@@ostenakowhen i do this it only shows folders with exec files can you please help. My external hard drive is exfat format have it that way to use on mac and windows can that be the problem?
Hey @@mase202 ! Let’s make sure we’re on the same page: 1. Did you manually access the Application Support folder? • Sometimes, the folder is hidden, so double-check that you’re accessing it correctly: • In Finder, click Go in the menu bar, then Go to Folder, and manually type: /Users/yourname/Library/Application Support/ • Make sure you’re actually seeing the MobileSync folder inside Application Support. 2. If you’re still not seeing it, you might need to reveal hidden files: • In Finder, press Cmd + Shift + . (dot) to toggle hidden files on or off. 3. About those .exec files you’re seeing: • Can you confirm if they’re located in the Application Support folder? Sometimes, the drive may be reading incorrectly if it’s not set up right. • The exFAT format should work on both Mac and Windows, but if you’re still having issues, it might be worth reformatting your drive (after backing up any files). Make sure to choose exFAT again. Let me know if this helps, or if there’s something else going on.
@@ostenako hi yes i did everything when i click the backup folder it has folders that start with 0a ,0b,0c and so on. i click the folders and only see exec files. on my external hard drive i have a folder with past photos i backed up from my windows pc . I air dropped a photo to my mac to see if the hard drive will take it and it did.
@@mase202 , thanks for the update! The backup folders you’re seeing with names like 0a, 0b, 0c and .exec files are actually normal for iOS backups. It looks like your backup process was successful! ✅👍🏾 If you’re looking to back up your Apple Music library, here’s what you can do: 1. You can use iTunes on a Windows PC or the Music app on a Mac to back up your music library. 2. Simply connect your device, select it in iTunes/Music, and choose to sync your library to your external drive. 3. The backups you see in the folder on your external drive right now should already include data like your music, if it’s part of your iOS backup.
First of all thanks for the video. All worked and the back up was "successfull". But now if i go into my hard drive to check for the back up data, it shows me a long list of folders with numbers an Letters. In there random files. Help
You're welcome! The list of folders with numbers and letters is completely normal-iTunes/Finder backs up your iPhone in a way that's not human-readable for security reasons. To confirm the backup is good, check in iTunes/Finder that your backup appears with the correct date, and make sure the Backup folder size on your external drive matches your phone's used storage. If you ever need to restore, iTunes/Finder will be able to read these files, so no worries! You don’t need to manually interact with the files. Let me know if you need more help!
Hi. Great video and thank you. Just want to know after you backed it up how do you transfer that back up to a iPhone? How do you find the back up then restore it to a new iPhone? Please help. Thanks
Hi! Thanks for watching, and great question! Here’s how to restore the backup from your external drive to a new iPhone: Locate the Backup on Your External Drive: Go to your external drive and find the backup folder where you saved the iPhone backup. Copy the Backup to Your Computer: Since iTunes or Finder can only detect backups in the MobileSync folder on your computer, you’ll need to copy the backup from the external drive back into this MobileSync folder on your computer (located in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync on Mac or C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync on Windows). Restore the Backup to Your iPhone: Open iTunes (or Finder on macOS Catalina and later), connect your iPhone, and go to the Restore Backup option. Choose the backup you just copied over, and it will restore it to your new iPhone. Let me know if you have more questions, and I hope this helps! 😊
Hi @@JohnPMiller! Well, that is possible if you can afford it. However, this is why I made this video because I was in that exact situation. My mac did not have enough space. I had to plug in an external hard drive, and do the steps in this video, to essentially tell my mac to route the backup to my external hard drive, instead of the mac. The price of an external hard drive is a fraction of the cost of a new mac. Am I right? 🤗
@@ostenako Sorry. I think I misunderstood your reply to the first post. If I have the backup on an external drive with a link to it, can I restore without copying the backup to my Mac? Your reply made it sound like the symbolic link wasn't enough, and that the backup file had to be physically on the Mac's internal drive for restoring. Your backup video was very clear until I read this comment.
@@JohnPMiller you know what, you're right. I confused myself reading it. You think I should edit it, and change that part to "follow the steps in the video to link the backup folder on your external drive in spotlight?"
Make sure you're in the right Library folder: In Finder, click "Go" in the menu, then select "Go to Folder" and type in ~/Library/Application Support. That should bring you to the correct folder! You can't just click in your finder, make sure you manually typed the path. 😀 If it’s still missing: It’s possible that the folder hasn’t been created yet if you’ve never backed up your iPhone to this Mac. Try creating a new backup via Finder (or iTunes on older macOS versions) and the folder should appear.
