New cycle of backups

How can I start a new cycle of backups without deleting the old ones? I've done that before and it takes a man's age to empty the trashcan.
Thanks

sigrdr wrote:
How can I start a new cycle of backups without deleting the old ones? I've done that before and it takes a man's age to empty the trashcan.
Why do you want to do that? Unless you're still on Leopard, and have the Warn when old backups are deleted box checked in Time Machine Preferences > Options, Time Machine should delete the oldest backup(s) when it needs room for new ones.
And if you want to delete old backups, do not use the Finder. See #12 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

Similar Messages

NEW 9I RMAN: BACKUP OPTIMIZATION AND RETENTION POLICIES

제품 : RMAN
작성날짜 : 2004-05-20
NEW 9I RMAN: BACKUP OPTIMIZATION AND RETENTION POLICIES
=======================================================
오라클 9i RMAN 에서는 백업을 보다 효율적으로 할 수 있는 기능을 보강 했다.
지금 소개할 "Retention Policies" 기능을 통해서 보다 효율적인 RMAN 백업
전략을 세울 수 있다.
1. 백업 화일 최적화 방법 (Backup File Optimization)
백업 화일 최적화란 백업에 소요되는 공간을 최소화 하는 전략이다. RMAN
백업시에 같은 정보 (dbid, checkpoint, and resetlogs data 등등) 를 가지고 있는
화일이 이미 존재하는 백업 셋 내부에 있는지 체크하게 된다. 만일 같은 화일이
이미 백업 되어 있다면 BACK UP 명령은 해당 화일에 대해서는 백업을 하지 않게
된다.
이때 같은 화일이라고 판단하는 기준은 다음과 같다.
* Datafile: 같은 DBID, checkpoint SCN, resetlogs SCN 과 time. 데이타 화일은
반드시정상적으로 offline 되었거나, read-only 이거나, 또는 정상적 으로 close
되어야 함.
* Archived redo log: 같은 thread, sequence number, 그리고 같은 Resetlogs
SCN 과 time.
* Backup Set: 같은 Backup Set recid 와 stamp.
RMAN 이 백업을 수행하다가 위와 같은 조건의 화일이 이미 존재함을 확인하면
이것은 건너뛰게 될 화일의 대상이다. 하지만 이때 바로 Skip 을 결정하지 않고
정해진 Retention Policies 를 조사 한후에 Skip 여부를 결정 하게 된다.
만일 백업 명령에 DELETE INPUT option 이 사용되면 RMAN 은 백업이 Skip
되어도 화일을 지우게 된다.
RMAN 은 모든 화일에 대한 백업이 Skip 되어도 에러메시지나 경고를 보내지
않는다.
그러나 만일 데이터 화일에 대한 백업이 recovery policy window 보다 오래
된 것 이면 RMAN 은 새로운 백업 화일을 만들기 위해서 화일을 백업 하게 된다.
Note:
자체적인 expirations policy 를 가지고 있는 media manager 를 사용할 경우에는
이런 백업 최적화 정책을 사용하는 것에 신중을 기해야 한다.
백업 최적화 를 사용하기 위해서는 CONFIGURE 명령을 사용한다. CONFIGURE
명령은 명령 수행 이후에 이루어지는 모든 백업에 대해 적용이 된다.
예:
CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION ON; # default 는 OFF
2. Backup Optimization에 Retention Policies 적용 하기
Retention Policy 로 백업 최적화를 조절 할 수 있다. 그러나 retention policy를
사용하지 않기 위해서는 'CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO NONE' 을
이용해서 명시적으로 retention policy를 사용하지 않는다고 해야 한다. 디폴트로
REDUNDANCY = 1 이 적용 된다.
a. Recovery Window 를 이용한 Backup Optimization
