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iTunes backups. Other storage locations. Storing different versions of system images

Every time you sync your iPhone with iTunes, it is automatically backed up. From which in the future you can easily restore information that has disappeared for any reason. Nevertheless, situations quite often occur when backup copies are deleted, for example, after reinstalling the operating system. To ensure that you do not encounter such problems, it is important to copy your backups to any external hard drive or cloud storage from time to time.

A backup made in iTunes stores a huge amount of important information: from your contact list to your Safari browser bookmarks. Of course, no one wants to lose so much information accumulated over a long time of using the iPhone. Therefore, in this article I want to tell you where iPhone, iPad or iPod backups are stored on your computer.

Where is iPhone backup stored on Mac OS

Backups on Mac OS are located in ~//Libraries/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/ . Therefore, in order to copy them, just go to the Backup folder and transfer them from there to any external storage device.

Where is iPhone backup stored in Windows XP

In Windows XP you can find backups by following the path \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\. In order to copy them, open the Backup folder and transfer to any external storage device.

Where is iPhone backup stored in Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 10

In Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 10, backups are located in the same place along the path \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\.

Note:If you do not see the desired folder, then you need to enable showing hidden folders and files in the Control Panel. To do this you need to go to Control Panel → Folders settings → View and mark the item with a circle Show hidden files, folders and drives. In Windows 7 and Windows 8, for easier display, switch the Control Panel to classic view by clicking View - Small icons. If you have Windows 10, for easier access to folder settings, it is best to search the system with the request « Change search options for files and folders» .

How to quickly detect iPhone backup files in Windows 7/8/10

Step 1. Open the search bar. In Windows 7 you need to click on the menu "Start"; in Windows 8 this can be done by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner; in Windows 10, click on the search bar next to the menu "Start"

Step 2. Enter the following command in the search bar: %appdata%

Step 3. Open the found folder

Step 4. From this folder, go to the directory Apple Computer → MobileSync → Backup.

Important!Don't forget that only one backup is available for each device. So if you create a new one. then the old one will be automatically deleted. Of course, all data stored in it will be deleted. Try not to lose your backup files by copying them, if you reinstall the operating system, to removable media or a cloud service, for example, Dropbox.

You can view information about backups directly from iTunes, to do this, go to Edit → Settings → Devices. Here you can view the date of the last synchronization, disable automatic synchronization, and delete existing backups.

Today, while updating my iPhone via iTunes, I discovered that there was not enough space on my Mac to create a backup. Situations may be different, for example, we have a MacBook with 128GB memory and an iPhone 256GB with a lot of photos and videos.

What to do?

You cannot change the backup path in iTunes settings. But you can have it replace.

We will need an external hard drive (or flash drive, memory card) on which backups will be created, the free SymLinker utility (download via Dropbox) and 2 minutes of free time.

Step-by-step instruction

If some folders from the instructions are missing, you need to enable the display of hidden folders. Open Terminal, enter the following command and press Enter:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
A system restart will be required (or you can simply restart Finder).

1. Opening Finder, go to the specified path:

Boot Volume > Users > Username > Library > Application Support > MobileSync

2. We find the folder. If there are files in it, rename the folder to . If it is empty, delete the folder.
The files in the Backup folder are our backups. If they are present, do not accidentally delete them.

3. Connect an external hard drive. We create a new folder on it, in which backup copies will be saved in the future.

4. Launch the utility . In field Source select the folder just created on the external drive. In field Target indicate the path:

Boot Volume > Users > Username > Library > Application Support > MobileSync >

5. Click Create. Ready.

6. If the folder from step 2 was empty, nothing else is required. If there were files in it, transfer the contents of the folder to the folder that we created on the external drive.

What's next?

Now backups of your iPhone, iPad and other devices will be automatically saved to your external drive without taking up space on your main drive.

To return everything to its original state, just delete the Backup shortcut created using the utility on the main drive, replacing it with the Backup folder from the external drive.

Of course, nothing is more important on a PC than user files and documents. What becomes most obvious after the sudden loss of important documents or precious family photographs.

So, protecting your files on your computer is very important. For example, by making backups and storing them in safe and sensible places.

