Back Up Problem in iTunes

I believe there is an obscure file system bug in Windows that can occur with certain calls to check on free space where only the low order bits of the value are returned. Imagine if the free space was 1,000,001 bytes but the routine requesting the information gets back the value 000,001. If that is what is going on then finding some large file and making a few redundant copies of it may be sufficient to work around the problem.

tt2

A movie file, for example, or perhaps make a few copies C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\DataStore.edb which comes in at 808Mb on my system , and is the largest single file I could find in my Windows folder. Place the copies in the same folder or at the root of the C: drive. Whatever you do take note so you can undo it later if it doesn't help, or becomes no longer necessary. I can't be certain it will help, but it can't hurt to try.

tt2

Perhaps a clean reinstall of iTunes would help:

For general advice see Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates.

The steps in the second box are a guide to removing everything related to iTunes and then rebuilding it which is often a good starting point unless the symptoms indicate a more specific approach. Review the other boxes and the list of support documents further down the page in case one of them applies.

The further information area has direct links to the current and recent builds in case you have problems downloading, need to revert to an older version or want to try the iTunes for Windows (64-bit - for older video cards) release as a workaround for performance issues or compatibility with QuickTime or third party software.

Your library should be unaffected by these steps but there are also links to backup and recovery advice should it be needed.

Alternatively you could try moving the existing backup folder out of the way which should force iTunes to create a new backup rather than try to update an existing one. Find and manage your iTunes backups - Apple Support

tt2

Ah, thank you for the feedback.

An alternative approach would be to exclude the %Appdata%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup folder from real-time scanning.

tt2

Hello,

I started noticing the same problem a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, disabling my antivirus software didn't help, nor did performing a clean reinstall of iTunes. Please see my discussion:

Backing up iPhone fails because not enough free space on computer

Thank you.

BarryfromAccy wrote:

Hi turingtest2

I have successfully backed up my iPad several times without disabling my antivirus software since we last conversed.

Seems strange but my problem seems to be resolved.

Thanks for all your help.

Best Regards

Barry

Good to hear. 🙂

tt2

BarryfromAccy wrote:

Hi HappyFunJay

Sorry but I am no expert and unable to offer you further any advice other than that already provided by turingtest2.

I have recently successfully backed up my iPad several times without disabling my antivirus software and my problem seems to be resolved.

Best Regards

Barry

Hi Barry,

Glad you got it working. I wish I could be in your shoes. XD