FizzleFoil for Windows
Your iCloud, safe on your own drive. Mac guide · iPhone & iPad guide
1. What FizzleFoil does
iCloud keeps your photos and files in sync across your devices, but it isn't a backup: delete something on one device and it's gone from all of them. FizzleFoil keeps a separate copy on a drive you own.
On Windows, Apple's free iCloud for Windows app keeps your iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive in folders on your PC. FizzleFoil backs up those folders, and any others you choose.
- It never changes your iCloud. It only reads your iCloud folders.
- Every copy is checked. Each file is read back from the drive and compared before it counts as safe.
- Nothing on the drive is thrown away. Changed or deleted files are set aside, never erased.
- Readable anywhere. Your backup is ordinary files and folders.
2. What you need
- Windows 10 or 11.
- iCloud for Windows (free, from the Microsoft Store), signed in, with Photos and iCloud Drive turned on.
- An external drive with enough space. FizzleFoil tells you how much it needs before the first backup.
| Drive format | Works with FizzleFoil? |
|---|---|
| NTFS or exFAT | Yes. exFAT also works on a Mac. |
| FAT32 | Avoid: it can't hold any file over 4 GB, so long videos won't fit. |
3. Getting started
- Choose your backup drive. Plug it in, click Choose Drive… and pick the drive (or a folder on it). FizzleFoil makes a “FizzleFoil Backup” folder inside, and recognises the drive even if it comes back as a different letter.
- Check what to back up. FizzleFoil finds your iCloud Photos and iCloud Drive folders by itself. If one is somewhere else, click Change… next to it. Add a Folder… adds any other folder you want kept safe.
- Click Back Up Now. Before the very first backup, FizzleFoil works out how much needs copying and asks before starting.
Files kept only in iCloud. If iCloud for Windows keeps files “online-only” to save space, FizzleFoil downloads each one as it copies it, then lets iCloud free the space again. So the first backup can take a while, and needs an internet connection.
4. Automatic backups
- Back up automatically when this drive is plugged in: plug the drive in and a backup starts.
- Back up every day at …: pick a time. If the PC was off or the drive wasn't connected, the backup runs as soon as it can.
With either on, FizzleFoil starts with Windows and waits in the system tray (the icons by the clock; you may need the ^ arrow). Closing the window keeps it running. Right-click the tray icon to open FizzleFoil, back up now, or quit. You get a notification when each backup finishes.
5. What's on your drive
The hidden .fizzlefoil folder is FizzleFoil's own record of what's on the drive. Leave it alone; it's what makes later backups fast. FizzleFoil never deletes anything from the drive, so tidy “Previous versions” and “Removed from iCloud” yourself when you're sure.
6. Checking your backup
Check Now reads every file on the drive and compares it with the fingerprint taken when it was copied. If anything is damaged, Repair sets the bad copies aside and copies fresh ones; missing files are put back by the next backup.
7. Getting files back
Click Open My Backup, find what you need in File Explorer, and copy it back into your iCloud Photos or iCloud Drive folder. iCloud for Windows uploads it again. Older versions are in “Previous versions”, deleted files in “Removed from iCloud”, each with the date in its name.
8. Removing FizzleFoil
Open Windows Settings › Apps, find FizzleFoil and choose Uninstall. Your backup stays on the drive. To delete it as well, do that first: click the ⚙ (top right) and Delete the Backup From This Drive…, or delete the “FizzleFoil Backup” folder yourself.
9. Privacy
FizzleFoil has no account and no servers, and collects nothing. Your files go from your PC to your drive and nowhere else. Privacy policy.
10. Questions and problems
FizzleFoil says iCloud for Windows isn't set up
Install iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store, sign in with your Apple Account, and turn on Photos and iCloud Drive. Then reopen FizzleFoil.
“Couldn't open iCloud Photos”
The folder has moved or iCloud for Windows is signed out. Click Change… next to it and choose where it is now.
Can I use the same drive as FizzleFoil for Mac?
Yes, but give each its own folder on the drive.
Where are the reports?
In FizzleFoil Backup\Logs, or ⚙ › Show backup reports.