New IMac SSD / IPhones, IPads backup

Pskerry · May 10, 2011

Purchasing new IMac with SSD. (del in 7 weeks) Have two iPhones 32g and two iPads 64g in household. How do I direct the backup of these devices to the additional HD. The backups will suck up mem on my SSD.
On my current PC desktop I have my iTunes library on an external drive yet I could never figure out how to get the backups to the external.

Thanks, Pat

Lifeisabeach · May 13, 2011

Pskerry said:
Purchasing new IMac with SSD. (del in 7 weeks) Have two iPhones 32g and two iPads 64g in household. How do I direct the backup of these devices to the additional HD. The backups will suck up mem on my SSD.
On my current PC desktop I have my iTunes library on an external drive yet I could never figure out how to get the backups to the external.

I just tested out an idea I had and it worked great! To start, grab an app named SymbolicLinker. When you download that, you'll get a folder with a "plugin" and a "service". Double click SymbolicLinker.service to install that. Ignore the plugin item… it's for older versions of OS X. You won't see a confirmation dialogue… once done, it's done.

Next, you'll need to move the Backup folder from your Library on your SSD to the Hard Drive you want it on. The location is:

homefolder/Library/Application Support/MobileSync

After moving it, you need to create a symbolic link to the newly-moved Backup folder. Right-click on it, then go to Services > Create Symbolic Link. You will now have a file that looks like an alias, titled Backup symlink. Move that symlink back to the MobileSync folder, then rename it so it just says Backup. Once done, you should be set!

Pskerry · May 13, 2011

Thanks so so much for your reply. I will give it a try and let you know when I receive my unit. (Estimated DD June 28).
I had been to three Apple stores (I travel for bizz). They seem to be clueless about my question yet were very helpful. Two of the locations told me that if I stored the media on another drive that the backup file would default to that location. I know on the PC it does not with iTunes so I assume it would be the same with the Mac. I have been a PC user since late 85. I had a 11c in the early 80s and then purchased a Macintosh in early 84 (is it okay to say that?). Switch to a PC in late 85. They had no damm software. It's funny, it was an all-in-one machine (I did have the external disk drive) and 27 years later, my next Mac is an all-in-one machine.

Anyway, another answer I got was to just deinstall iTunes and install it on the external drive. I had already figured that out and that would be my last solution if I had not received an answer. Again thanks so much for your help and you can have the rest of the day off with pay.
Pat

Lifeisabeach · May 13, 2011

Pskerry said:
Thanks so so much for your reply. I will give it a try and let you know when I receive my unit. (Estimated DD June 28).
I had been to three Apple stores (I travel for bizz). They seem to be clueless about my question yet were very helpful. Two of the locations told me that if I stored the media on another drive that the backup file would default to that location. I know on the PC it does not with iTunes so I assume it would be the same with the Mac.

They were absolutely incorrect. They may have been confused with the iTunes music library, but the backups for the iOS devices aren't stored there, as I've pointed out. Applying a similar trick should be doable for Windows as well. I'll look into it some more.

Anyway, another answer I got was to just deinstall iTunes and install it on the external drive. I had already figured that out and that would be my last solution if I had not received an answer. Again thanks so much for your help and you can have the rest of the day off with pay.

I don't think deinstalling iTunes and reinstalling it to an external drive will work. The Backup folder for iOS devices is located in the user folder structure here:

Code:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

This is basically the equivalent structure to OS X's Library, and is separate from where the iTunes Library is stored, which is:

Code:

C:\Users\username\My Music\iTunes\

Anywho, I'll dig a little and see how to make this work. Tomorrow, that is, thanks! I'm off to the beac… aww nuts. It's raining. Thanks for nothing? :Smirk:

Lifeisabeach · May 13, 2011

Well this was fast. Here's the instructions for making symbolic links in Windows. Adapt my original instructions as appropriate.
Complete Guide to Symbolic Links (symlinks) on Windows or Linux - How-To Geek

Lifeisabeach · May 18, 2011

lifeisabeach said:
Double click SymbolicLinker.service to install that. Ignore the plugin item… it's for older versions of OS X. You won't see a confirmation dialogue… once done, it's done.

I need to add a comment about this step. Simply double-clicking this will NOT install the service. It will load it and will be usable, but once you log out, it will drop off the menu. To properly install it so it's readily available for future use, copy SymbolicLinker.service to /Library/Services (if the Services folder does not exist, go ahead and create it). Once done, log out and back in.

New IMac SSD / IPhones, IPads backup

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