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Contents of Documents folder disappeared after disconnecting from iCloud

I know this is a common issue but my situation is a little different.

My Desktop and Documents folders were connected to iCloud. I'm not sure exactly how it works, because there was 10s of gigabytes of data stored in them while my iCloud only had ~4.5GB storage. So I don't what this connection meant in the first place. Anyway, I made the deadly mistake of disconnecting my Desktop and Documents folders from iCloud without making a backup. As a result, my Mac emptied my documents folder; my files disappeared from my Mac and they don't show up on iCloud either.


I tried to use "restore" on iCloud but those files weren't there. I tried to use recovery tools to restore my data but none of those files were found by recovery tools. I don't know why. As if they're not exactly "deleted". As an alternative solution, I tried to reconnect my Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud. But I get this error message:


"Your Documents and Desktop folders cannot be stored on iCloud Drive. You have too many files, too many files in a single folder, or too many nested folders in your Documents or Desktop folders."


I made sure my Desktop and Documents folders are empty but I got the same error message. I even upgraded my iCloud account to 50GB but it still gives me this error message. Any help is appreciated. I've lost all of my files.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Jun 14, 2022 1:23 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 14, 2022 1:40 PM

From support:


Turn off Desktop and Documents

  1. From your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. Click Apple ID, then click iCloud. On macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
  2. Next to iCloud Drive, click Options.
  3. Deselect Desktop & Documents Folders.
  4. Click Done.


What happens when you turn off Desktop and Documents


When you turn off Desktop & Documents Folders, your files stay in iCloud Drive and a new Desktop and Documents folder is created on your Mac in the home folder. You can move files from iCloud Drive to your Mac as you need them, or select all of your files and drag them to the place you want to keep them.


What happens when you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud


If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. You also have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. If you keep a local copy of your files in iCloud Drive, they're copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. You can move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents to your new local Desktop and Documents.

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1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 14, 2022 1:40 PM in response to roozbehan

From support:


Turn off Desktop and Documents

  1. From your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. Click Apple ID, then click iCloud. On macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
  2. Next to iCloud Drive, click Options.
  3. Deselect Desktop & Documents Folders.
  4. Click Done.


What happens when you turn off Desktop and Documents


When you turn off Desktop & Documents Folders, your files stay in iCloud Drive and a new Desktop and Documents folder is created on your Mac in the home folder. You can move files from iCloud Drive to your Mac as you need them, or select all of your files and drag them to the place you want to keep them.


What happens when you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud


If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. You also have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. If you keep a local copy of your files in iCloud Drive, they're copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. You can move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents to your new local Desktop and Documents.

Contents of Documents folder disappeared after disconnecting from iCloud

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