Can't download my photos and videos

[mpmbeast]

Hi,

Hope somebody can help as I've been trying to do this for a week and can't fathom how to do it.

I am trying to download all my photos and videos from the Photos app. I have just over 12,000 and is a mixture of photos and videos (80% photos). All the originals are downloaded on the Mac in the library. When I try to export them all it just hangs. When I try to do it in 200/300/500/1000 at a time etc , it just hangs. I go onto iCloud.com and try to download the originals and they download in 1000 at a time. The zip file is always corrupt and says "Error 1 No such process". I have tried various other apps such as stuffit expander, the unarchiver, unzip etc and not 1 will do it. How the hell do I get them all to download? I want to start a fresh with a new appleid/iCloud account and can't get MY photos and videos from Apple. I wish I had known this before going all in on Apple!

Please see pics for the problem...

 

[Fishrrman]

Can you download only ONE photo?
Or does even that give you problems?

Aside:
This is why I don't trust "the cloud" with ANYTHING -- it's all on disks under MY control...

 

[mpmbeast]

1 is fine. A few is fine. Anything more and it just hangs. I wish to God I hadn’t trusted iCloud for photo storage. It’s just rubbish.

 

[mpmbeast]

Had an idea. I have put my old account onto the Mac and downloaded all the photos to the Mac. If I copy that photo library and place it into the shared folder and then log out/log in with the new account and option click photos and allocate the library in the shared folder as the library and then turn on iCloud photos on that , will that then upload them all to my new iCloud? If so and I format the Mac and start a complete fresh , they should all be on my new iCloud account and just re download shouldn't they?

 

[chabig]

I am trying to download all my photos and videos from the Photos app. I have just over 12,000 and is a mixture of photos and videos (80% photos). All the originals are downloaded on the Mac in the library.

This confuses me. You say you want to download your photos and videos, which implies they are in iCloud. But then you say they are already on your "Mac in the library". If you already have them on your Mac in the library, walk to the library and copy them off that machine.

 

[mpmbeast]

Ok...

I was using account A and have been for years. I have thousands of photos and videos on there.
I wanted to start a fresh and created account B.
On my Mac I just installed account B and tried to download all my photos and videos of iCloud.com logged in with account A. It just doesn't work as every zip file is corrupt. So.. I installed account A also on the same Mac and logged in. I clicked Photos in my iCloud settings and had them download to my Mac (ie not optimised storage) and they are all sat on my Mac now in the photos library. I tried to export them all but it just hangs EVERY time. So... could I put account A photos library in to a shared folder that I can access when logged in with account B and have that library as my photos library and turn on iCloud for photos. That should surely upload them all to my iCloud on account B?

 

[Fishrrman]

Hmmmm.... if you were able to download all your ACCOUNT A photos to an external drive...
and
... if you now want those photos to go into ACCOUNT B
then
... why don't you open Photos on ACCOUNT B, then choose to "import" them from the drive they're on?

The import will take a while, of course, because you have a lot of pics.
But then the photos should be in ACCOUNT B on a physical drive.
Isn't this where you want them to be?

Here's a trick to use with the drive that the photos are on now:
1. Connect the drive to the Mac with ACCOUNT B
2. Let the drive icon appear on the desktop. DO NOT "open" it.
3. Click ONE TIME on the drive icon to select it.
4. Summon the get info box for the icon (command-i)
5. At the bottom of get into, click the lock and enter your ACCOUNT B password
6. Put a check into "ignore ownership on this volume" (sharing and permissions)
7. Close get info.
Doing this will over-ride permissions issues and all the copied files will now "come under the ownership" of ACCOUNT B.

This trick works for all kinds of files.

 

[mpmbeast]

Hmmmm.... if you were able to download all your ACCOUNT A photos to an external drive...
and
... if you now want those photos to go into ACCOUNT B
then
... why don't you open Photos on ACCOUNT B, then choose to "import" them from the drive they're on?