만일 백업 최적화가 enable 되어 있고 Recovery Window 가 retention policy
적용을 위해서 셋업 되어 있으면 RMAN 은 항상 가장 최근의 백업이 Recovery
Window 보다 오래된 데이터 화일을 백업한다.
예를 들면 다음과 같은 조건에서
o Today is February 21.
o The recovery window is 7 days.
o The most recent backup of tablespace tbs2 to tape is January 3.
o Tablespace tbs2 is read-only.
2월 21일에 tbs2 테이블 스페이스를 테이프로 백업을 하라는 명령을 내리면,
RMAN 은 이 화일이 1월3일 이후에 변경 사항이 없는데도 불구 하고 백업을 하게
된다. 이로써 RMAN 은 최근 7일 동안에 최소한 한번의 백업이 있어야 된다는
조건을 지키게 된다.
이러한 작동 방식은 media manager 가 오래된 테잎을 제거 해도 되도록 한다.
그렇지 않다면, media manager 는 1월 3일의 백업을 무한정 가지고 있게 된다.
2월 21일에 tbs2 테이블 스페이스의 보다 최근의 백업을 만듦으로 써, RMAN 은
media manager 가 1월 3일에 백업 했던 테입을 지워도 되도록 한다.
b. Redundancy 를 이용한 Backup Optimization
Retention policy 로 Redundancy 를 채택 한 경우에 RMAN 은 Redundancy
에 1을 더한 갯수를 초과하는 오프라인 또는 읽기 전용 화일의 백업을 건너뛴다.
이때 'CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO REDUNDANCY n' 명령어로
Redundancy의 갯수를 정한다.
아래와 같은 백업 최적화 명령을 내린 경우를 예로 든다:
CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION ON;
CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO REDUNDANCY 2;
아카이브 테이블스페이스를 한번도 백업을 받은적이 없고 다음의 작업을 1주일
동안 한다고 하자.
Day Action Result Redundant Backup
Monday Take tablespace archive offline clean.
Tuesday Run BACKUP DATABASE. The archive tablespace is backed up.
Wednesday Run BACKUP DATABASE. The archive tablespace is backed up.
Thursday Run BACKUP DATABASE. The archive tablespace is backed up. Tuesday backup.
Friday Run BACKUP DATABASE. n/a Tuesday backup.
Saturday Run BACKUP DATABASE. n/a Tuesday backup.
Sunday Run DELETE OBSOLETE. The Tuesday backup is deleted.
Monday Run BACKUP DATABASE. The archive tablespace is backed up. Wednesday backup.
화요일, 수요일, 그리고 목요일의 백업은 아카이브 테이블 스페이스를 복사 해서
3개의 백업이 반드시 존재 해야 한다는 조건을 충촉 시킨다. (1+Redundancy)
금요일과 토요일에는 백업 최적화 조건에 의해서 아카이브 테이블 스페이스를
복사하지 않게 된다.
RMAN 은 일요일에는 유효기간이 지난 백업 화일을 지우게 된다. 따라서 화요일에
만든 백업은 삭제 된다. 월요일의 전체 백업은 3개의 백업이 존재 해야 한다는 조건
때문에 아카이브 테이블 스페이스를 또 다시 백업하게 된다. 이런 방식으로 백업
사이클이 진행 된다.
3. RETENTION POLICY NONE vs. DEFAULT
주의 사항:
'CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO NONE' 과 'CONFIGURE RETENTION
POLICY TO DEFAULT' 는 그 의미가 같지 않다. 전자는 RETENTION POLICY
자체가 존재 하지 않는다는 의미 이며 백업은 expire 되지 않으며 'DELETE
OBSOLETE' 명령은 사용 할 수 없게 된다. 후자는 디폴트 RETENTION POLICY
(REDUNDANCY 1) 를 사용하게 된다는 의미 이다.
'DELETE OBSOLETE' 명령은 RETENTION POLICY 기준으로 expire 된 백업을
제거 하라는 명령이다.
보다 자세한 내용은 Oracle9i Recovery Manager User's Guide and
Reference의 Backup Optimization 부분을 참고 하시기 바랍니다.
--------------THE END----------------------------------------------

