Manage your iPhone files via Usb cable (windows)

Apr 24

iPhone Hacks, iPhone Tips& tricks Add comments

I already showed you how you can upload and download files to the iPhone via wi-fi connection.
For a recap, click here
Today i have something better, what if you could manage the files via your USB cable??
That would be sweet no ?
Well read on and i’ll show you exactly how….

To get this working, you will need some tools.

1) Make sure you have iTunes installed.

2) Install the application Total commander, you can find it here.

Don’t start the app after installation.

3) Download the T-pot extention from here.

4) Install Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.O from here. (not needed if you run Vista)

5) Connnect your iPhone to the USB cable and start iTunes (if it doesn’t start automatically)

6) Start the program Total Comander. You will need to register after 30 days, but for now just press the number the app is requesting.

7) Press ok for the default settings.

Browse to the directory where you downloaded the T-Pot extension.

9) Double click on the zip file. Total commander will see that it’s a plugin and will ask you if you’d like to install, click yes.

10) After the installation, go to the [-\-] directory in Total commander and click on the iPhone icon.

11) Now you will be able to browse the iPhone or iPod Touch filesystem.

Enjoy accessing the iPhone filesystem via the USB cable
This is very handy if you need to upload Roms or big files to your iPhone, the usb speed is much much faster than the traditional Wi-fi Solution.

Enjoy
Ps: Your iPhone doesn’t need to be JAILBREAKED for this

Discuss this topic in the forum

\\ tags: download, managing your iphone files, t-pot, Total, total commander, upload, usb, Wi-Fi, winscp

37 Comments

At 2008.04.24 14:41,
W.D said:

Great! I’ll try it when I get home!

[Reply]
At 2008.04.24 17:13,
shimmering_silence said:

Thanks for sharing.. but will i able to change file permissions/rights using this method like 0755, 0777 etc ?

[Reply]
At 2008.04.24 17:47,
Multinova said:

shimmering_silence, no not yet, this is simply a way to speed up your file transfers.
You still have to set the permissions via ssh of terminal.app or with mobile finder (i’ll write a how to later on that app)

[Reply]
- At 2008.05.19 13:51,
  cigaro said:
  
  Hi,ho i can set premission with mobile finder?
  
  [Reply]
  - At 2008.06.01 12:46,
    Multinova said:
    
    Yes you can, but i would use filebrowser. Search the site for it
    
    [Reply]
At 2008.04.25 06:56,
shimmering_silence said:

Hmmm… hey Multinova I came to know about an app named “iphone Pc Suite” that can easily manage iphone files via usb cable in windows & even capable of modifying file permissions very easily. If it really does what it says please post its pictorial tutorial…
Here is the download links for the latest iphone pc suite:
http://www.anonym.to/?http://rapidshare.com/files/98499362/iPhonePCSuite.zip
or
http://www.mediafire.com/?d9o5×2g0e2s

Regards.

[Reply]
At 2008.04.25 09:04,
Multinova said:

Hi shimmering_silence,
I installed the iphone pc suite, about a week ago, that time it didn’t work really well. I can try again to see if there have been updates.

[Reply]
At 2008.05.05 20:35,
victor said:

awesome guide!

it worked once. i tried it again a few hours later, and it shows up as a camera.
folders are

DCIM
downloads
iTunes controls

whagt gives?

[Reply]
- At 2008.05.05 20:59,
  Multinova said:
  
  Victor,
  
  To be honest, i have no idea. The only thing i can think of is that the t-pot extension is no longer running?
  
  [Reply]
At 2008.05.05 23:17,
victor said:

ill try again from my home PC. thanks bud!

[Reply]
At 2008.05.13 22:59,
victor said:

ok i got it working. after a full restore of my phone i was able to hit the root of my phone. and i’ve been able to get in consistently thereafter.

at first i was not able to send my addressbook files to my phone using DnD method. something about rights or lack thereof.

i tried the native copy button and what do you know? “would you like to overwrite?” yes please. done. total commander + t-pot owns! =)

[Reply]
- At 2008.05.13 23:45,
  Multinova said:
  
  cool happy for you
  
  [Reply]
At 2008.05.16 18:29,
LB said:

great dude,i was waiting for this,it works like a charm

[Reply]
At 2008.05.19 05:49,
magnificentman said:

hi

i wonder if anyone knows how to get to the root directory using total commander n the t-pot extension?

thx

(am trying to use PDFviewer to view large pdf files)

[Reply]
- At 2008.05.27 05:55,
  victor said:
  
  i had that problem where it would not go into the root directory. after reinstalling tcmndr and rebooting iphone did not work, i restored and unlocked using iL+. smooth sailing ever since.
  
  [Reply]
At 2008.05.24 18:52,
Kazelrvk said:

Hi webmaster!

[Reply]
- At 2008.05.24 18:56,
  Multinova said:
  
  hi
  
  [Reply]
At 2008.05.26 23:46,
Jash Sayani said:

Mac Alternative.. ?
Using Leopard.

