Documents disappeared from computer after turning off iCloud

Hi


I started uploading documents (quite a few thousand of them) from my MacBook to iCloud Drive but then changed my mind. I checked online and it said to stop the upload I should untick the desktop/documents box so I did this and then also unticked iCloud in the settings section.


All was fine but when I started up my computer this morning, everything had disappeared, apart from a Microsoft email folder. I checked iCloud.com - online version - but nothing there either.


I clicked on recently deleted but it said folder was empty.


Everything has gone, thousands of photos, all my website data (I design and manage some of these), all client folder - absolutely everything.


I mistakenly thought iCloud was a backup drive but now from reading can see it isn't, it's a syncing service only.


Does anyone know if I can get these documents back and if so, how. I do have a back up on an external disk but the last back-up was a few weeks ago and I have a number of crucial documents that I've received or created since.


Here's hoping??

Posted on Oct 15, 2018 1:20 AM

Reply

Similar questions

1 reply

Oct 15, 2018 9:21 AM in response to Trish2002

If you open system preferences , click on iCloud - in iCloud Drive click on option button and click on turn off and click on done .

User uploaded file


In the next window , click on remove from Mac .

User uploaded file

again in the upcoming window click on show in finder .

User uploaded file

Yes the documents that you created with Microsoft office will be deleted from the Mac , but they are still saved on I cloud server , for this open www.icloud.com by entering your Apple ID and password , click on i cloud drive , you can tap the folder created with Microsoft office and click on download button , if there are multiple of them you can download also them.


User uploaded file

Open finder , click on download button , select them and drag and drop over the iCloud Drive folder , yes this process will take hours to sync as the data is massive and the high network speed is essential .

You have to click on download icon as shown in the screen shot and a pie chart will rotate , after some time the documents will saved in iCloud Drive .See this article Get file, folder and disk information on Mac - Apple Support


User uploaded file


also the photo will get synced , if the box of photos is checked , click on option button and these boxes are checked as per screen shot .

User uploaded file

And about your client folders , website data it depends in which format were they created using Microsoft office or other software that are compatible with Mac also a point is to be considered what iCloud storage you used , is it free 5gb or exceeded the limits .

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Documents disappeared from computer after turning off iCloud

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.