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User profile for user: AviatorTim
AviatorTim Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

How can I copy files directly to iCloud drive when there isn't sufficient space on my local drive?

I have a 500 GB drive in my macBook with 127 GB available, the 2 TB iCloud plan and an external 5 TB drive with about 1.5 TB of data on it. I'd like to upload the 1.5 TB of data into iCloud drive. I tried by copying onto iCloud Drive on the macBook hoping that iCloud drive would be smart enough to realize it wouldn't fit and upload it directly to iCloud instead. That didn't work. I got an error message that there wasn't sufficient space on the drive. Of course, this just means on the local drive not in iCloud.


is there a way to directly upload the data from the external drive to iCloud drive?


I tried the most obvious way by going to iCloud.com in my browser but tells me I cannot upload folders only individual files and that would mean uploading hundreds and hundreds of individual files which is not a viable solution.

MacBook Pro 15", macOS 10.13

Posted on May 8, 2020 8:37 AM

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User profile for user: Joseph_S.
Joseph_S.
User level: Community Specialist

Posted on May 9, 2020 1:26 PM

Hello AviatorTim.


Welcome to Apple Support Communities. I understand that you want to have the content from your Mac upload to iCloud Drive when you Mac storage is not enough storage available. You also want to upload files from your external hard drive to iCloud Drive. I’m happy to help.


Please use the steps here to optimize storage on your Mac: Optimize storage space on your Mac - Apple Support By following the steps here, files don’t use the space on your Mac and will be stored in iCloud. You can download the original files when you need them.


Please use the steps in the section titled “Copy files from a USB storage device” here: Transfer your data to your new MacBook Pro - Apple Support I understand this is not a new device that you just purchased, but the steps in the section are helpful. With optimizing Mac storage, these files will move to iCloud when dragged to your Mac.


Let me know the results.


Take care.

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User profile for user: Joseph_S.
Joseph_S.
User level: Community Specialist

May 9, 2020 1:26 PM in response to AviatorTim

Hello AviatorTim.


Welcome to Apple Support Communities. I understand that you want to have the content from your Mac upload to iCloud Drive when you Mac storage is not enough storage available. You also want to upload files from your external hard drive to iCloud Drive. I’m happy to help.


Please use the steps here to optimize storage on your Mac: Optimize storage space on your Mac - Apple Support By following the steps here, files don’t use the space on your Mac and will be stored in iCloud. You can download the original files when you need them.


Please use the steps in the section titled “Copy files from a USB storage device” here: Transfer your data to your new MacBook Pro - Apple Support I understand this is not a new device that you just purchased, but the steps in the section are helpful. With optimizing Mac storage, these files will move to iCloud when dragged to your Mac.


Let me know the results.


Take care.

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User profile for user: AviatorTim
AviatorTim Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

May 10, 2020 12:15 PM in response to Joseph_S.

This does not seem to address my question unless I am completely missing something.


I had previously run the Optimize Storage Space of my Mac so the first step did very little to free up any space other than empty my Recycle Bin which I hadn't done in awhile.


The second step about Transfering new data to you MacBook, just created the same error message I originally wrote about--"The item “My Older Documents from PC” can’t be copied because there isn’t enough free space."


"My Older Documents from PC" is a folder on an external 5TB drive with roughly 1.5TB of data. I have 144 GB of free space on the MacBook internal drive. It seems to me that it is trying to copy the 1.5TB of data to the macBook's drive BEFORE uploading it into iCloud which does not work.


Correct me if I am wrong here. It seems to me the Optimizing Storage Space on my Mac may take me from my current free space of 144GB to say perhaps 250GB of free space by offloading older and seldom used files to iCloud and only downloading them from there on-demand. I don't see how that solution helps me get the 1.5TB of data from the external drive up to iCloud though.


Am I missing something?

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How can I copy files directly to iCloud drive when there isn't sufficient space on my local drive?

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