Choosing where to store your backup files is very important because storing backups in the wrong location can often be as bad as not having backups at all. So, where to store backups, what are the pros and cons?

Clue. Many Internet routers allow you to connect USB hard drives to them, which can be used as network storage. This can be a great place for a backup.

  • Second hard drive on your computer- the fastest and least difficult way to store backups, because the system, every time a file changes, can automatically update the backup. However, an electrical surge can corrupt both the original data and the backup copy. Theft or fire will also destroy both copies.
  • Network attached storage device(NAS) is a great way to store archives, both at home and in the workplace. NAS drives are hidden in hard-to-reach places. However, they are still vulnerable to fire.
  • CD/DVD/Blu-Ray discs are no longer recommended for backup. Partly because, with the exception of Blu-Ray, discs don't have much storage capacity. In addition, discs deteriorate and there is no guarantee that they will be readable after 3 months or 3 years.
  • USB hard drives- perhaps the best option because they can be stored anywhere, either at your place or at the home of the person responsible for backing up important business data.
  • USB flash drives- can be considered as a place for backup, but they have their own size and price. In addition, keep in mind that they are relatively easy to mechanically break (for example, sat down, put in a washing machine, etc.) and are even more easily lost.
  • Cloud storage- are becoming increasingly popular, and there are many options to choose from, including Microsoft SkyDrive, Google Drive, Yandex Drive, Mile Drive, Carbonite, Mozy, Amazon S3 and so on.

The problem here is the initial download, if you have tens or even hundreds of gigabytes, and a fairly slow connection, the download may take weeks or even months.

Your workplace can be considered relatively safe. At least here, you can control access to the room where your computers are kept. But, if you store your business archives outside of this room, it is highly recommended that you encrypt them.

The only secure strategy for storing business data is a virtual private network (VPN) or cloud storage and business-specific encryption solutions.

Warning. If you decide to save your backups online to cloud storage, be careful! For example, you use the SkyDrive service, which syncs files on your computer with files in the cloud, or some other backup solution that keeps files in sync by deleting its backup from the cloud if that file is deleted from the computer - in this case, you may find , that if you accidentally delete a file from your computer, its backup copy will be completely deleted. To avoid this problem, stop your backup until you have restored your files.

Backing up files in Windows 8.1.

In Windows 8.1, there are two ways to back up files. The first method is to use Microsoft's cloud sync and backup service SkyDrive (renamed OneDrive). It can be configured in your PC's OneDrive settings, allowing you to know how much free space you have for backing up your files and easily purchasing additional space.

OneDrive built into Windows 8.1

The files backed up in OneDrive will then, provided you have enough cloud space, be available to you (although the first backup may take several days or even weeks, depending on the speed of your Internet connection).

If you want to back up your files locally, Windows 8.1 comes with a new version of a file backup tool called File History. Here, after making changes to the files, a backup copy is saved, so that if you accidentally change something in the file, it can be restored.

File history can be incredibly useful, especially if you use your computer for work and frequently change files (such as Office documents). Here you can roll back an accidental or unauthorized change.

File history is accessed from the computer settings and control panel. You can use your internal hard drives, USB drives, and network drives (though the latter two don't work if they're not connected or accessible). history file settings in the PC Settings section.

File history in PC Settings

Here, File History automatically detects any included USB hard drives or additional internal hard drives on your computer, but network locations can also be used. These include NAS drives and USB hard drives connected to the Internet router. If you want to choose one of these storage locations, click the "more options" link.

You can get significantly more control over your file history by accessing it through the control panel. Here you can specify the more precise location of your backups, inside network or hard drives, so that you can store your backup in a specific folder, and not just in the root of the drive.

File history in Control Panel

Clue. If you use a USB hard drive connected to your Internet router for backup, why not use it for file history?

The first time you run File History, a full backup of your libraries (documents, music, pictures, videos) is created, and if you want additional files backed up, you must add them to your libraries. This initial backup may also take some time, depending on the number of files and connection speed.

However, you don't have to worry about your computer because if you need to put your computer to sleep or turn it off, the backup will be interrupted and will resume the next time you turn on your PC.

