ezrasuncle
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: iCloud causing havoc. How do I completely delete all photos on iCloud and start over?

My photos originally had 32,000 to upload. It was down to 27,000 yesterday. Last night I was playing with settings, and now it says it's back up to 32,000 to upload, and on top of that it's STUCK because it says it can't upload referenced files. Well, I did a smart album for reference files and nothing shows up. What a pain! I just want to start fresh, but can't figure out how to completely purge all photos on iCloud and start over. All originals are still on my Mac. Thanks.

iMac 27 inch, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Dec 1, 2015 6:02 AM

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ezrasuncle

Q: iCloud causing havoc. How do I completely delete all photos on iCloud and start over?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Dec 1, 2015 8:20 AM in response to ezrasuncle
    Level 10 (85,648 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Dec 1, 2015 8:20 AM in response to ezrasuncle

    Get help with your iCloud Photo Library - Apple Support

     

    How do I remove all iCloud Photo Library content from iCloud and my devices?

    To turn off your iCloud Photo Library, follow these steps:

    • On your iOS device, go to Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage > iCloud Photo Library, then select Disable and Delete.
    • On your Mac, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud. Click Manage, select Photo Library, then select Disable and delete.

    Photos and videos will be stored in your account for 30 days. To download your photos and videos on your iOS device, go to Settings > iCloud > Photos and select Download and Keep Originals. On your Mac, open Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then select Download Originals to this Mac. You can also select the photos and videos that you want to download from iCloud.com.

    And when you restart do not mess with it - keep your Mac awake, charges adn on WiFi and let it finish - it is slow and messing with it is user caused havoc - not iCLoud caused havoc

     

     

    FWIW it took me about ten days to upload 7000+ items

     

    LN

  • by ezrasuncle,

    ezrasuncle ezrasuncle Dec 1, 2015 9:28 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 1, 2015 9:28 AM in response to LarryHN

    Thanks. I did try this (or something similar) but it doesn't really delete your photos. The only option after this is "undo delete", and it just puts it back where you left off when you deleted it. It doesn't start uploading your photos from scratch. I suppose I could wait the 30 days when it "really" deletes them, but I don't really want to wait. I just want to delete them.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Dec 1, 2015 9:54 AM in response to ezrasuncle
    Level 10 (108,869 points)
    iCloud
    Dec 1, 2015 9:54 AM in response to ezrasuncle

    The only option to delete immediately would be to delete all photos from your library in Photos and to empty the Recently Deleted album. This will delete the photos immediately from iCloud as well. After deleting the photos from your Mac and in iCloud, sign out of iCloud Photo Library.

    Obviously, you would have to create a copy of your Photos Library before you delete the photos from your library, so you will keep the photos on your Mac.

    Switch Photos to the copied library, after you deleted the photos from iCloud.