I upgraded from 5GB to 200Gb of iCloud storage.
Actually in system preferences I can see I have 176 Gb of free space.
In finder I can see iCloud drive has a size of about 60.5 Gb divided in 23.9 used and 36.6 free.
I can not understand why the free space in iCloud drive is not the same reported by system preferences for iCloud storage: 176 Gb.
Anyone know how can you expand your iCloud drive size?
iMac, Other OS, Yosemite GM seed 2
iCloujd Drive space is totally different and separate from the iCloud storage which is just for mobile devices whereas iCloud Drive is for both Macs and mobile devices.. The following is from iCloud: iCloud storage and backup overview
What iCloud backs up
You have important information on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. iCloud automatically backs up your device over Wi-Fi every day while it’s turned on, locked, and connected to a power source. With your device information backed up in iCloud, you can easily set up a new device or restore information on one you already have.
Here’s what iCloud backs up:
- Purchase history for music, movies, TV shows, apps, and booksYour iCloud backup includes information about the content you have purchased, but not the purchased content itself. When you restore from an iCloud backup, your purchased content is automatically downloaded from the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBooks Store. Some types of content aren’t downloaded automatically in all countries, and previous purchases may be unavailable if they have been refunded or are no longer available in the store. For more information, see the Apple Support article iTunes in the Cloud availability by country. Some types of content aren’t available in all countries. For more information, see the Apple Support article Which types of items can I buy in my country?.
- Photos and videos in your Camera Roll
- Device settings
- App data
- Home screen and app organization
- iMessage, text (SMS), and MMS messages
- Ringtones
- Visual Voicemail
The following is from this Apple document: iCloud Drive FAQ
What types of files can I store in iCloud Drive?
You can store any type of file in iCloud Drive, as long as it's less than 15 GB in size. There's no restriction on file type, so you keep all of your work documents, school projects, presentations, and more up to date across all of your devices. Learn more about managing your iCloud Drive files.
So as you can see they are two totally different and independent features.
Thank you for your reply but that does not solve my problem.
My problem is: how can I expand my iCloud drive disk space?
The space is not unrelated with the iCloud storage plan I have purchased, since the iCloud drive space initially with the 5 Gb free plan was lower.
With the 200 Gb plan I get almost 60 Gb of iCloud drive, to increase it I have to choose a bigger iCloud storage plan? Can I throttle the ratio 60/200 and increase it to for instance 0.5?
I haven't found any reference in Apple documentation to the size of the iCloud drive, only the size of iCloud storage is contemplated. I assumed that the drive would eat all the remaining free space, why not?
Open System Preferences>iCloud and go to Manage, check you actual storage available and used. Post back.
But they both use the same storage. When you buy more storage, you're expanding the same pool they both use. If the OP has 200GB of storage, that includes for ios backups and iCloud drive.
That's perfectly correct 🙂
No, as I have said I have 176 Gb free in preference (iCloud storage management) but I see only 60.5 Gb available for the iCloud drive, not 176.
No it does not at least to me. In fact I see 176 Gb free in preference for iCloud storage but I can not copy more than 60 Gb onto the iCloud drive.
Screenshots of both please.
Actually in system preferences I can see I have 176 Gb of free space.
In finder I can see iCloud drive has a size of about 60.5 Gb divided in 23.9 used and 36.6 free.
I can not understand why the free space in iCloud drive is not the same reported by system preferences for iCloud storage: 176 Gb.
In the Finder you cannot see the free space on iCloud drive. You are seeing what is currently used by iCloud Drive, if you use "File > Get Info".
But the status bar below the Finder window will not show the free space on your iCloud drive, when you select the drive in the Finder. It will show the free space on your System drive. iCloud drive is not really a drive and behaves differently from a real drive in this respect.
I have a 20GB storage plan, but I am seeing 689,96 GB available, when I am selecting iCloud Drive in Finder. Can it be, that there are only 60.9 GB free on your System drive? The iCloud drive is mirrored on your System drive.
Yes you are right the free space I see in finder is the one free on my system drive.
I have two physical hard disk, system and data, the finder reports the free space of the physical drive I am looking but when going to iCloud drive it reports the free space of system and not the free space of iCloud drive.
That is strange because when I copy files to the iCloud drive the free space on my local drive does not change and so reporting the free space of my local drive does not make sense since it does not matter.
The problem is not only the display of not pertinent data, all my trouble with the size started when I tried to copy to iCloud drive a directory present in my data drive with a size of about 50 Gb.
The finder mumbles a little, I am using Yosemite GM seed 2, then says it cannot copy the directory since I don't have enough free space on iCloud drive.
I guess the solution could be to have 50 Gb of space free on my system drive or to copy 30 Gb at time (not exceeding my current free space).
Perhaps that could work but I find it a bug of the OS.
I have 176 Gb free of iCloud storage so I expect to be able to copy files to the storage without having to manage local free space.
My iMac has an SSD of 256 Gb and a data drive of 1000 Gb without fusion, so I have a lot of free space on my data drive, why should I bother with the free space on system to be able to copy files to iCloud?
Do you know if iCloud drive can be moved from the system HD to the data HD so to have a lot of free space on it?
I don't think the iCloud drive is mirrored on my local HD, it should be cached. Apple sells mac with 256 Gb of storage, if you buy 200 Gb of cloud storage and fill it with data, the mirroring will eat all of your local space, how could the cloud storage be useful this way.
Also on iOS the iCloud drive is only cached, since there is no local space for mirroring.
I have 176 Gb free of iCloud storage so I expect to be able to copy files to the storage without having to manage local free space.
That will not work this way. The iCloud drive is syncing the contents to your Macs, and the Mac will keep a local copy of all files. You need to have as much free space on your Mac as you want to use on iCloud Drive.
That is strange because when I copy files to the iCloud drive the free space on my local drive does not change and so reporting the free space of my local drive does not make sense since it does not matter.
Have you been copying or moving by dragging to the iCloud icon? If you drag from a folder on your system drive, you are simply moving the file around on your system drive, and the this way the free storage on the drive will not change, only if you hold down the options key while dragging to create a copy.
I have found the folder it is in Library/Mobile Documents
How can I move it to my data HD?
If you move the folder it will break the connection to iCloud, leave it alone, leave everything in the Library alone. It is hidden for good reason.
I could leave an alias to the new position.
For now I am trying to put alias to my data inside it.
It works since does not copy the data on my system drive, but I still don't know if the synching work.
I will wait for a while and then I will look on the cloud data using the browser.
I have found the folder it is in Library/Mobile Documents
How can I move it to my data HD?
That is unsupported. It would be safer to relocate your complete home folder to an external drive, as described here:
Why iCloud drive free space is limited?
