Hey guys, having problems backing up my iPhone (Warning: Noob)

There's no central location (or format) for data/content storage for third party apps. Some apps store it in the same folder as the code, others locate it in another part of the system. And at least in iOS 8, app folders are named with long strings of letters and numbers, not the app names, so it's a pain in the *** to figure out which is which.

Your best bet is to use software like PhoneView or iMazing. These can "translate" those file names for you and show you what data might be available for you to back up directly. (Note that unless you're jailbroken, parts of the phone's file system may not be accessible.) Most software of this kind can be downloaded as a free trial, which will allow you to see if you can even reach the files you're looking for.

It's also worth checking the apps themselves to see if there's a backup or sync setup available that will save data to iCloud, Dropbox, or even allow you to email it to yourself. Many apps do provide that nowadays--I won't buy or use an app without that kind of manual backup ability anymore.

Happy to help with what I can.

I *think* the filesystem was less complicated on iOS 5. Looking at an iPhone 4 on 5.0.1 right now, I'd guess it's /var/mobile/Applications. That folder then contains a folder for each third party app on the device. It does look like the folder names are still obscured, so you're going to want to use software that gives you the app names instead.

Looking at random apps on this device, most of those that are storing data content you've created have a Documents folder inside their app folder, so that's the first place I'd look. All my devices are jailbroken, so I can't guarantee you'll be able to reach the same things I can. Just depends on how the apps are set up, and you won't know until you look. It's worth trying, anyway.

macnoob999 said:

Most important is the garageband files I made on there, would you happen to know what their extention is called?

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Found this: http://forum.audiob.us/discussion/3373/is-possible-to-share-a-garageband-project-with-others

...which refers to a .band file. I don't use GarageBand myself, so no guarantees on if that's correct, but it looks from that link that you can get to the files for backup purposes. In cruising around a bit, it did seem that a straightforward backup in iTunes would save your files, and that restoring from that backup would restore them, but again, I haven't tried it myself. Regardless, I'd absolutely make an iTunes backup of the device no matter what before you restore. You have nothing to lose by doing so.

P.S.
I think it's kind of silly that apple doesn't give us a straightforward way to backup our inapp data. It's 2015 ffs.

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I could rant on that subject all day. LOL Like I said, if I can't back it up outside of iTunes, I don't use it anymore. I believe in not putting all my backed up data in just one place, so while I do use both iCloud/iTunes backups, I also make sure that all critical data is on Dropbox. That way, if for some reason I can't use my Apple backups, I can restore as new and then sync my data back within the apps from Dropbox.

Good luck with both your files and getting the phone working again!