I am trying to create a symbolic link on my Windows 10 64bit to redirect the iTunes backup file to my external hard disk (D:\
)
This is the link I added in my command window:
mklink /J "%APPDATA%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" "D:\iTunes Backup"
It didn't work fully as the backup file was still created in the parent directory (C:\
) even though the same file was also created in D:\
Now I can't complete my phone backup because I do not have enough storage.
Why were two files created ?
Best Answer
Why were two files created?
The above command is broken. The syntax for
mklink
is:where
link
is the "The new symbolic link name", so not the name of a directory including the full path.In addition, you can't make a link where the name already exists.
If you were in directory
"%APPDATA%\Apple Computer\MobileSync"
and you tried the command:Then you would have received an error:
Note the error message says a file already exist instead of a folder. This is because the system sees links as shortcuts (files) and not as folders.
How do I redirect the iTunes backup file to my external hard disk?
Use the following procedure:
Create
D:\iTunes Backup
if it doesn't exist. Now you have a target for the junction:Go to the existing backup directory:
Move any existing files to
D:\iTunes Backup
:If there are any folders move those as well.
Go up one directory to
"%APPDATA%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\
:Delete the backup directory:
Create the junction:
You should see a message like:
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