iPhone users: BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS

poetinahat · Dec 14, 2010

My wife just set up iTunes for her new iPhone 4 and got the prompt to upgrade the software to 4.2.1. She asked me if I thought she should. "Sure," I said. It's what you do, right? It's quick, painless, and positive.

But it failed for her, leaving her with a non-functional iPhone. And after much frustration at computer 1 no longer recognising the iPhone (loose USB ports, I suspect), we installed iTunes fresh on computer 2. She plugged into that, then hit "restore" to reinstall the software using factory settings.

Meanwhile, I did the same with my year-old iPhone 3. Never had a problem.

Bingo - SAME problem.

After doing the same thing, I found that I hadn't specifically backed up my photos in three months - I thought that syncing does that automatically. Nope.

I lost three months' worth of photos and videos, including today's shots of my son's preschool graduation. They were brilliant. And, since my wife followed my blind advice, we have nothing.

I'm sick to my stomach.

Back up your photos, folks.

maestrowork · Dec 14, 2010

I believe the iPhone backs up, including photos, every time you sync or upgrade OS. So you should be able to recover the photos from a previous back up file.

Also, if you're using iPhoto to sync photos with your iPhone, you should have a copy there, too.

Anyway, you're right -- back up or sync your photos. 3 months is a long time to go without doing either. Live and learn, I suppose.

cleanfreak · Dec 14, 2010

This happened to us too. I believe my husband had already backed up our photos/apps/etc (or maybe it did it automatically?), so it was just an inconvenience.

But now whenever there's an upgrade I tell him not to do it because it'll just screw us over. I also have to redownload all my iBooks, which is a pain. And I never got Winnie the Pooh back!

Deleted member 42 · Dec 14, 2010

Rob You have to work hard to not backup the iPhone during syncing or in upgrading the firmware. Here's some help regarding restoring the backup.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1414

poetinahat · Dec 14, 2010

Thanks for the help, but it's too late for me. iTunes only keeps one backup per device, unless you rename the previous files, and the backup I wanted has been overwritten.

Live and learn!

kuwisdelu · Dec 14, 2010

Do ya'll have iTunes on Windows or a Mac?

I've never had a problem with updating with iTunes, but I do wish it allowed me to make more than one backup without having to go grab the backup folder manually.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 14, 2010

That's . . . odd.

I have six backups I can restore from.

They aren't supposed to overwrite; they're supposed to be named with time/date stamp.

It's supposed to allow you to have up to ten per device.

Color me puzzled.

Uncarved · Dec 14, 2010

so sorry for you Poet.

I had to totally wipe my computer. I backed up every file. Every. File. That is, all except the photo folder. Yep.....THREE YEARS of pics gone in a second. Painful.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 14, 2010

Poet

I've emailed an support tech who says if you take the phone to an Apple store, there's an app that they can use that has a very good chance of recovering the data.

He suggested making an appointment.

I also note that he said this app

http://www.dvdtoiphoneconverter.net/iphone-data-recovery-software.html

"doesn't suck."

kuwisdelu · Dec 14, 2010

Medievalist said:
That's . . . odd.

I have six backups I can restore from.

They aren't supposed to overwrite; they're supposed to be named with time/date stamp.

It's supposed to allow you to have up to ten per device.

Color me puzzled.

Are you using iTunes 10.1? Because I can't get multiple backups any other way than going into ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup and copying the backup folder (and then editing the Info.plist to add a date). Otherwise, it just overwrites the last backup. Am I being stupid?

Paperback Writer · Dec 14, 2010

Thanks for the heads up, I'll be updating to the latest iOS soon. I've been putting it off.

MissMacchiato · Dec 14, 2010

oh no poet! that's awful. I hope the apple people can suggest something. I'd give them a call anyway, to see what they can do.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 14, 2010

kuwisdelu said:
Are you using iTunes 10.1? Because I can't get multiple backups any other way than going into ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup and copying the backup folder (and then editing the Info.plist to add a date). Otherwise, it just overwrites the last backup. Am I being stupid?

I've got no clue.

I'm trying to find out if the fact that I've got the developer's kit makes a difference--it's the only thing I can think of that's unusual about my install.

maestrowork · Dec 14, 2010

poetinahat said:
Thanks for the help, but it's too late for me. iTunes only keeps one backup per device, unless you rename the previous files, and the backup I wanted has been overwritten.

Live and learn!

Medievalist said:
That's . . . odd.

I have six backups I can restore from.

They aren't supposed to overwrite; they're supposed to be named with time/date stamp.

It's supposed to allow you to have up to ten per device.

Color me puzzled.

Same here... I have at least three backups I can identify. Poet, you may want to do a search to find your other backups.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 14, 2010

Nope; it's supposed to have multiple time-and-date-stamped backups.

These are the default locations; it's possible, on Mac OS X, to change the default but it requires Terminal. There's no GUI for changing the backup default location.

These are the default locations for iPhone backups:

On a Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

On Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

On Windows Vista and Windows 7: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

kuwisdelu · Dec 14, 2010

That's definitely where mine is (on my MacBook)... so why do I only get one?

(As I mentioned, I can get multiple backups if I go there and copy the backup folder manually so it's not overwritten.)

In other news, I will never understand why Windows continues using forward slashes for directories.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 14, 2010

kuwisdelu said:
That's definitely where mine is (on my MacBook)... so why do I only get one?

(As I mentioned, I can get multiple backups if I go there and copy the backup folder manually so it's not overwritten.).

I don't know--but I'm asking people who do, or should.

I'd probably just compress it, in situ.

poetinahat · Dec 14, 2010

I feel more than a bit silly for not having tracked down this information myself, but I am utterly grateful to all of you for your help and commiseration!

I'll let you know how I go. Meanwhile, I've learned that my wife had backed up her photos only just before 'updating', so we have hers.