[Reply]
- At 2008.05.27 11:42,
  Multinova said:
  
  Hi Jash,
  
  Yes the app that can do that is called iFuntastic.
  http://bitsplit-enterprises.com/iFuntastic/
  I don’t have a mac so i can’t write any tutorials .. sorry
  
  [Reply]
  - At 2008.05.27 16:42,
    Jash Sayani said:
    
    Thanks a lot !
    I just purchased iFuntasitc. Will check it out.
    
    [Reply]
At 2008.05.30 09:35,
Braden said:

Something puzzles me. If your phone doesn’t have to be jailbroken to use this, couldn’t you just copy an app over to the /Applications directory on the phone? They only thing I can think of is the fact that you can’t set permissions, so the app you copied over wouldn’t work right. But I still don’t undertand how, if the iPhone’s filesystem is closed by default, how does this program bypass the blocks put by Apple, and access the the iPhone’s filesystem?

[Reply]
- At 2008.06.01 12:48,
  Multinova said:
  
  Hi Braden,
  
  No you can’t, when your iphone is not jailbroken, the partition with the important system files it not accesible. However you can use the app to mess around with your music and so.
  
  [Reply]
At 2008.06.09 01:59,
Alex said:

Great tutorial, but how do I find the applications-folder etc? If you take a look at this picture: http://i31.tinypic.com/3338saa.png you’ll see that he has access to alot more folders, is that possible with Total Commander?

[Reply]
At 2008.06.09 22:08,
Alex said:

Oh and by the way, my iPhone is jailbroken.

[Reply]
At 2008.06.12 10:21,
sean said:

hey mutlinova!

wud like to up applaud for this cool stuff u shared. i used it pretty well! but u see days from now, i cant use the ‘total commander 7.02a’ software anymore.
is there a way u know that i cud get a free serial no. for registration? or a crack for this software?

tnx!!

[Reply]
At 2008.06.15 07:53,
cash said:

can u access the app folder with this?

[Reply]
At 2008.06.17 16:56,
AXN said:

Fantastic - works.

[Reply]
At 2008.06.22 08:32,
Satoshi said:

Hey Multinova,

I’ve heard of this several times and even tried it quite a few times. The thing is, it only shows the media folder. BUT, I know for a fact my iPhone is jailbroken because I have installer.app, and several emulators and a bunch of other stuff you can’t get on a non jailbroken iPhone.

I don’t know if restoring it works, but I really don’t want to do that because I have tons of stuff on it that would take me quite a while to get back on the iPhone. Is there anything I did wrong (btw, I used finder on the iPhone and all the hacks and emulators and such are DEFINITELY there, for some reason t-pot wont show it for me on total commander). Any suggestions or feedback?

Best regards ^^

[Reply]
At 2008.07.07 22:53,
Colas said:

Hi Multinova,

I’ve done everything you said but I do not know where to put the files I am copying from the my pc. I have tried to create a new folder in the T-Pot directory but I do not know where to find my files on the iphone.

Could you help me please?

Best Regards

Nicholas

[Reply]
At 2008.07.19 13:10,
Luigi said:

Hi I did everything you wrote in the tutorial but the only folders that show up are (dcim) (downloads) (ebooks) (itunes control) (mx tube) (photos) (ttr) maybe I did something wrong? if you could please help me!

[Reply]
At 2008.07.20 20:31,
iPhone 2.0 firmware bugs and how to fix them. » iPhone System, iPhone Tips& tricks » iPhoneFreakz said:

[...] file browser like Total Commander or iPhoneBrowser. For a great tutorial on how to do this, go to this previous post. Since it is not jailbroken, only /var/mobile/Media will be [...]

[Reply]
At 2008.08.02 20:18,
neck cutta said:

whats wrie protection?

[Reply]
At 2008.08.17 08:42,
Adrian said:

hi this is maybe a stupid question but can sombody help me change permissions on total commander pleasee

[Reply]
At 2008.09.23 19:31,
Puckboss3 said:

Just wanted to say “Thanks”; your solutions work perfectly

[Reply]
At 2008.10.29 12:49,
Shmuel said:

There exists a much better, simpler and easier way to make your IPhone a USB cable connected diskonkey. This is without interfering with the device’s disk, partitions etc. Write to me, I’ll explain how.

[Reply]
At 2008.11.03 16:18,
hatani said:

Thanks for GREAT guide, it’s very appreciated :-). Maybe one little note: I suggest restyle your step 10:

10) After the installation, go to the [-\-] directory in Total commander and click on the iPhone icon.

Saying go to ‘Network Neighbourhood’ (or whatever it is) might help prevent confusion, as goint into root only will show ‘Apple iphone’ icon, but in my case, this only leads to camera folder. When accessing via ‘Network Neighbourhood’ I properly see and can traverse all folders on iphone FS. Keep up the good job!

[Reply]
At 2008.11.27 01:00,
T. Keller said:

Just use DISKAID works great and you dont have to deal with any of this crap
http://www.digidna.net/diskaid/

btw its completely free too, and has a root folder option or media folder option

[Reply]