Hi,
Backup optimisation = +- do not copy empty space.
So, when you issue your BACKUP statement, it backs up the datafile. dot. nothing more.
In order to achieve what you're testing, look into TFM for BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL x .
Regards,
Yoann.

Due to NAS issues, when I started a new time machine backup it did not have the old backups available. My question is do I need to delete them or will time machine automatically reclaim the space? Only one Sparse Bundle, same name.

Due to NAS issues, when I started a new time machine backup it did not have the old backups available. My question is do I need to delete them or will time machine automatically reclaim the space? There is only one sparse bundle but when I enter time machine I don't see my historic backups. I use a synology DS212 for my time machine. Started a new backup which is 218gb but it says 618 gb is occupied therefore it looks like 2 or 3 backups are still on the disk. Before my NAS issues the last backup was in 2014. As you can see there is a second sparse bundle from 2012. Not sure what that is.

This is an old message now, but what happened to me similarly was:
I had a major computer crash and through complicated pathways ended up reinstalling (Mavericks) as a new user (long story).
At least I had good Time Machine backups on an NAS drive (Synology DS212j), or so I thought - when I started Time Machine up again, the old backup file was gone, replaced by a new one using my "new computer" name. The old file was gone both by directly mounting the NAS drive and by clicking "Enter Time Machine".
It's like I had {OldShareName}.sparsebundle and then it was replaced by {NewShareName}.sparsebundle, all of the old info vanished.
(I have spent a week finding old files elsewhere and have completed a satisfactory self-restore. It pays to "archive" [my own variation of] as well as "back-up".)
My belief is that if this were a wired-netword-drive, e.g. plugged right into my iMac with a USB cable, then the old file would have remained.
But this is an NAS drive, connected directly to my Airport wireless router, and I don't know the significance of the fact that it stores its Time Machine backups as "sparsebundle" files rather than simply as plain(er) files.
As usual when things get complicated with computers (not just Apple computers) there was never a warning message. Something like "YOU'RE ABOUT TO DELETE A TIME MACHINE BACK-UP FILE!!!" would have made my life a lot simpler.
BTW, I did try a "restore from Time Machine" option the first thing I had my "new computer" (old hardware, 2009 iMac) up and running, using Migration Assistant, and it ran for many hours and then failed in the wee hours - what that has to do with anything I'm not sure.
I'm not sure that I have a question about this other than "why do these things happen to me?", but it's a warning. Apart from that I've been very happy with the stability and reliability (but not the cost or set-up complexity) of NAS vs. directly-cabled external drives.
Charles

Oracle 10g new feature to backup to tape?

I heard rumours that Oracle 10g has new features to backup to tape directly. I don't know exactly how this is done, and I'd like the experts to comment. What I've discovered so far is that there is this program called Legato Single Server Version (LSSV) which ships with the Oracle 10g Companion CD which makes RMAN use the tape directly as a medium to backup. Is this CD available for download?

I am truly curious why you actively ask to avoid the "New Features Guide" which provides much of the information you desire.
(http://download-east.oracle.com/docs/cd/B19306_01/server.102/b14214/toc.htm)

Trying to restore new phone with backup from previous. itunes can not finish due to "unable to load SyncUICoreLocalized.dll" what do i do now?

trying to restore new phone with backup from previous. itunes can not finish due to "unable to load SyncUICoreLocalized.dll" what do i do now?

See this discussion: iTunes Sync Error with iPhone

HT201269 i set my ipod touch as new instead of backup. how do i rectify it to get my itunes on the new device

i have purchased an ipodtouch 5th generation. but i set it up as new instead of backup profile from my old ipod. how do i now get my itunes onto the new device?

- To restore from iTunes backup connect the iPod to your computer and restorie from backup of your old iPod
- To restore from iCloud backup, go to Settings>General>Reset>Erase all Content and Settings. Then setup via wifi and select rextore from backup.
For more info see the restore topics of:
iOS: How to back up

I manually deleted my iphone photos through windows explorer now it wont sync new music or backup. any help please?

i manually deleted my iphone photos through windows explorer now it wont sync new music or backup. any help please?

If those photos were part of the camera roll, they were part of the backup as well and you can restore from the latest backup you made on the old computer. After that transfer the photos to the new PC, follow this article: iOS: Importing personal photos and videos from iOS devices to your computer
Then sync again to the new one, which will erase the phone again.
You can also try to copy the backup folder from the old computer to the new one and see if the old backups get recognized, check this article to find the location on your PC:
Create and delete iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch backups in iTunes
If the photos were not taken with the phone, your data is gone, photos you sync from iTunes to the phone are not included in the backup.

I went on Itunes to install new software and backup. I has been running all night and still saying preparing Iphone for restore. How long is this suppose to take?

I went on Itunes to install new software and backup. It has been running all night and still saying preparing Iphone for restore. How long is this suppose to take?

Preparing your iPhone for restore its supposed to be about 1-2 minutes! Do you see any errors the time you plug in the wire from your iPhone to iTunes?