Hi,thanks for your tutorial video,im doing exatly as you mention in this video and i have 500 gb free space on my external drive but not enough on my mac,but still get the not enough space error,can u plz tell me what to do?and i deleted back up folder on my mac and created an new one in external drive
then the code you put in terminal or the order in which you dragged the folders into terminal might of been out of order or missing something. make sure you have following step by step in terminal carefully, because that's really where the only change occurs. also make sure you follow the directions in finder, and in the go menu.
So i deleted my MobileSync folder on my mac a while back to clear space. I just want to backup my current iPhone to an external HD, did the ln -s to the backup folder i created on my external HD and it is still trying to back it up to the Mac. Do you know any solution to this? Tnks
What do you mean you deleted it? If so, what I would do if you have enough space is do 1 backup normally in apple music. that should repopulate your mobilesync folder you deleted and then follow directions as normal. also make sure you drag the folders into terminal in the correct order, then press enter when you are done. you should see the shortcut on the backup folder in the mobilesync folder that links it to the external drive backup folder you made.
@@ostenako hey! I have the same problem. I do not remember deleting it, but I cannot find MobileSync anyways. What if I create it myself? Would it connect?
Hey! If you can’t find the MobileSync folder, you can definitely create it manually. Here’s how you can do it: Create the Missing Folders: Open Finder and go to your Library folder by pressing Cmd + Shift + G and typing: ~/Library/Application Support/ If you don't see the "MobileSync" folder, right-click, select "New Folder," and name it MobileSync. Create the Symlink: Follow the steps I outlined in the video to create the symlink between your external drive’s Backup folder and the MobileSync folder on your Mac.
I followed the steps exactly as you have them but I still get an error message that I don’t have enough space on my Mac. It’s the same error message I got when I tried to backup directly to my Mac hard drive. My external hard drive has more than enough free space. What do I do?
Confirm the following: Is there a backup folder in your mobilesync folder? Is there a backup folder in the new folder you made for your backups on your external drive?
If you need to backup 100Gb you need at least 50% extra storage in your backup folder to work. other word make sure you have 150-160GB free space on your backup Hardrive for 100gb back to work.
![Backup iPhone (or iPad) on External Hard Drive [for Windows] - Step by Step](/img/1.gif)
Thanks. Works like a charm on 3 Nov 2024.
You're welcome bud! Glad it helped.
this method 100% works as of 2024!
thnx, glad it worked and you have space now!
@@ostenakowhen i do this it only shows folders with exec files can you please help. My external hard drive is exfat format have it that way to use on mac and windows can that be the problem?
Hey @@mase202 ! Let’s make sure we’re on the same page:
1. Did you manually access the Application Support folder?
• Sometimes, the folder is hidden, so double-check that you’re accessing it correctly:
• In Finder, click Go in the menu bar, then Go to Folder, and manually type:
/Users/yourname/Library/Application Support/
• Make sure you’re actually seeing the MobileSync folder inside Application Support.
2. If you’re still not seeing it, you might need to reveal hidden files:
• In Finder, press Cmd + Shift + . (dot) to toggle hidden files on or off.
3. About those .exec files you’re seeing:
• Can you confirm if they’re located in the Application Support folder? Sometimes, the drive may be reading incorrectly if it’s not set up right.
• The exFAT format should work on both Mac and Windows, but if you’re still having issues, it might be worth reformatting your drive (after backing up any files). Make sure to choose exFAT again.
Let me know if this helps, or if there’s something else going on.
@@ostenako hi yes i did everything when i click the backup folder it has folders that start with 0a ,0b,0c and so on. i click the folders and only see exec files. on my external hard drive i have a folder with past photos i backed up from my windows pc . I air dropped a photo to my mac to see if the hard drive will take it and it did.
@@mase202 , thanks for the update! The backup folders you’re seeing with names like 0a, 0b, 0c and .exec files are actually normal for iOS backups. It looks like your backup process was successful! ✅👍🏾
If you’re looking to back up your Apple Music library, here’s what you can do:
1. You can use iTunes on a Windows PC or the Music app on a Mac to back up your music library.
2. Simply connect your device, select it in iTunes/Music, and choose to sync your library to your external drive.
3. The backups you see in the folder on your external drive right now should already include data like your music, if it’s part of your iOS backup.
First of all thanks for the video. All worked and the back up was "successfull". But now if i go into my hard drive to check for the back up data, it shows me a long list of folders with numbers an Letters. In there random files. Help
You're welcome! The list of folders with numbers and letters is completely normal-iTunes/Finder backs up your iPhone in a way that's not human-readable for security reasons. To confirm the backup is good, check in iTunes/Finder that your backup appears with the correct date, and make sure the Backup folder size on your external drive matches your phone's used storage. If you ever need to restore, iTunes/Finder will be able to read these files, so no worries! You don’t need to manually interact with the files. Let me know if you need more help!
Thank you so much! It worked!
Glad it helped!
