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User profile for user: brentonbassist
brentonbassist Author
User level: Level 1
7 points

Can't activate iCloud Drive with User account data on external SSD

I got an M2 Max Mac Studio a couple of weeks ago. I went with just the base spec (512GB storage, 32GB RAM) with the plan of keeping all of my User data on an external SSD and only really system and application files on the internal drive.


I went through the process of directing Mac OS to the new folder (via System Settings > Users & Groups > Advanced Options > Home Directory, and pointing it toward the "copied" User folder on my external SSD). After the forced reboot, Finder and other apps (Music, Photos, etc) see all of the files in the external SSD and that all behaves normally.


However, as soon as I migrate the location for my User folder to the external drive, iCloud Drive turns off. I have tried turning it back on (via System Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Sync this Mac) which usually results in System Settings and Finder both crashing, being met with an error that specifies that there is a missing helper application, and even if I wait it out for hours, the best outcome is that it turns back off iCloud Drive.


I have 1.51TB available of my 2TB iCloud Drive. I have 214GB of the 512GB internal storage available.


I have signed out of iCloud on my Mac altogether, and then signed back in (signing back in also seems to take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours, once the User data is on the external drive!).


I have spoken to numerous techs via Apple Care. We have tried in Safe Mode. I have created a new User account, which I am then able to turn on iCloud Drive so long as the User data is in the default location in Macintosh HD > Users > User, but as soon as I copy that User folder, paste it on an external drive (SSD > User), and then point Mac OS to use that location, it again disables iCloud Drive and I am met with the same issue.


Currently on Mac OS 13.5.


External SSD is a Samsung T7 Shield, 2TB, formatted as ExFAT plugged directly into one of the rear Thunderbolt ports.


Everything else runs fine and as expected, unless I want to have my User data on the external drive and also use iCloud Drive. Surely I can't be the only one trying to achieve this?


I am supposed to have an Apple Care senior technician call me later this arvo, but hoping for some advice from the wider community also in case they don't have any specific ideas.


Thank you in advance for any help and suggestions!

Mac Studio

Posted on Aug 5, 2023 3:57 PM

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User profile for user: brentonbassist
brentonbassist Author
User level: Level 1
7 points

Posted on Aug 5, 2023 7:51 PM

Yes, I understand that. The issue is that if I have my User data on an external drive it prevents iCloud Drive from being enabled, despite iCloud Drive data supposed to still be synced on the internal drive.


However, I may have found the solution, and it looks like if my external drive is formatted as ExFAT then it causes this error. I just did a small test with a test User account and put the data on a different external SSD formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and it allowed the User data to be on an external drive AND to enable iCloud Drive. So I’m not migrating my 1TB of User data from the ExFAT drive to Extended drive and will test this again.

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User profile for user: brentonbassist
brentonbassist Author
User level: Level 1
7 points

Aug 5, 2023 7:51 PM in response to muguy

Yes, I understand that. The issue is that if I have my User data on an external drive it prevents iCloud Drive from being enabled, despite iCloud Drive data supposed to still be synced on the internal drive.


However, I may have found the solution, and it looks like if my external drive is formatted as ExFAT then it causes this error. I just did a small test with a test User account and put the data on a different external SSD formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and it allowed the User data to be on an external drive AND to enable iCloud Drive. So I’m not migrating my 1TB of User data from the ExFAT drive to Extended drive and will test this again.

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User profile for user: brentonbassist
brentonbassist Author
User level: Level 1
7 points

Aug 8, 2023 4:33 PM in response to brentonbassist

So it looks like it was an issue with the external drive being formatted as ExFAT. But in setting up my User account on an ExFAT drive it also appeared to corrupt the Mac OS “view” of this user account. Reinstalling Mac OS didn’t work the trick, so ultimately had to create a new User, migrate all of my files to an Extended (Journaled) drive (except for anything in Library, as this also seemed to cause the glitch) and it works.


Interestingly, when going to migrate files, on the ExFAT formatted drive there was a new folder called iCloud (Archived) that had my cloud files there, so looks like even though iCloud Drive is only supposed to be stored on the internal storage, it may actually still store some files on the drive nominated for User data storage.

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User profile for user: JKane
JKane
User level: Level 1
6 points

Dec 30, 2023 3:29 AM in response to i__say

My home directory has been on a separate disk since OSX was first released. It appears iCloud doesn't work with a drive formatted as HFS+ (Mac OS Extended & Journaled) either. I have a large mechanical hard disk and after upgrading to Sonoma, iCloud stopped working completely (and won't let me log in). APFS is terrible with conventional disks so reformatting would slow it down. Do we know if icloud's failure is with Apple_HFS, external drive home directories, or or both? It would be great if Apple gave some kind of warning before upgrading to Sonoma. I purposely waited many months to see what problems cropped up, but didn't know about this!


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User profile for user: i__say
i__say
User level: Level 1
16 points

Dec 6, 2023 7:54 PM in response to brentonbassist

Make sure that your external SSD is formatted in APFS. The simplest way to do this may be to buy a new SSD, format it in APFS, and transfer your files to it. My iCloud quit working when I updated to Sonoma. With iCloud turned off, everything was normal. The user file for my Mac Mini 2018 is on an external drive. The solid state external drive was not formatted in APFS. I bought a new SSD, formatted it in APFS, and transferred my user file to it. Turned iCloud back on, and Presto! Everything works like a charm. SSDs in Sonoma must be formatted in APFS.

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Can't activate iCloud Drive with User account data on external SSD

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