After an erroneous contacts delete on the mac, they've been removed from icloud and all the synced devices. I was able to restore the contacts from a backup, but since the iCloud version is newer than the backuped one, they are deleted every iCloud sync

After an erroneous contacts delete on the mac, they've been removed from iCloud and all the synced devices.
I was able to restore the contacts from a backup, but since the iCloud version is newer than the backuped one, they are deleted every iCloud sync.
Now I have an iPhone with the contacts and iCloud deactivated, but I lost all the contacts on the Mac and the iPad.
There is a way to tell iCloud "restart using the contacts I have on this device"?

An iCloud backup will save the state of your Camera Roll at the time of the backup but, if you delete photos from the Camera Roll, they will not be in the next backup taken.
If you are using the iCloud Photo Library (beta) read this FAQ which will tell you what happens when you delete photos from one of the devices sharing the Photo Library.
iCloud Photo Library beta FAQ - Apple Support
The relevant section is:
How does iCloud delete photos and videos from iCloud Photo Library?
Deleting a photo or video from your Photos app will also remove the item from iCloud Photo Library and from your iCloud storage allocation. Photos and videos you remove can be recovered from the Recently Deleted album for 30 days. After 30 days, your content will be removed from the Recently Deleted album. Photos are backed up on our servers for up to 30 days after they're deleted from the Photos app. If you need to recover these photos during that time, contact Apple Support.

I have a mid2009 MacBook Pro for which I have been using a USB WD HD for Time Machine. I'd like to get a wireless HD and start a new Time Machine backup for this Mac and retire the 5 year old WD drive. Can I start over?

I have a mid2009 MacBook Pro running Mavericks for which I have been using a USB WD HD for Time Machine. I'd like to get a wireless HD and start a new Time Machine backup for this Mac and retire the 5 year old WD drive. Can I start over?

