iCloud question - upgrading to a new MacBook

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Level 1

8 points

iCloud question - upgrading to a new MacBook

Good morning - here is my question. Thank you for the input.

Situation - I have a circa 2013 MacBook and am looking to upgrade to the new MacBook Air (yay). I have a lot of files (family pictures, but not stored or managed via iPhoto as I used Picasa for ages so they are just files in organized folders within my Pictures folder) on this computer that I am uploading to my 2Tb iCloud storage drive by dragging and dropping into my iCloud Drive.

Question - what happens when I get my new computer, trade in the old 2013 MacBook, and the new MacBook Air iCloud Drive is now empty (I'm not doing Time Machine or any of that - I like to start fresh with a new computer and want all my files in the cloud anyway, not on hard drive) ? Will iCloud erase all of the files I had previously uploaded from the old computer because now it does not see that they exist on my hard drive any more? Or will those files stay on the Cloud and any new files I drag/drop/upload into the MacBook Air iCloud Drive will just add-on to what I already have stored?

Basically I don't want to lose 8 years of family pictures!!

Thank you all.

MacBook

Posted on Feb 13, 2021 6:12 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Joseph_S.

Community Specialist

Feb 16, 2021 6:42 AM in response to esweeks1

Hi esweeks1,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities, and congratulations on your upcoming new MacBook Air! We know how important sentimental photos can be, so we're glad to help. Let's go over all options together to ensure your photos are stored safely.

When documents, photos, and any other files are stored in iCloud Drive, and this feature is enabled on a new Mac, those existing files will remain in your iCloud Storage.

iCloud Drive on your new Mac will automatically optimize storage as needed, meaning that files may be downloaded and stored on your computer. If more storage space is needed, your Mac may keep recently opened files stored on your computer, with all other files remaining accessible in iCloud Drive.

Here's a guide with more information:

Use iCloud Drive to store documents on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Let us know if you've got any questions!

Have a great day!

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Answer 2

Chris_C1

Community Specialist

Feb 16, 2021 1:34 PM in response to esweeks1

Hi esweeks1,

Glad we could help! We've also got a great guide to share with you that has steps to take prior to trading in your existing Mac. This will help ensure your data is safely stored before your Mac is erased.

What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac

Have a great day!

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Answer 3

esweeks1 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 16, 2021 7:44 AM in response to Joseph_S.

Got it - very helpful and I am using the link you sent. I am 99% sure you have answered my question!!

So, said another way, it's not as if iCloud/iCloud Drive will see my new (empty) MacBook Air and say "Oh he no longer has all of these pictures on his physical computer, I guess he doesn't want them, so we no longer need to store them in the iCloud". I am used just used to older cloud storage sites that have done that in the past!!

Again I am trading in my old computer so will be wiping the hard drive (scary with all of my data!) and reinstalling OS/etc/etc.

Thanks again!

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iCloud question - upgrading to a new MacBook

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