The import will take a while, of course, because you have a lot of pics.
But then the photos should be in ACCOUNT B on a physical drive.
Isn't this where you want them to be?

Here's a trick to use with the drive that the photos are on now:
1. Connect the drive to the Mac with ACCOUNT B
2. Let the drive icon appear on the desktop. DO NOT "open" it.
3. Click ONE TIME on the drive icon to select it.
4. Summon the get info box for the icon (command-i)
5. At the bottom of get into, click the lock and enter your ACCOUNT B password
6. Put a check into "ignore ownership on this volume" (sharing and permissions)
7. Close get info.
Doing this will over-ride permissions issues and all the copied files will now "come under the ownership" of ACCOUNT B.

This trick works for all kinds of files.

They aren't downloaded on an external drive , they are downloaded on the Mac. Its the photos library (see pic). Will the above work with that?

 

[Fishrrman]

"They aren't downloaded on an external drive , they are downloaded on the Mac. Its the photos library (see pic). Will the above work with that?"

The part about the "get info trick" WILL NOT work on the internal drive.
However, have you tried logging into ACCOUNT B, and then importing the photos that way?

 

[mpmbeast]

Importing the library you mean? I don’t have the photos downloaded individually. I just have the library.

 

[mpmbeast]

Just tried again to download some of the photos. 46gb worth (1000 files) and its corrupt again. Apple sucks at services. Won't be using iCloud again. Ill go back to google services totally as they never let me down before I stupidly moved everything to Apple.

 

[Ruggy]

I don't understand: why zip files?
Can't you just export them as photos? .jpeg
If you are somehow bundling them together as zip files that may be your problem.
Also be aware that any 'live' photos are actually video files and can take ages.

I had problems downloading some specific photos that had been uploaded from an Android phone- I think it was an LG.
When I removed those everything went smoothly so you may just have one or two in each batch that are messing things up.

 

[darngooddesign]

I just have the library.

Right Click > Show Package Contents

Can't you put your photo library in Account B and just have Photos use that library.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:
"Importing the library you mean? I don’t have the photos downloaded individually. I just have the library."

What happens if you do this?
1. I'll assume you have the icon for Photos in the dock
2. HOLD DOWN the OPTION key and click the Photos icon
3. A dialog will open, asking you which library to open
4. Navigate to the library (you are referring to above), then click Open.
5. Does Photos now open that library?

 

[TechSnoop]

Importing the library you mean? I don’t have the photos downloaded individually. I just have the library.

Could you summarize your final goal? As I understand, you have a Photos library belonging to User A which is synced with iCloud. You want to download all those photos into User B's account (Into B's Photos Library or in folders on the Mac i.e. outside of the Photos library?)

Please also list the exact steps for reproducing the issue. You mention downloading a zip file: You log in as User B, sign in to iCloud.com with A's password, select 1,000 photos, click Download, and specify the saving location. This would save a zip file containing 1,000 individual photos. But you also say (Quoting) "I just have the library". Which is it?

You should be able to export the photo, move them into B's account, merge them with B's Photos library...Please specify what you want, so I may help.

 

[Big Bad D]

Could you summarize your final goal? As I understand, you have a Photos library belonging to User A which is synced with iCloud. You want to download all those photos into User B's account (Into B's Photos Library or in folders on the Mac i.e. outside of the Photos library?)

Please also list the exact steps for reproducing the issue. You mention downloading a zip file: You log in as User B, sign in to iCloud.com with A's password, select 1,000 photos, click Download, and specify the saving location. This would save a zip file containing 1,000 individual photos. But you also say (Quoting) "I just have the library". Which is it?

You should be able to export the photo, move them into B's account, merge them with B's Photos library...Please specify what you want, so I may help.

Well said. I was also reading this thread in hope of helping, but need a clearer explanation and understanding of what the op is trying to do.

 

[Big Bad D]

A very basic question. Before you try exporting photos and videos, can you correctly access and view the same photos and videos in Photos app?