TheUncannyValley
Level 1 (20 points)
iCloud

Q: Local Backup of iCloud? Can I move it to Another HD?

Hi,

 

The system drive in my 2010 Mac Pro is a 240GB SSD. So I'm constantly fighting for space.

(I'm running OS X 10.11.6 on a 2010 Mac Pro, 3.33ghz 6-core, 32GB RAM.)

 

Last week I upgraded my iCloud to 50GB storage and then started uploading many files.

 

Today I noticed the available space on my system drive is very low. It seems to be because of the folder ~/Users/(my user name)/Library/Mobile Documents.

 

Is this a local copy of my iCloud?
**If so, how can I move it to another hard drive?**

 

Or...can I just delete the local copy altogether, or is this not advisable?

 

Thank you in advance for anyone's assistance! All the best.

 

Russell
Las Vegas

Posted on Oct 20, 2016 2:03 PM

by think.different,Solvedanswer
think.different think.different
Level 3 (999 points)
Desktops
A:

Yes this is a local copy of iCloud, deleting it would be a no no.

 

If you don't mind getting your hand dirty you may be able to get around this using symbolic links:

http://www.macworld.com/article/2148490/slim-down-your-ssd-with-symbolic-links.h tml

 

In my Mini, the boot drive is SSD and I have a second internal HHD. In my home folder I have symbolic links for Documents, Downloads, DropBox, Movies, Picture, and inside Music the iTunes folder. They now sit on the HHD instead and the home folder and OS are non the wiser that they are not "really" there.

 

I goes without saying but backup backup backup before doing anything like this, just in case.

Posted on Oct 20, 2016 2:11 PM

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TheUncannyValley

Q: Local Backup of iCloud? Can I move it to Another HD?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by think.different,Solvedanswer

    think.different think.different Oct 20, 2016 2:11 PM in response to TheUncannyValley
    Level 3 (999 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 20, 2016 2:11 PM in response to TheUncannyValley

    Yes this is a local copy of iCloud, deleting it would be a no no.

     

    If you don't mind getting your hand dirty you may be able to get around this using symbolic links:

    http://www.macworld.com/article/2148490/slim-down-your-ssd-with-symbolic-links.h tml

     

    In my Mini, the boot drive is SSD and I have a second internal HHD. In my home folder I have symbolic links for Documents, Downloads, DropBox, Movies, Picture, and inside Music the iTunes folder. They now sit on the HHD instead and the home folder and OS are non the wiser that they are not "really" there.

     

    I goes without saying but backup backup backup before doing anything like this, just in case.

  • by TheUncannyValley,

    TheUncannyValley TheUncannyValley Oct 21, 2016 4:20 PM in response to think.different
    Level 1 (20 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 21, 2016 4:20 PM in response to think.different

    Hi think.different,

     

    Thank you so much for your reply. That's really helpful information, and timely too...coincidentally, I just became aware of symbolic links last week through the reply of another user on another board. I'm a musician who uses Logic Pro X every day and was searching for a way to alleviate my system drive of all the Apple Loops and Garageband data that loads there by default. Twice in two weeks is not a sign, it's a directive to me to read the article you posted and get on it.

     

    Thank you again and have a great weekend!

  • by TheUncannyValley,

    TheUncannyValley TheUncannyValley Oct 21, 2016 4:23 PM in response to think.different
    Level 1 (20 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 21, 2016 4:23 PM in response to think.different

    P.S. @ think.different...

     

    I wanted to make sure I up-voted your response with the "solved my question" 10-point option, because your answer gave me exactly the information I need. I haven't been to these Apple Support boards in awhile and they've changed.


    Did you in fact receive a 10-point up-vote from me? I can't tell.

     

    I hope so. If not, I'll come back and do it again. Thanks.

  • by think.different,

    think.different think.different Oct 22, 2016 1:48 AM in response to TheUncannyValley
    Level 3 (999 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 22, 2016 1:48 AM in response to TheUncannyValley

    Not sure, I don't think there is a way to see a history of how your points have changed. I appreciate your effort though.

     

    Hopefully, this will solve your problem problem. Remember, always have a backup ;-)

     

    There may be better articles out there, I can't remember which one I used when I did it.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Oct 22, 2016 2:21 AM in response to think.different
    Level 10 (108,916 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 22, 2016 2:21 AM in response to think.different

    Sorry, I meant this reply in response to TheUncannyValley.

     

    The symlinks are great, but you would have to link all folders individually. There is another way you may want to consider.

    The Mobile Documents folder in question is in your User Library in your Home folder.  macOS Sierra offers an alternate way to move contents from your home folder off the system drive. You can relocate the complete Home folder to a fast external drive and point the system to this location. The big advantage would be, that there are no links that could break, if you ever need to restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup. And some applications do not follow the symbolic links to an external drive.

     

    You can set a different path to your home folder in the System Preferences > Users&Groups. Select your user name in the sidebar and ctrl-click it to open  the Advanced Options.   Be very careful, when you edit this panel. You just need to replace the /home/yourusername path by the location on your external drive, after you copied your home folder over.

    http://www.cultofmac.com/126621/how-to-move-or-rename-your-mac-home-folder-macrx /

     

    You may not need to move and symlink the Logic sounds to your external drive, if you get all your other content from your home folder of the Mac in one go - Mail, text documents, etc. It would be preferable to keep the logic sounds non the fastest drive you have.