no archive/ backup is perfect, HD clones can be set to make incremental additions, same as time machine however, though they are more time involved in doing so.
See the + and - of all data backup/ archives below and "spread it around".... or the "dont put your eggs all in one basket" philosophy.
Peace
Data Storage Platforms; their Drawbacks & Advantages
#1. Time Machine / Time Capsule
Drawbacks:
1. Time Machine is not bootable, if your internal drive fails, you cannot access files or boot from TM directly from the dead computer.
2. Time machine is controlled by complex software, and while you can delve into the TM backup database for specific file(s) extraction, this is not ideal or desirable.
3. Time machine can and does have the potential for many error codes in which data corruption can occur and your important backup files may not be saved correctly, at all, or even damaged. This extra link of failure in placing software between your data and its recovery is a point of risk and failure. A HD clone is not subject to these errors.
4. Time machine mirrors your internal HD, in which cases of data corruption, this corruption can immediately spread to the backup as the two are linked. TM is perpetually connected (or often) to your computer, and corruption spread to corruption, without isolation, which TM lacks (usually), migrating errors or corruption is either automatic or extremely easy to unwittingly do.
5. Time Machine does not keep endless copies of changed or deleted data, and you are often not notified when it deletes them; likewise you may accidently delete files off your computer and this accident is mirrored on TM.
6. Restoring from TM is quite time intensive.
7. TM is a backup and not a data archive, and therefore by definition a low-level security of vital/important data.
8. TM working premise is a “black box” backup of OS, APPS, settings, and vital data that nearly 100% of users never verify until an emergency hits or their computers internal SSD or HD that is corrupt or dead and this is an extremely bad working premise on vital data.
9. Given that data created and stored is growing exponentially, the fact that TM operates as a “store-it-all” backup nexus makes TM inherently incapable to easily backup massive amounts of data, nor is doing so a good idea.
10. TM working premise is a backup of a users system and active working data, and NOT massive amounts of static data, yet most users never take this into consideration, making TM a high-risk locus of data “bloat”.
11. In the case of Time Capsule, wifi data storage is a less than ideal premise given possible wireless data corruption.
12. TM like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.
13. *Level-1 security of your vital data.
Advantages:
1. TM is very easy to use either in automatic mode or in 1-click backups.
2. TM is a perfect novice level simplex backup single-layer security save against internal HD failure or corruption.
3. TM can easily provide a seamless no-gap policy of active data that is often not easily capable in HD clones or HD archives (only if the user is lazy is making data saves).
#2. HD archives
Drawbacks:
1. Like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.
2. Unless the user ritually copies working active data to HD external archives, then there is a time-gap of potential missing data; as such users must be proactive in archiving data that is being worked on or recently saved or created.
Advantages:
1. Fills the gap left in a week or 2-week-old HD clone, as an example.
2. Simplex no-software data storage that is isolated and autonomous from the computer (in most cases).
3. HD archives are the best idealized storage source for storing huge and multi-terabytes of data.
4. Best-idealized 1st platform redundancy for data protection.
5. *Perfect primary tier and level-2 security of your vital data.
#3. HD clones (see below for full advantages / drawbacks)
Drawbacks:
1. HD clones can be incrementally updated to hourly or daily, however this is time consuming and HD clones are, often, a week or more old, in which case data between today and the most fresh HD clone can and would be lost (however this gap is filled by use of HD archives listed above or by a TM backup).
2. Like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.
Advantages:
1. HD clones are the best, quickest way to get back to 100% full operation in mere seconds.
2. Once a HD clone is created, the creation software (Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper) is no longer needed whatsoever, and unlike TM, which requires complex software for its operational transference of data, a HD clone is its own bootable entity.
3. HD clones are unconnected and isolated from recent corruption.
4. HD clones allow a “portable copy” of your computer that you can likewise connect to another same Mac and have all your APPS and data at hand, which is extremely useful.
5. Rather than, as many users do, thinking of a HD clone as a “complimentary backup” to the use of TM, a HD clone is superior to TM both in ease of returning to 100% quickly, and its autonomous nature; while each has its place, TM can and does fill the gap in, say, a 2 week old clone. As an analogy, the HD clone itself is the brick wall of protection, whereas TM can be thought of as the mortar, which will fill any cracks in data on a week, 2-week, or 1-month old HD clone.
6. Best-idealized 2nd platform redundancy for data protection, and 1st level for system restore of your computers internal HD. (Time machine being 2nd level for system restore of the computer’s internal HD).
7. *Level-2 security of your vital data.
HD cloning software options:
1. SuperDuper HD cloning software APP (free)
2. Carbon Copy Cloner APP (will copy the recovery partition as well)
3. Disk utility HD bootable clone.
#4. Online archives
Drawbacks:
1. Subject to server failure or due to non-payment of your hosting account, it can be suspended.
2. Subject, due to lack of security on your part, to being attacked and hacked/erased.
Advantages:
1. In case of house fire, etc. your data is safe.
2. In travels, and propagating files to friends and likewise, a mere link by email is all that is needed and no large media needs to be sent across the net.
3. Online archives are the perfect and best-idealized 3rd platform redundancy for data protection.
4. Supremely useful in data isolation from backups and local archives in being online and offsite for long-distance security in isolation.
5. *Level-1.5 security of your vital data.
#5. DVD professional archival media
Drawbacks:
1. DVD single-layer disks are limited to 4.7Gigabytes of data.
2. DVD media are, given rough handling, prone to scratches and light-degradation if not stored correctly.
Advantages:
1. Archival DVD professional blank media is rated for in excess of 100+ years.
2. DVD is not subject to mechanical breakdown.
3. DVD archival media is not subject to ferromagnetic degradation.
4. DVD archival media correctly sleeved and stored is currently a supreme storage method of archiving vital data.
5. DVD media is once written and therefore free of data corruption if the write is correct.
6. DVD media is the perfect ideal for “freezing” and isolating old copies of data for reference in case newer generations of data become corrupted and an older copy is needed to revert to.
7. Best-idealized 4th platform redundancy for data protection.
8. *Level-3 (highest) security of your vital data.
[*Level-4 data security under development as once-written metallic plates and synthetic sapphire and likewise ultra-long-term data storage]
#6. Cloud based storage
Drawbacks:
1. Cloud storage can only be quasi-possessed.
2. No genuine true security and privacy of data.
3. Should never be considered for vital data storage or especially long-term.
4. *Level-0 security of your vital data.
Advantages:
1. Quick, easy and cheap storage location for simplex files for transfer to keep on hand and yet off the computer.
2. Easy source for small-file data sharing.

How to switch iphone 5 to new pc for backup and sync. lost drive on old pc.

