'Optimise Mac storage' not working

[otterlyridiculous]

Hi everyone,

My Mac has been bugging me to delete files for a while, saying I'm running out of space. I check About > Storage, and see that the vast majority of my Mac is filled with 'iCloud Drive' files.

This shouldn't happen, as I have 'optimise Mac storage' ticked in my iCloud preferences, along with all the possible checkboxes ticked. I have more than 1.5 TB free in my iCloud account, which is plenty to store all my HD.

Syncing between my devices is occurring quickly, as normal.

So why isn't my Mac offloading my lesser-used files to the cloud for me to download when needed? Most of them I haven't used in months. Surely, the whole point of 'optimising' storage is that I shouldn't encounter a low storage warning if I have plenty of space in iCloud? It even looks as though it is trying to download MORE files, with a down arrow and then 'waiting' underneath some old, unused folders in my Drive folder.

On my iOS devices, optimising storage works like a dream. Did I misunderstand what's going on here?

 

[robbietop]

Dude, I have the same problem.
My iMac was fine.
Then I rebooted it and suddenly wants to download 126 GB of files (I have the 2TB plan).
I can't get it to stop doing this and I am pretty sure I am going to burn out my HDD at this point. I have a nonuser serviceable iMac and am gonna be pissed if iCloud drive burns out my HDD.

Nowhere seems to help other than "Turn off iCloud Drive" and that's not an option for me, did it 10 times, stop telling me to do it again, etc.

You find any help?

 

[otterlyridiculous]

Dude, I have the same problem.
You find any help?

Apple Support told me that the iCloud data must be associated with a physical hard drive, or something along those lines. But when I want to drag a large folder to a USB, it seems to want to start to download everything. But... if it's taking up space on my HDD, then why does it need to download? Almost every folder seems to be uploaded (it has the cloud symbol next to it), so what's taking up practically my entire hard drive?

I'm still at a loss!

 

[robbietop]

I just went into iCloud Drive on another machine and moved everything out of the iMac folder "Documents - iMac" into a new folder I dubbed Backup.
When I did that, the downloads stopped. Apple's High Sierra must have triggered a syncing error.
I reinstalled Mac OS X and then the issue has ended....FOR NOW.
Plus, with iCloud Drive, it's like Google or Dropbox anyways. Do we need physical storage these days? I have a 128GB Macbook 12" and an iMac with 2 TB online iCloud. Who needs local storage these days?

Keep your fingers crossed. And do try my method of emptying the cloud folder the iMac dumps into (don't delete it or the iMac will create a whole new one).
Let's see if this is a solution.

 

[zorinlynx]

I have a 128GB Macbook 12" and an iMac with 2 TB online iCloud. Who needs local storage these days?

It's always a good idea to have a copy of your data on your own device. You never know when cloud services might have a problem and lose your data.

 

[Clix Pix]

When I first read about "Optimize Storage," I thought, "oh, no, absolutely no way!" The very idea makes me uneasy. I will be the one to make decisions about my folders and files, not some vague algorithm set up by the OS! I agree with zorinlynx in that it is risky to have one's data "in the cloud" and not even retained locally on your own internal hard drive or external drive. Along with the possibility of data being corrupted and/or lost by the cloud service, there is also the privacy factor. There are some files which I prefer to keep private, such as my tax returns or health/medical information. While I use iCloud Drive for a few files it is only as an extra resource and I also have copies of those same files on one or more external drives. Anything such as personal tax or medical files are retained locally only, on my computers and external drives.

 

[zorinlynx]

When I first read about "Optimize Storage," I thought, "oh, no, absolutely no way!" The very idea makes me uneasy. I will be the one to make decisions about my folders and files, not some vague algorithm set up by the OS! I agree with zorinlynx in that it is risky to have one's data "in the cloud" and not even retained locally on your own internal hard drive or external drive. Along with the possibility of data being corrupted and/or lost by the cloud service, there is also the privacy factor. There are some files which I prefer to keep private, such as my tax returns or health/medical information. While I use iCloud Drive for a few files it is only as an extra resource and I also have copies of those same files on one or more external drives. Anything such as personal tax or medical files are retained locally only, on my computers and external drives.

There actually IS one good use for Optimize Storage.

If you have two Macs, say an iMac at home with a large disk, and a laptop with a small disk, you can use Optimize Storage on your laptop to save space on it. You still want to have at least one machine with it off to contain ALL your data, though, and Time Machine backups enabled on that machine.

 

[Clix Pix]

Actually, I have three Macs at home, and all three have a 512 GB SSD. I use external drives to supplement the folders and files on the internal drive, and also use external drives for backing up/archiving as well. This system works for me. When I travel and take my 12" MacBook, I also stick a Samsung T5 external SSD in with it and that way I have everything with me even if it is not all on the machine's internal drive. I also use the external drive to add any new files or folders while on the trip, and then when I am back home copy and incorporate those into other drives so that basically all my machines have the same info and yet the drives are not stuffed to the gills, nor am I depending on the Cloud to manage my data. Yes, I do have several external drives, both "spinner" ones and SSD! I developed this system a couple of years ago when moving from an iMac with 1 TB to a new 15" MBP with 512 GB SSD that was going to become my primary "workhorse" desktop replacement machine.