

Perform one of the following actions.

    Finding the folder where the file is stored Select the item in iTunes and choose File > Properties. The file path appears at the bottom of the Browse tab (next to the Where item).

    Show a file in Finder Select the item in iTunes and choose File > Show in Finder.

If a song no longer appears in iTunes

If a song previously appeared in iTunes but no longer appears, the file may iTunes Library moved from the iTunes folder or the song was moved from the iTunes folder. How to Show Songs in the iTunes Window Again

    Locate the "iTunes" folder in Finder and drag the folder into the iTunes window. You will see the songs in your library again. If it includes an iTunes Library file, you'll also see playlists, song ratings, and other information you've created.

    If this doesn't help, it's likely your songs are located somewhere else on your hard drive. In Finder, choose File > Find and search by song title or artist. Or search for the keyword "MP4" to find files downloaded from iTunes Store, or use the keyword "MP3" to find files encoded in MP3 format. Drag songs (or folders of songs) into the iTunes window to add songs back to iTunes.

Important: To achieve best results Do not move the iTunes folder or folders within it.

U active users Apple technology The iTunes library sometimes grows to incredible sizes. As a result, it begins to take up a lot of space on the main disk, which is especially unpleasant if we're talking about about the SSD drive. Fortunately, transferring your iTunes library to another drive is not difficult.

Step 1: Launch iTunes and go to the menu Edit» → « Settings».

Step 2: On the "" tab Add-ons» activate the items « Save song information in iTunes Media folder" And " Copy to iTunes Media folder when adding to library».

Step 3. Click on the button Change", located to the right of the field " iTunes Media Folder Location».

Step 4: Select the folder where your iTunes library will be stored on the other drive and click " Folder selection».

Step 5: Click " OK» to save the settings.

Step 6. Go to menu " File» → « Media library" and select " Organize a media library».

Step 7. Check the box " Collect files" and press " OK».

Ready! Your media library has been successfully copied to another drive. Yes, it was copied, not moved, so if the purpose of transferring the media library was to free up disk space, the old media library files must be deleted.

In order to do this you need to delete the folder iTunes Media, which is located along the path:

  • Mac: Finder → username → Music → iTunes
  • Windows Vista or later: \Users\username\Music\iTunes.
  • Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes.

Important! You only need to delete the iTunes Media folder. Root folder Under no circumstances should iTunes be deleted, otherwise the previously completed library transfer will be reset.