Hi. Great video and thank you. Just want to know after you backed it up how do you transfer that back up to a iPhone? How do you find the back up then restore it to a new iPhone? Please help. Thanks
Hi! Thanks for watching, and great question! Here’s how to restore the backup from your external drive to a new iPhone:
Locate the Backup on Your External Drive: Go to your external drive and find the backup folder where you saved the iPhone backup.
Copy the Backup to Your Computer: Since iTunes or Finder can only detect backups in the MobileSync folder on your computer, you’ll need to copy the backup from the external drive back into this MobileSync folder on your computer (located in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync on Mac or C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync on Windows).
Restore the Backup to Your iPhone: Open iTunes (or Finder on macOS Catalina and later), connect your iPhone, and go to the Restore Backup option. Choose the backup you just copied over, and it will restore it to your new iPhone.
Let me know if you have more questions, and I hope this helps! 😊
@@ostenakoYou can't copy the backup to your computer if your Mac has 256GB and your phone has 512GB. So, buy a new Mac to do the restore?😂
Hi @@JohnPMiller! Well, that is possible if you can afford it. However, this is why I made this video because I was in that exact situation. My mac did not have enough space. I had to plug in an external hard drive, and do the steps in this video, to essentially tell my mac to route the backup to my external hard drive, instead of the mac. The price of an external hard drive is a fraction of the cost of a new mac. Am I right? 🤗
@@ostenako Sorry. I think I misunderstood your reply to the first post. If I have the backup on an external drive with a link to it, can I restore without copying the backup to my Mac? Your reply made it sound like the symbolic link wasn't enough, and that the backup file had to be physically on the Mac's internal drive for restoring. Your backup video was very clear until I read this comment.
@@JohnPMiller you know what, you're right. I confused myself reading it. You think I should edit it, and change that part to "follow the steps in the video to link the backup folder on your external drive in spotlight?"
MobileSync wasn’t in my application support folder? 🤷♂️
Make sure you're in the right Library folder: In Finder, click "Go" in the menu, then select "Go to Folder" and type in ~/Library/Application Support. That should bring you to the correct folder! You can't just click in your finder, make sure you manually typed the path. 😀
If it’s still missing: It’s possible that the folder hasn’t been created yet if you’ve never backed up your iPhone to this Mac. Try creating a new backup via Finder (or iTunes on older macOS versions) and the folder should appear.
Hi,thanks for your tutorial video,im doing exatly as you mention in this video and i have 500 gb free space on my external drive but not enough on my mac,but still get the not enough space error,can u plz tell me what to do?and i deleted back up folder on my mac and created an new one in external drive
then the code you put in terminal or the order in which you dragged the folders into terminal might of been out of order or missing something. make sure you have following step by step in terminal carefully, because that's really where the only change occurs. also make sure you follow the directions in finder, and in the go menu.
awesome, thanks!
you're welcome!
So i deleted my MobileSync folder on my mac a while back to clear space. I just want to backup my current iPhone to an external HD, did the ln -s to the backup folder i created on my external HD and it is still trying to back it up to the Mac. Do you know any solution to this? Tnks
What do you mean you deleted it? If so, what I would do if you have enough space is do 1 backup normally in apple music. that should repopulate your mobilesync folder you deleted and then follow directions as normal. also make sure you drag the folders into terminal in the correct order, then press enter when you are done. you should see the shortcut on the backup folder in the mobilesync folder that links it to the external drive backup folder you made.
@@ostenako hey! I have the same problem. I do not remember deleting it, but I cannot find MobileSync anyways. What if I create it myself? Would it connect?
Hey! If you can’t find the MobileSync folder, you can definitely create it manually. Here’s how you can do it:
Create the Missing Folders:
Open Finder and go to your Library folder by pressing Cmd + Shift + G and typing:
~/Library/Application Support/
If you don't see the "MobileSync" folder, right-click, select "New Folder," and name it MobileSync.
Create the Symlink:
Follow the steps I outlined in the video to create the symlink between your external drive’s Backup folder and the MobileSync folder on your Mac.
I followed the steps exactly as you have them but I still get an error message that I don’t have enough space on my Mac. It’s the same error message I got when I tried to backup directly to my Mac hard drive. My external hard drive has more than enough free space. What do I do?
Confirm the following: Is there a backup folder in your mobilesync folder? Is there a backup folder in the new folder you made for your backups on your external drive?
If you need to backup 100Gb you need at least 50% extra storage in your backup folder to work. other word make sure you have 150-160GB free space on your backup Hardrive for 100gb back to work.
Exaclty same problem
thank you!
You’re welcome, glad I could help save you space!
Didn’t work nothing in application support folder
did you make sure you went into the application support folder by typing in the directory from the go menu in finder?
Thank you
Too hard
I just deleted stuff and freed up space for back up 👍
you are mega
you are amazing