Restoring an old back-up? Please assist.

[Larzo#IM]

Restoring an old back-up? Everything gone! Please assist.

Hi all,

My mother wanted to update her 3G, but she did not have iTunes installed. I installed it on her computer and ran the update. Because it automatically had "sync contacts to Outlook" checked off when iTunes was installed, it wiped all of her contacts. In addition, it wiped all text messages, pictures, everything except for her Apps. Now, I'm trying to figure out a way to restore to an old back up with the contacts sync'd. I assume that it creates a back up when you choose to update?

Is there any free way of restoring from an old back up without buying that awfully expensive "Time Machine" ?

 

[jdavis530]

Well, if you backed up the phone before you synced it, all you should have to do is right click on her phone name in itunes and click restore from back. If you didnt back up before the phone synced, you are out of luck.

 

[Larzo#IM]

When it connects to the computer, it sync's and backs up. She installed iTunes last night, and plugged her phone into it for the first time that night. Then it updated and wiped her phone. When she went to plug it in again, it sync'd and backed up again. When she clicked "restore from backup", the only one available was the one from 2 seconds ago when she just plugged her phone in.

My question is how to get to yesterday's back-up. (There is no "App Data" folder under c/users/)

 

[applejosh]

I can't help with the backup question, but the AppData folder is hidden by default, IIRC. In Explorer, click on the Organize button (upper left), Folder and Search options, View tab, and click the radio button next to Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

 

[Cleveland]

based on what I remember from what a friend of mine did with her 3GS, she put all kinds of contacts in her phone but never synced it with iTunes unitl she got home and she LOST all her contacts and had to re-add them, since the iPhone was never physically linked to her iTunes acct via sync, that's where the problem lies I'm pretty sure, it's a hard lesson to learn... but first rule always is... sync with your iTunes before doing anything !

 

[chobbs1]

was the phone linked to another itunes account before? if not the contacts are gone for good. It is a good idea to not only have the contacts on the phone but in a "contacts" app on the computer (address book on mac) and on the cloud (mobile me) so any changes you make will automatically be syced back and forth from your computer to your phone and from you phone to your computer. this way there is never a way to "loose" any of your contacts.

 

[Cleveland]

I don't think it was ever synced, that's what I gathered from the OP ...

 

[chobbs1]

what itunes was it connected to when it was activated? or did they do it at the store?

 

[Cleveland]

sounds like it was activated at the store, if she never had iTunes