And, really, while photos aren't replaceable, they're not people, and there are plenty more moments to be happy about!

Love,

piah

cbenoi1 · Dec 15, 2010

> In other news, I will never understand why Windows continues
> using forward slashes for directories.

You mean backslashes. It's an old CP/M (the precursor to DOS and then Windows) convention. Back in the days the forward slashes were used for command-line options. Nowadays, it doesn't matter - Windows/DOS recognizes them both as directory separators. That has been the case since the mid 80s, if I recall correctly.

-cb

kuwisdelu · Dec 15, 2010

cbenoi1 said:
> In other news, I will never understand why Windows continues
> using forward slashes for directories.

You mean backslashes. It's an old CP/M (the precursor to DOS and then Windows) convention. Back in the days the forward slashes were used for command-line options. Nowadays, it doesn't matter - Windows/DOS recognizes them both as directory separators. That has been the case since the mid 80s, if I recall correctly.

-cb

My bad, yes, I meant backslashes. Or maybe I meant "continues not using".

In any case, I mostly work with *nix so when I bring directories over from Windows and try to preserve the file structure, the forward/backslash part messes stuff up every once in a while when typing out file paths. Grar.

poetinahat · Dec 16, 2010

Medievalist said:
On Windows Vista and Windows 7: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

Got nothing like this. I'm running iTunes 10 on Vista, and there's no AppData directory in my Users file (or anywhere on the computer).

The doco from Apple Support online indicates one backup file, and I haven't found a confirmation of the location or even a filename.

The good news is that my wife actually had backed up some of the photos. I'm writing a journal about the day before I forget.

Ah well. I've 'celloed out a bit now, and I'll remember not to flail around next time something happens - stop, don't touch anything, think it through, get help. I'll talk to the folks at the Apple Store and look into this other software.

IIRC, deleting files really only amounts to deleting the pointer to the file's location... so data's only recoverable if it hasn't already been overwritten or defragged away, no?

Many thanks, again, everyone.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 16, 2010

poetinahat said:
The doco from Apple Support online indicates one backup file, and I haven't found a confirmation of the location or even a filename.

No, it shows a screen shot and talks about selecting the backup.

poetinahat said:
IIRC, deleting files really only amounts to deleting the pointer to the file's location... so data's only recoverable if it hasn't already been overwritten or defragged away, no?

Right.

kuwisdelu · Dec 16, 2010

poetinahat said:
Got nothing like this. I'm running iTunes 10 on Vista, and there's no AppData directory in my Users file (or anywhere on the computer).

The doco from Apple Support online indicates one backup file, and I haven't found a confirmation of the location or even a filename.

You may have to show hidden files and folders for it to show up.

Also:

[URL="http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1766" said:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1766[/URL]]iTunes only keeps one backup created during the sync process for each device. If you restore the iPhone or iPod touch and choose to set up as a new device from the Set Up your iPhone (or iPod touch) screen, iTunes will automatically sync and create a new, empty backup that will replace your previous backup. If you change your mind and want to restore to your previous state, you will have to retrieve your previous device backup from Time Machine (on your Mac), or other backup solution you regularly use. If you have Mac OS X 10.5.5 or later and use Time Machine, you may use Time Machine to find a previous backup.

Medievalist said:
I don't know--but I'm asking people who do, or should.

I'd probably just compress it, in situ.

I've found a couple ways multiple backups can happen.

Copies of a backup marked with a date and time stamp created by selecting to "Restore from the back up of" are retained by iTunes and not overwritten. For an example of a backup with the date and time stamp in the device name, see the picture below in the Deleting a Backup section.

It seems when you restore from a backup, that backup will receive a date and time stamp.

Additionally, it seems iTunes will create a new backup (and save the old one) whenever you check or uncheck "Encrypt iPhone Backup," though if you work with sensitive data on your iPhone, it may not be wise to be checking and unchecking that.

If ya'll got multiples without ever having done either of those, I don't know — I guess you're special. Multiple backups are definitely supported, but I can't find any sources on how to get them to work automatically.

If anyone wants to manually create multiple backups, navigate to the folders Medi posted (you may have to show hidden files and folders in Windows). Copy the folder with a name like d68easfa4nq43rnoango... or something like that, rename the copy to something sensible, and move it somewhere else.

If you're feeling more geekish, leave the copy where it is, but go into the copied folder and find "Info.plist." Open this in your favorite text editor, and under the line with <key>Display Name</key>, change the next line to <string>My Backup on 16 December 2010</string> or whatever you want to call it, and save. (If you have a Mac, this file will open with a plist editor that makes it easy.) When you choose "Restore from Backup," in iTunes, you'll now see a second backup with the name you gave it.

Paperback Writer · Dec 16, 2010

I want to thank the op because I had to update to ios 4.2 today and I had to sync to a different computer. I made sure I backed up as much as I could. Most of my data is safe the only thing I was not able to do was to sync my app data from my phone into itunes directly.

So to protect from loosing the data in my apps I used a local export back up from one of my apps website and for another very important app I used a cloud back up solution. For all my notes I used evernote via email. For my pictures I opened the DCIM folder and copied and pasted. For my contacts I used "Windows Contacts." And finally for my books and purchased songs I used transfer purchases and backed up my bookmarks to their respective servers. For the safari bookmarks, I backed those up to IE. Took a few hours to sort everything out that was for sure.

Also did several backups by using "back up" by right clicking the device and selecting the option.

Phew that was long winded.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 16, 2010

kuwisdelu said:
It seems when you restore from a backup, that backup will receive a date and time stamp.

This is it; I test all the time on my iPhone and iPad.

So I have multiple backups because I test, break something, and then start over to test something else.

Nice work Kuwi.

iPhone users: BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS

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