How to switch iphone 5 to new pc for backup and sync without losing anythinng. Lost drive on old pc.

Copy the ENTIRE iTunes folder from the old computer or the backup of the old computer to the new computer.
Connect iPhone.
Sync.

I backup up my iphone but didnt include password, and now want to restore new handset from backup and keep asking for password but has no idea what it is, pls help

Hi all, i backup up iphone in itunes but not realised it was password protected and now want to restore new handset from backup but keep asking me for password but no idea what it was,, pls help...

You are someone had to put a check in the box to encrypt your iPhone backup.
Warning: If you encrypt an iPhone backup in iTunes and then forget your password, you will not be able to restore from backup and your data will be unrecoverable. If you forget the password you can continue to do backups and use the device, however you will not be able to restore the encrypted backup to any device without the password. You do not need to enter the password for your backup each time you back up or sync.
If you cannot remember the password and want to start again, you will have to do a full software restore and when prompted by iTunes to select the backup to restore from, choose Set up as a new device.

New Camera Roll backup/restore issue...

Hello,
I have a massive problem and cannot find an answer to this anywhere....so, i'm hoping someone here can help. (I'm not great with computers!)
I upgraded from iphone4 to 4S in February. I set-up with icloud, but turned off both the Camera Roll and a secret folder app to save icloud memory as they were enormous. I have regularly synced my iphone with my computer (windows, not Mac). I assumed that this saved all photos into itunes and onto my computer.
Today i got a replacement handset due to a faulty one. I made sure to backup to icloud and sync my iphone before going to the Apple store. I restored the new one from icloud in the store and plugged the handset into my itunes when i got home to retrieve my photos... Then the problems began...
I have lost all photos from the camera roll and secret photo app. I am desperate to retrieve them. The only backup my computer shows in itunes is February, when I first recieved and registered the iphone 4s... The last one i did this morning is gone, as are all the others
Have I been wrong to assume that if the photos are not stored to icloud, they are stored automatically to itunes? Are the photos lost completely or are they hiding somewhere? Any help would be much appreciated!!
I really dont want to have lost them!
Thank you

Dparrish209 wrote:
I went to iTunes, edit, preferences, device, and it showed my recent backups, and the back up i made is listed. Are you saying that even though this backup is on my computer, there is no way to access the picture files and transfer them to the phone?
You can try it.
Hopefully it will work, but thisd is not how you should keep your pics.

How do i sync my new iphone with backup of my last one?

my last iphone was stolen and i got a new one (4s). i accidently connected it to my itunes already and didn't know i was supposed to use the backup when it popped up. does anybody know how do i sync this new iphone with the backup of my last one?

Find your device in the iTunes window, Right click>Restore From Backup, then select which one you want

