Changing backup location to prevent bloated roaming profile

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Level 1

33 points

Changing backup location to prevent bloated roaming profile

In Windows 7 and Vista, iTunes backs up the iPhone to C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup which is part of the roaming profile. This bloats the roaming profile from around 100MB to over 2.5GB, making it very slow to log on and log off the PC, as the roaming profile is synchronised each time over the network with the copy on the server. How can I make iTunes use a location that is stored locally only, for example somewhere within C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Apple Computer? This problem also occurs on Windows XP, just with different file locations.

iPhone 4, iOS 4, Orange UK

Posted on Dec 31, 2010 4:54 AM

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Answer 1

King_Penguin

Level 10

334,270 points

Dec 31, 2010 4:55 AM in response to NFH.

I don't think that it's possible to change the location of where the backups go.

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Answer 2

sytzeng

Level 1

0 points

Feb 16, 2011 10:53 PM in response to NFH.

I am also interested in this issue. The backup data of my iPad/iPod Touch take up more than 10 G of my C drive already. This backup eats up my available space on C drive and force me to re-adjust my disk partitions.

Any one knows the solutions?

Eric

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Answer 3

Katrina S.

Level 7

24,151 points

Feb 16, 2011 11:51 PM in response to King_Penguin

I think you're right, King Penguin. This seems to be hard-coded into itunes, which is a very ham-fisted programming design mistake.

Maybe it could be changed using TweakUI from Microsoft, but I don't have the setup to test any of it.

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Answer 4

turingtest2

Level 10

276,084 points

Feb 16, 2011 11:59 PM in response to sytzeng

While it doesn't seem possible to change the location used by iTunes for the backup it may be feasible to redirect the data to another folder using a junction. Install NTFS Link. Move the folder *<Profiles>\<AppData>\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup* to another location, then create an empty folder called Backup in *<Profiles>\<AppData>\Apple Computer\MobileSync* and use NTFS Link to create the junction.

I've tested it out just now moving my backup folder into C:\iTunes\Backup and iTunes behaved normally during a sync of my iPhone, I'm just moving the folder to an external drive to prove it still works properly when the link is to a different drive but the move is going to take an hour! Lots & lots of tiny files... What is not so clear is how the roaming profile behaves when it meets the junction. If it backs up the link rather than following it through to the data at the other end then you should get the behaviour you are after. Test it and see.

tt2

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Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

276,084 points

Feb 17, 2011 12:50 AM in response to turingtest2

Just to say the junction works properly when the backup folder is redirected onto another drive. I can't test the behaviour of roaming profiles from here.

tt2

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Answer 6

pappus

Level 1

10 points

Oct 18, 2011 1:44 PM in response to turingtest2

I have managed to create a re-direction of the iTunes Backup folder using a symbolic directory link onto a network drive (on my Windows Home Server) - for the iTunes backup directory only.

I tested the iTunes behaviour afterwards and it seems to follow the symbolic link and do the backups on the network drive.

I have posted detailed instructions on this blog: http://pep-p.com/wp/?p=44.

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Answer 7

NFH. Author

Level 1

33 points

Oct 25, 2011 4:26 AM in response to NFH.

For the record, I found another solution to this. In Group Policy, there is a setting called "Exclude directories in roaming profile". If you add "AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" to any existing excluded directories, then the backup is not sync'd back to the server. Problem solved.

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