I have an older MacBook Pro 2006 edition. Can I move the photos on that computer to iCloud Drive?

iCloud is a syncing system, not an external hard drive. You need to back up to an external hard drive. You should consider having at least 2 backups on 2 separate drives as hard drives do fail. Time Machine will back up to multiple drives, alternating between them. Another often recommended backup is one that is stored away from your home in case of fire or theft. Since that one isn't backed up daily, I'd recommend a clone. There are also cloud based backup systems you can use for off site storage.

Time Machine Basics

Time Machine Basics (2)

Clone - Carbon Copy Cloner (Often recommended as it has more features than some others)

Clone – Data Backup

Clone – Deja Vu

Clone - SuperDuper

Clone - Synk

Clone Software – 6 Applications Tested

Commonly Used Backup Methods

Cloud Backup Services - Best

Cloud Backup Services - Best (2)

I'm a bit confused. Your OP was about uploading your photos to iCloud and now it's about downloading them from iCloud.

If you have photos in iCloud, you will not be able to directly download them, regardless of technique, to an external HD. By default, they land in "downloads"

You could enable the iCloud Photo Library on your Mac and check the "download originals" in preferences. This will automatically sync the entire library, at full resolution, from icloud to your Mac. Once on your Mac, you can export these full sized to wherever you wish.

Why apple, why? Tell me please. Why eschew all common sense and make this so hard?

I humbly await your response.

Thank you.

You will not get an answer to this here in this community. Apple does not answer why questions here and we are not permitted to debate policy or decisions made by Apple.

Feedback for Apple goes here >>> http://apple.com/feedback

In iCloud I want to download over 1000+ images in one go to free up space and save important photos, can't cmnd A to select all the photos to download them to my external hard drive. So what do I do. How is this made easy?

Why is it SOOOOO hard to get MY images off MY icloud onto MY external hard drive without having to click on every 1000+ images individually and download them. Can I consider a law suit for RSI? Because thats what you are proposing that I will have to endure to get my images. And then, how do I actually delete them so I get my free space back? One at a time, again. What is this, the follow on exercise in Karate Kid in patience? Once you capture the fly with chop sticks now try clicking all these pics and downloading them ONE AT A TIME. (just to watch them open one at a time in preview on my computer. Woe betide I actually had the audacity to capture a video. That takes ages to open up, EACH VIDEO!)

So annoyed. This is preventing me from looking at business emails on my phone now because I need to 'free up space'. Oh, yeah I could pay for extra space - BUT WHY? I have an external hard drive with lots of extra space. I may want to use these images on iCloud to create something, like a photo-book. Or I may just want them NOT on the cloud and ON my external hard drive. My choice! I do not have time to become an iCloud savant in order to retrieve images easily. I am used to using WeTransfer and easy to use web based file upload/download and transfer systems. They employed a UX designer to give a **** about those that might be using there product. Presumably the UX designer you used was bored when he thought about the end user of iCloud and decided to create a 'solve the puzzle game' of how to get your images off iCloud! 'X failed again, no easy access to your images this time. try again later!!!'

Why can I not select all and drag and paste into my external hard drive like you can with say Drop Box? Or CMND A export images.

Why apple, why? Tell me please. Why eschew all common sense and make this so hard?

I humbly await your response.

Thank you.

You can - but not sure what you ware trying to accomplish

To put photos on iCloud.com log into iCloud.com and click on Photos adn upload the photos you want there

LN