Iphone: new computer, dated backup

Hi everyone,
I just had my old macbook stolen and had to buy a new macbook pro. I've gone through a lot of the discussions regarding how to move one's iphone to the new computer, but still have some questions. Clearly, it is ideal to use migration assistant to transfer all the contents from one's old computer to one's new computer, but since mine was stolen, this is not much of an option for me. I do nonetheless at least have some stuff backed up on my remaining on a small backup drive, but it is fairly incomplete and it is not very current (about three or four months old). I did manage to backup my iTunes folder (the one stored in my Music folder) by simply dragging it to my backup drive, and I have managed to transfer most of my iTunes library music and apps, etc. from my back-up drive over to the new computer by doing the same. Likewise, I have gotten all the pictures and video off my phone and onto the computer, so these are not an issue, but I am concerned about preserving the rest of the content that is still on my iphone (I have still not synced it with the new computer or made the new computer it's home): namely, 1) my Contacts, 2) my Calenders, 3) my Safari bookmarks, cookies, history, and currently open pages, 4) my Map bookmarks, recent searches, and the current location displayed in Maps, 5) my Notes, 6) My application settings, preferences, and data, and 7) my SMS messages, Mail, YouTube bookmarks, Contact Favorites, Network settings (saved wifi spots, VPN settings, network preferences).
My first question then is this: I know that iTunes backs up my iPhone whenever I sync up. Might I have a backup (albeit, one that is a bit dated) somewhere in my iTunes folder, or is that backup stored elsewhere? Please let me know if I might have access to any iphone backups if (so far as this issue is concerned) I only backed up my iTunes folder, and if so, how I might go about accessing that and possibly restoring that info to my phone.
Second, however, even supposing I had an old iphone backup, I'm not even sure I'd want to sync to it, since I have a lot of important information on my phone that is more recent than what that old backup contains. I'm worried, in other words, about erasing all the content on my phone that i have added since the last backed-up back up (three or four months of new Contacts, Safari Bookmarks, Map bookmarks, and a lot of Notes). If my back-up of iTunes contains a previous iphone back-up, in other words, it would be nice to access it, but since it is probably about three months old, I would want to be careful about syncing to it, since I imagine it could erase the last three months of content which have been added to my phone since that back-up. Is this correct? If syncing to that backup meant that I would lose the last three months of info, that raises the question of whether or not I would even want to use it and whether or not I would instead want to simply act as if it did not exist (choosing, instead, to at least get my current contacts and calenders to sync with the computer and to make note of everything else I might lose and re-entering it by hand). So, 1) do I need to be careful about an unintended sync with an old and incomplete back-up that might be hiding in my somewhere in my itunes folder, and if so, 2) where is it, how does it work, and a) can I use that incomplete back-up, if it even exists, to get back some of my info without erasing the more recent stuff that now resides only on my phone, or b) do I need to erase it in order to prevent the phone from accidentally syncing to it when i first sync it up with with everything else in my iTunes folder, and if so, how do I do this?
This then leads me to my next set of questions. For the sake of making clear what all my options are, let's assume that either 1) I don't have access to any previous iphone backup or 2) that, if I do, I cannot use it without erasing all the more recent info added to my phone since that backup took place. In this event, I would presumably not want to sync or restore the phone to its state when that backup took place, since I would lose a lot of info currently on the phone (correct?), and so I'd want to proceed either 1) by acting as if I had no iphone backup at all, and thus write down everything on my phone that I think I will lose upon my first sync and manually renter it later, or 2) syncing with that backup, but first manually writing down with a pen all the info on my phone since my last back-up, then second syncing to that old back-up, then finally by going back to my phone and adding in everything that I had written down by hand, right? If I proceed by the second course of action, I am assuming that I will lose any info on my phone that was added since that last backup. Alternatively, if I proceed by the first course of action, I need to think about what information I may or may not lose when I sync up to the new computer for the first time and what information will download from the phone to the computer. In this latter case, let me ask you what info you think I will lose. As I said, the music and pics are not an issue (they are already on the new computer). But my contacts and calenders on my computer are empty, as well as my Safari bookmarks (which have only those which come on the computer out of the box). I've read on the discussion boards that, even though I do not have any contacts on my computer any longer (this was one of the incomplete parts of my backup), there is no danger of losing my contacts or calenders that are on my phone when I sync, since so long as I enter at least one new contact and calender entry onto my computer it will prompt a sync that will transfer the contents of the phone to my computer just like it does whenever I add new contacts or events to my phone. Is this correct? And, is it correct even if I make the new computer its home? Next, what about my Safari bookmarks? Will they sync with the out-of-the-box bookmarks on my computer, thus erasing all my bookmarks on my phone, or can I transfer the bookmarks from the phone to the computer in some way? Is the only option to "manually" go in and add all my bookmarks to Safari on my computer before the sync? (Alternatively, if I use an old backup for my iphone, but the new computer still has the out-of-the-box bookmarks, while the phone sync to the out-of-the-box bookmarks anyway?) Finally, I also imagine that SMS, Mail, network settings, Map bookmarks, Notes, etc. will remain unaffected, but am unsure. I really don't want to lose my Notes.
I know this is a lot, and I'm playing around with several hypotheticals here, but I want to make sure that go about this in whatever way maximizes how much info on the phone gets saved. Hope this is something you all can give me some direction on.
Thanks a ton.

Disable autosync in itunes, connect your phone, right click on it in the device list and choose backup.
This will save data, pictures taken with the phone and settings to itunes. See what's included in this backup and where it is stored on your computer here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766
Transfer your purchases the same way to copy all apps and bought media from the Store to your computer.
Set up at least one contact and event on your computer to be able the merge your calendars and contacts after your phone got wiped during the first sync.
The rest of the data can be restored from the backup you made.
Restoring: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414

New cycle of backups

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for