File History saves copies of files that have been deleted and modified, helping you recover old, accidentally deleted, or modified copies of documents. It also includes all changes, even minor ones, that were made to the file after it was opened. Every time you open a file, pictures or MP3, the file changes, updating the last accessed label.

Attention. When using File Backup, PC Settings and File History in Control Panel displays the backup status.

However, you can fix this by clicking on the left side of the history panel page, on the option to exclude folders. Here you can exclude drives containing file types that can only change when they were last accessed by setting a marker. These are music, image and video file types. But keep in mind that this action excludes these files and folders from backup as well, so make sure you have them backed up somewhere else.

Excluding files from history

If you want to change the location of your file history on the drive, you can do so in the left pane by clicking on the change drive option. File History will then move all of its backups to the new location. Clicking the advanced options link in the left pane gives you more control over how the story works:

  • You can choose how often to save copies of files. Please note that this is not done automatically when you save the file. You can choose a specific frequency, minimum 10 minutes. If you use Windows 8.1 for work, a short retention period is more reliable, especially if you work with files that change regularly, such as Word documents.
  • You can choose how much disk space is reserved for the offline copy of your documents. This local copy of modified and deleted files is stored on your computer so that it can be restored even when you are disconnected from your USB or NAS file history backups.
  • You can choose the storage period for versions. The "always" option is a bit misleading as it is the same as the "until space is needed" option. Storing files until space is needed is probably the best option.

Additional file history options

Clue. If you're working and your disk doesn't have enough disk space, or if there are too many old versions of files, you can click the clean up versions link to remove older versions of files from your disk.

Note. If you're using a laptop or tablet that only has one hard drive, you won't be able to save file version history locally on your computer because Windows 8.1 doesn't support creating backups in the same location as the original files. Many Internet routers have USB ports, so you can easily connect an external hard drive to use as a storage network. This is a great place to back up and version control your history files.

You can restore earlier versions of files using the Personal Files Recovery option on the left side of the File History page.

The window that opens will show you all previous versions of saved documents, with their date and time. You can restore both individual files and groups of files.

Recover saved and deleted files in file history.

File History is used to recover your files in four different circumstances: you had to reinstall Windows on your computer; You need to move the files to the new computer; You accidentally deleted a file or files and you need to recover them; or you accidentally made changes to the file that you didn't intend to make.

Let's look at the last two scenarios from the beginning. When you look at a specific folder in the file explorer, or select a file, you will see a “journal” button in the feed.

Click on it and open the file history recovery window.

Recovering a file in Explorer

Here you will see several different sets of controls. The back button and address bar at the top of the window work exactly the same as in File Explorer, and typing a folder in the address bar will take you to the corresponding backup.

Main file history recovery window

At the bottom of the window are forward and backward (time) buttons that move you back and forth through various file modification dates and times. These buttons will help you find the correct file to recover. Between these buttons is a large, green “Restore” button.

To restore files, select the file (or files) you want to restore and click the green button. What could be simpler?

In the main file history controls, available in the Control Panel, in the upper left part of the window there is a link to restore personal files. Click it and open the file history recovery window.

Note. If you are restoring your files from file history after reinstalling Windows, you need to create file history again and specify the same backup location that you used before. You can then restore all your files to your PC.

Every time you sync between your Apple device and iTunes, this media combiner creates a fresh backup. This very useful feature of the program can be a great help if for some reason you have lost all the information from your iPhone. And iTunes will help you return all the information to its place in just two clicks. However, if you, for example, reinstall Windows on your computer, you can easily lose the backup copy. In this case, you should also play it safe by copying the backup data to removable media or any cloud service. So today you will find out where the iTunes backup is stored on your computer.

Backup location on Mac OS X.

In order to access the backup files, you need to go to: ~//Libraries/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/. Now copy the Backup folder and save it in a safe place.

Backup location on Windows XP.

The backup copy on a computer running Windows XP is located at the following address: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\.

Location of the backup on Windows 7/8.

To access backup data on Windows 7/8, open Windows Explorer and go to: C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\.


