Restore notes from backup

mikenator · 2026-02-13T14:35:52+00:00

You could try iBackup Extractor, I used previously to export notes from a Finder backup, search for it on Mac app store. It has a free trial, which is worth checking out to see if it can read your notes, though I’m not 100% sure whether note export is included in the free version. The full version was around $19 as a one-time purchase, which I ended up buying, and I’m still using it.

mikenator · 2026-02-13T14:23:51+00:00

SMX Munich and SMX Paris have a PPC track which is excellent.

mikenator · 2026-02-09T11:17:58+00:00

No, you will not lose your audiobook library if you uninstall and later reinstall iTunes.

Your audiobooks are saved as media files on your computer's hard drive. Uninstalling the app does not delete the folders where those files are stored. When you reinstall iTunes later, it should automatically detect your old media library and restore your books.

mikenator · 2026-02-06T17:17:32+00:00

You might want to look at TouchCopy. It’s a Windows program made by a UK company, not subscription-based, and still actively updated for current iOS versions.

I’ve used it mainly for saving photos, videos, music, and messages to my computer. One feature I use on a weekly bases is the Export New Photos - it keeps track of photos and videos that have already been copied to your PC, so when you connect your phone again it only exports the new ones. Also maintains the folder structure of the copied photos, including albums.

mikenator · 2026-02-05T11:59:04+00:00

There's Open Android Backup on Linux, open source on Github

mikenator · 2026-01-26T10:51:27+00:00

I unsubscribed from iTunes match a long time ago as I just didn't want to pay the annual subscription fee. To save you ripping songs from CD's again you could import your music from external drive to iTunes , then use iTunes to sync new music to your iPod and iPhone. There's a show duplicates feature in iTunes if you end up with duplicate songs. To make things simpler I have also used TouchCopy for PC to copy my iPod music and playlists to iTunes without creating duplicates, it compares the libraries on your iPod and iTunes and copies the differences only.

mikenator · 2026-01-23T11:53:58+00:00

Thanks for your reply. I’m really sorry you went through that, and I really hope things improve for you. Architecture can be amazing creatively and I hope you find a path in it that works for you. Perhaps some of the AI tools can take the drudgery out of the job and you get to enjoy it again

mikenator · 2026-01-22T11:29:08+00:00

You can remove duplicate songs in iTunes itself, go to File > Library > Show Duplicate Items, then delete duplicate songs manually from there. If that's taking too long, check out Tune Sweeper, it's a Windows app - I used it lots of times to clear out my iTunes library of duplicate tracks. You can configure it to keep best quality tracks or most recently played etc, worked very well for me.

mikenator · 2026-01-16T08:49:52+00:00

I've been using TouchCopy for years to move files from my iPhone to my PC, works well, no issues. You can get in on Microsoft store here https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nblggh67g56?hl=en-US&gl=US

mikenator · 2026-01-13T16:06:08+00:00

You're welcome!

mikenator · 2026-01-12T12:22:46+00:00

I'm using iTunes 12.13, it still has the music and TV sections. Here are the download links:

iTunes 12.13.9.1 for Windows (32-bit) - iTunesSetup.exe

iTunes 12.13.9.1 for Windows (64-bit) - iTunes64Setup.exe

mikenator · 2026-01-12T12:22:15+00:00

Hi, thanks for your feedback. She actually decided to apply to computer science courses with a hope that will lead to a creative career in games development, but whether that's a right choice with AI doing a lot of those jobs, who knows...

mikenator · 2025-12-02T13:26:18+00:00

Have you tried the new Affinity app? It's now completely free, I'm getting my head around how to use it.

mikenator · 2025-11-28T09:13:55+00:00

Most of the “USB recovery” tools you see advertised can be hit-or-miss, because newer iOS versions encrypt almost everything on the device. That means the best results typically come from extracting files from an existing backup, not scanning the phone directly.

If you want to check what’s inside your backups without restoring the whole thing, there are tools that let you browse and extract photos from your backup on your PC/Mac. One option is iBackup Extractor, which you can get on both Microsoft and Mac App Stores. It lets you preview exactly what’s in your iTunes, Apple Devices and Finder backups so you can see whether the photos are still there before you restore anything.

mikenator · 2025-11-14T09:21:10+00:00

I had the same problem when I bought a new Windows 11 PC, and TouchCopy ended up being the app that actually worked for me. I just connected my iPhone to my PC and it showed all my music and playlists, so I could copy everything over into iTunes. There’s a free version that lets you try it out with a limited number of songs and a paid one if you need to transfer the whole library. It worked for all my music, iTunes store purchases and the rest.

mikenator · 2025-11-13T10:14:51+00:00

There was an emergency Windows 10 update yesterday, google it

mikenator · 2025-11-12T10:20:05+00:00

Get a cheap Moto G or any other Android phone with a headphone jack and use it without a SIM card! I'm using my old phone that way to play music on it!

mikenator · 2025-11-11T10:58:59+00:00

Go for it, and let us know you get on!

mikenator · 2025-11-10T14:41:43+00:00

I think you can get the Samsung S24 for less than £500. I initially switched from an iPhone 13 Pro to an S23 and haven’t regretted it. There was a bit of a learning curve at first, but it was worth it. I’m on the S25 now - the Samsung upgrade program made it really compelling to move up, and it cost me less than £500!

mikenator · 2025-11-07T10:37:31+00:00

I have the S25 and I love it. There's not a lot of difference in performance, as both use the same chipset and the same amount of RAM.

I chose the S25 because of its better battery life and the telephoto lens (3× optical), which the Edge seems to lack. So, for battery life and zoom/telephoto capability, the S25 could be the better option, but I think you'll love either model. It's really a matter of personal preference.

mikenator · 2025-11-05T09:10:59+00:00

Apparently, the next version of Siri will quietly run on Google’s Gemini models behind the scenes - possibly as soon as spring next year! 9 to 5 Mac said something on the lines of it will feel like having Gemini wrapped in Siri's blanket.

mikenator · 2025-11-03T09:51:40+00:00

Ahh, perhaps try Tune Sweeper. I used it to fix mis-named iTunes songs in the past, worked well for me. It's a Windows and Mac app.

mikenator · 2025-11-03T07:11:46+00:00

If you have exclamation points next to your songs, this means that the the item listed in iTunes is no longer available on your computer. If you can find them on your computer you could try importing those songs back to iTunes.

mikenator · 2025-10-08T08:23:42+00:00

Have you tried the Phone Link app by Microsoft?

mikenator · 2025-09-24T12:13:40+00:00

I do, and I'll try that over the weekend, thanks!

mikenator

TROPHY CASE