Temporarily stop iCloud downloads to MacBook

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Level 1

13 points

Temporarily stop iCloud downloads to MacBook

I have a 120GB storage MacBook. I want to install Monterey but cannot free up enough space. I have moved all docs etc onto external drives. What is left is Apps 24 (16 of which is the Monterey installer), system 16, Other 53GB. Also there is 7GB of iCloud Drive downloads. I have loads of iCloud Drive capacity, and have selected so that the Drive is optimised, so I don't understand why it needs to put 7GB on the HD. I have tried to remove the downloads, but it keeps putting them back. I understand that it needs to have some there, but is there a way that I can disable the downloads just while I install Monterey? Then I am happy to allow the Drive downloads back. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance

Posted on Mar 8, 2022 6:42 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

tygb

Level 9

64,764 points

Mar 9, 2022 8:41 AM in response to Ian Rowland

In the discussion you mentioned .

The only thing I have to play with are the documents, which you will see are reduced to the absolute minimum. The only hope I have is to try to stop the 7GB of iCloud files from being downloaded onto the HD just for the period that I need to install Monterey. I have 16GB of free space, but am being told I need 25GB.

When iCloud Drive and desktops and documents box is checked the files / personal documents are intended to sync .

You can only drag and drop to some other location Work with folders and files in iCloud Drive - Apple Support

Don't change the extensions of files or add .nosync to the end of file you might loose the files and it can't be recovered ( caution ) .

In your screen shot hover the cursor over the graph , the red colour is showing lot of apps in which apple inbuilt apps + other third party apps are included , right click on unknown apps from finder and move to bin How to uninstall apps on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Sharon_419

Community Specialist

Mar 9, 2022 7:54 AM in response to Ian Rowland

Hello Ian,

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. To free up space on your Mac to help you upgrade, let's try following these steps.

"Optimize storage space

From the Apple menu  in the corner of your screen, choose About This Mac.
Click Storage. At first the storage bar estimates the amount of used and available storage space. When it finishes calculating, it shows segments representing several categories of files.

About this Mac Storage tab

3. Click the Manage button to open the storage management window:

Storage Management window

4. To begin optimizing storage space, choose from features such as Store in iCloud,* Optimize Storage, and Reduce Clutter. Learn more about these features.

5. To measure progress as you make changes, refer to the amount of “available” space shown at the top of this window, or in About This Mac."

More help and info on ways to optimize storage can be found here: Free up storage space on your Mac

We hope this helps.

Cheers!

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Answer 3

Ian Rowland Author

Level 1

13 points

Mar 9, 2022 8:25 AM in response to Sharon_419

Hi Sharon,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I do have Optimisation turned on, but what seems to happen is that some of the files from iCloud insist on being retained on the HD, about 7GB. This is making the difference between being able to free up enough space to run the Monterey installer, or not.

I am very envious of the graphic you showed, detailing how storage space is taken up. The actuality for me is shown below. You will see of the 120GB storage, nearly half is taken up with Other. The next biggest is Apps, more than half of which is the Monterey installer. Then there is the System. I cannot touch any of these.

The only thing I have to play with are the documents, which you will see are reduced to the absolute minimum. The only hope I have is to try to stop the 7GB of iCloud files from being downloaded onto the HD just for the period that I need to install Monterey. I have 16GB of free space, but am being told I need 25GB.

Thanks for your help so far, but Optimiser isn't going to help me.

Any alternative ideas would be gratefully received.

Thanks again for your help so far.

Ian