Please pay special attention that the data in this folder may not be displayed because... they are hidden. To see the files contained in the Backup folder, open the Start menu and select Control Panel. In Windows 8, move your mouse to the very right side of the screen to open the navigation bar and select the Settings button. The “Control Panel” section we need is located in “Settings”. Once you open Control Panel, go to Folder Options. A window will open in which you need to go to the “View” tab and activate the “Show hidden files, folders and drives” option. Then click “Apply” and the “OK” button.


It is also worth noting that there is only one backup for each Apple device. With each new synchronization of the device with iTunes, the old backup copy will be replaced with a more recent one, i.e. all previous data will be hopelessly lost. You can securely save the backup copy in any cloud storage, for example,

Despite the fact that Apple offers iPhone owners to create backup copies in cloud storage, not everyone uses this opportunity. Many users prefer to do things the old fashioned way. Local copies are created using iTunes and stored on your computer. This method eliminates the need to use the Internet, but at the same time increases dependence on the reliability of PC components. A fatal OS error or hard drive failure can result in permanent data loss. You can protect yourself from unpleasant surprises if you know where your iPhone backup is stored on your computer.

and backups

iTunes has been and remains the standard program for working with Apple smartphones on macOS or Windows. With its help you can connect any iPhone to your PC: 4S, 5, SE, 6, 7, 8 or X. The backup storage format that will be created is the same for all compatible operating systems. Thanks to this, they can be transferred from Mac to Windows computer and vice versa without editing. The choice of storage location is made by each user when they first connect to iTunes. After this, you can synchronize your mobile device with your PC or cloud via a wireless network.

Let's take a closer look at where to find local copy files in different operating systems.

Mac computers

On computers manufactured by Apple, completed backups are stored in the “Libraries” area, protected from direct user access. You can quickly find them directly from iTunes settings.

    In the top status bar, click on the program name. In the drop-down menu, select the item marked in the screenshot.

    In iTunes settings, go to the “Devices” tab. Having selected the backup you are interested in, call up the context menu. The item shown in the next photo allows you to open a protected area or delete an unnecessary copy.

    The folder in which the backup is stored has an alphanumeric designation. The content is encrypted and will not be viewable. The found directory can only be saved to external media or copied to another computer.

Windows computers

There are several ways to install iTunes on your PC. Classic involves using the program's installation package. On Windows 10, you can use the Microsoft Store for this purpose. The chosen installation option determines where the copy files will be located.

Classic installation

The installation package is suitable for use on any version of Windows. Backups created in iTunes installed in this way will be saved in a directory that is hidden by default. You can make it visible in the OS settings, but we use a different access option.

    Call the “Run” menu using the keyboard shortcut Win + R. Enter “%%” into the text field. This way we can find and view backup files directly without having to navigate through menu items.

    An Explorer window will open, in which we need to find the “” directory marked in the screenshot.

    We sequentially open the folders nested in it, following the path marked with a frame. The iPhone backup we need will be stored in the “”. The folder with it is indicated by an arrow in the screenshot.

Windows 10

When using iTunes installed from the app store, iPhone backups will be located in a different directory of the operating system. To find them again, use the “Run” menu.

    Enter the command “%userprofile%” into the text field.

    This time you need to look for the “Apple” directory in the Explorer window.

    Sequentially opening the subfolders, we find the one indicated in the screenshot. It, like last time, will be placed in the “” directory.

Copy management

You can copy a backup from another computer to the storage locations described above. This will automatically add the data to iTunes.

    Open the program and click on the “Edit” tab in the control panel. In the drop-down menu, go to the “Settings” item marked in the screenshot.

    Switch to the “Devices” section. If you hover your mouse over the list of backups, you can view general information about the smartphone in the pop-up menu. When another PC was used to create a backup, this option may be useful. When you select files contained in the list, the button marked with the number “three” automatically becomes active. Thus, based on information about the data contained in the backup, you can make a decision and delete files that are no longer relevant for storage.

Finally

Using these tips, you can find a local backup created in iTunes on a computer with any compatible operating system.

Video instruction

In the video below, you can study the procedure for performing the described actions in more detail.