iCloud drive archive

Did you mean "Sign Out" in system preference? I was prompted with "do you want to save ..." when I clicked on Sign out in iCloud session of system preference. I did not mean to remove my normal iCloud Drive, nor did I want to have a strange 'icloud archive' folder created for me . I came here for solutions to iCloud syncing problems. More confused than before.

Hours wasted (not by you or your tips, but by Apple's crowdsource approach to problems)

Apple needs to fix this confusing button and other inconsistencies. Should address the issues directly and consistently. This is not a place for opinions, or try outs, or guessworks. No time for that.

A further note on this conversation: If you are having troubles with iCloud Drive, Apple (and some users on this forum) advise turning off iCloud Drive, signing out of iCloud, re-starting your computer and then signing back into iCloud and re-activating iCloud Drive. My understanding is that this advice also causes the iCloud Drive (Archive) folder to be generated.

Another note: I agree with DarkCave that you can delete the iCloud Drive (Archive) folder once you have confirmed that all your files are in your iCloud Drive folder. If you have lots of files in iCloud Drive, there is an app on the Mac App Store that will help you. It's called Compare Folders. As the name implies, the app lets you compare the contents of two folders and it will highlight differences.

Michael, the iCloud Drive (Archive) folder is created when you turn off iCloud Drive. On a Mac, you do this by going to System Preferences > iCloud, and unchecking the iCloud Drive tick box. This makes Apple think you no longer wish to use iCloud Drive. Rather than just deleting the files that you might have in Apple's cloud, Apple copies your cloud-based files to your hard drive, creating the iCloud Drive (Archive) folder for this purpose.

If you have only one Apple device (Mac or iOS), then yes, turning off iCloud Drive will cause your files to be removed from Apple's cloud. That doesn't happen immediately though. I think Apple retains the files for 30-45 days before removing them.

If you use iCloud Drive on multiple Apple devices (and you are signed in under the same Apple ID on each device), then no, turning off iCloud Drive on one device will not cause your files to be removed.

I’m (was) having the same problem and hoped that someone could show me the correct way to solve it, which is what I haven’t seen anywhere.

I was having problems signing into Facetime, using the correct UN and PW. I was prompted to sign in to iCloud to check the UN and PW, which I did, OK. BUT I had to sign out in order to sign in and that’s when the problems started.

I have the requested iCloud Drive (Archive) file safely on the Mac.

I see most but not all of my files and folders on iCloud Drive in Finder.

I have an empty Desktop on my Mac’s screen.

I interrupt this post to say that as I am writing this I notice that it has all come back!!!!

I have no idea what happened however what I did about 10 minutes before this was to check the "Desktop and Documents Folders" tab in: Apple/System Preferences/iCloud/iCloud Drive/Options.

I do agree that Apple and all other similar companies should pay more attention to users by offering complete "Written instructions" after all they wrote the dammed software and not leave it to these excellent forums to sort it out. The answers we get here and elsewhere are often well meaning guesses but sometimes cause more problems than they solve. I know some of the post replies are old but when a reply concerning the iCloud Drive (Archive) LACAllen states: "Where is this folder located? If it's in a folder called "Library" it's in there for a reason". Wrong. It is always placed in the HOME folder so the question shows that he does not really know what it is and is not really helpful. (Sorry LACAllen). The reply should have been: iCloud Drive (Archive) is a backup copy of your iCloud Drive folders. It's on your home folder. Keep it safe until you sort out the iCloud Drive problem.

This brings me back to Facetime, which still refuses to sign me in. But that’s for another section of the forum.

May I intrude on this conversation? I have several folders in my home folder called 'iCloud Drive (Archive)', none of them very large, with several past dates. But I cannot remember what I did to make iCloud Drive create these folders. When I close iCloud Drive nowadays by the usual red button at extreme upper left, or by shutting down Safari, nothing appears to ask me whether I want to archive the Drive. As I would like to go on archiving the contents of iCloud Drive, what should I do to encourage it to ask me?

In case it is relevant, my computer is a Mac mini with High Sierra (10.13.3) and my phone is an iPhone SE with iOS 11.2.5.

Thank you very much, pomme4moi. Before I do this, though, could you please tell me whether unchecking the iCloud Drive check-box will remove the files from my Drive as well as creating the Archive folder? (I realize I can always restore them from the archive, but it would be useful to know whether I would have to do this after unchecking the check box).

I agree with this. There IS a learning curve to this feature. I asked Apple support over and over, why my Mac HD space was being used up every time I copied folder/files to iCloud since my intention was to conserve space. Not one of the 5 support people told me about a folder called iCloud Drive Archive. Hey! 50 GB of space...there it is! I'm still a little apprehensive about deleting these files, but I will. I've checked iCloud both in my Finder and in a browser window, and the files ARE there.

Apple needs to rewrite the narrative for their approach, starting with the users who simply want to conserve the limited space of their internal Flash Storage.

I wouldn't remove it. With the way iCloud Drive syncing works, it has some value that may not be fully or well documented, if at all.

IMO, one shouldn't be poking around Finder looking for folders to delete.

Where is this folder located? If it's in a folder called "Library" it's in there for a reason.

when you turn off iCloud drive it says do you want to save the contents of iCloud documents to your computer and save them in a folder named 'iCloud archive'

Not helpful. Can't have giant folders taking up 25% of hard drive space that simply replicate every other file.

Neither is asking questions you don't really want answers for. I asked you a follow up in an effort to help you. You didn't answer my question.

These relevant bits of information were not in your original post.

Feedback goes here >>> http://www.apple.com/feedback/

AS I said before iCloud drive archive is only created if you choose to uncheck iCloud drive. What its doing is backing up what you had on iCloud drive only to your device. So that if you didn't already have your files on your computer i.e.. they were only in iCloud drive and not on your computer, you can retrieve your files from iCloud archive because closing iCloud drive removes all files within it except some hidden files not relevant to your question.. If you are happy that the files you need are already on your device then you can delete its contents to free up space. If later you discover something is missing, a file, perhaps, you have 30 days to retrieve them from the restore feature that is under settings when you log on to iCloud drive via a web browser.

So delete the folder, then. I promise you nobody here cares. You asked a question and you got a correct answer. Nobody's problem but your own if you don't like the answer.