Change backup location?

After moving my backup data here is what I see in:

C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync

Note the link arrow over the folder icon in which also shows in the sidebar.

C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

Showing the linked content that is really on D:

D:\MobileSync\Backup

The actual location of the data.

I can remove the existing junction by deleting the Backup icon shown in the first image, and then recreate it with the command:

MkLink /J "%AppData%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" "D:\MobileSync\Backup"

Have you got to the point where you see something similar in those locations? If not, what do you see at the moment?

tt2

I tried your syntax on a Windows 10 Pro command prompt and got an "Access is denied." message (see first attachment below). I also tried using an elevated (Administrator) command prompt and got the same message (see second attachment below). How do I resolve this problem?

As posted above:

The original advice is slightly outdated. Use Relocate iOS device backups instead. Source and destination drives must be formatted as NTFS. If you still cannot make it work show me the actual command that is rejected and I'll try to make sense of it.

tt2

See http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000713.htm to see what format each drive is in now.

iTunes (the application) will normally be installed on C:\ but you can choose to install it elsewhere.

The iTunes library will normally be created in User's Music, which is normally on C:\ but can be set elsewhere, or you can choose a new location for the library. See Open a different iTunes Library file or create a new one - Apple Support.

The iTunes Media folder will normally be inside the iTunes library folder, and while that can be put elsewhere I don't recommend it as it complicates the process of backing up and migrating the library later.

tt2

You might not have the correct privileges when using the command line. This action is probably better performed using Windows Explorer. See Relocate iOS device backups for the current version of my advice on this topic. Review the rest of the Make a split library portable user tip for advice on organizing the library.

tt2

As above, see Relocate iOS device backups for the current version of my advice on this topic. The move command worked when I first tested it but it seems that it cannot be relied upon. Moving the data with Windows Explorer seems to be more dependable.

tt2

I have followed the above isntructions and have not had any luck. I have a laptop that has a smaller C: drive (188gb) and a seperate drive D: (1tb). It is a new laptop, and i was unaware the default save location for all files and content was to the smaller drive. Now I am unable to back up/sync to itunes for my phone/ipod. I have tried following the above methods, and still not able to. Does anyone know if there are any other methods to try? Apple Support call lasted over an hour and they said they couldn't help me and that I should just upgrade the storage space on my C:

What is the current format of the C: and D: drives? Reformatting destroys any data currently on the drive so you would need to backup that data first, then restore it afterwards. assuming it is necessary. NTFS should be the default format for any reasonably recent Windows computer. How much free space is there on C:? How big are the device backups? My understanding is that the first step when you try to restore a device is that the existing backup is duplicated. If there isn't enough room for that operation the restore fails, but iTunes may not clean up the duplicate data it has started creating.

tt2

User name on my computer is just my first name. And the back ups I tried to copy to another location then opened a windows command/ junction which said was successful, but still unable to even start a sync through iTunes.

For the relocation to work properly the Backup folder inside %AppData%\MobileSync should be moved to drive D:\ for example into a new folder called D:\MobileSync, leaving %AppData%\MobileSync empty and more space on the C: drive than there was before. %AppData% should resolve to C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming.

If you moved the backup data as described then the following command would relink the data folder to path that iTunes is expecting.

MkLink /J "%AppData%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" "D:\MobileSync\Backup"

After issuing the command the data would appear to be exactly where it was before, but the space is only taken up on D:, not on C:. When iTunes is run the existing set of previous backups should show under Edit > Preferences > Devices.

tt2

I was looking for this answer as well, its been a few years since this most was made, and since then the answer has changed (at least on my Windows 10 (Anniversary Edition) x64 Pro) PC:

C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

was where I found it (I didn't find it in 'local').

And just to confirm that under Edit > Preferences > Devices iTunes lists the device backups as expected.

tt2

Moving the iOS device backup location

Open a command prompt by hitting the start button and typing CMD<Enter> in the search box that opens up, or with Start > Run on older Windows.

To move the current backup folder from C: to D: (for example) type in this command and press <Enter>

Move "C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Local\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" "D:\Backup"

Where <User> is your Windows user name.

To make iTunes look for the data in the new location type in this command and press <Enter>

MkLink /J "C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Local\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" "D:\Backup"

If your preferred drive has a different letter or you already have a folder called "Backup" then edit "D:\Backup" accordingly in both commands.

If you have Windows XP then you'll need a third-party tool such as Junction to link the two locations together instead of the MkLink command. The source folder is C:\Documents and Settings\<User>\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

tt2

🙂

tt2