Need help: lost all Desktop files!

[Cham2000]

Yesterday, I lost all of my Desktop files (a lot of large files!), after switching ON and OFF some iCloud settings in the settings pane. I don't have a backup of these files and some are really important, so I need advices about how to get the files back (if possible!).

My iCloud space is the basic only: 5GB. I use it only to store the basic data (addresses, phone numbers, passwords). I never use iCloud to store large files like music, videos, pictures, etc. But I apparently made a mistake while switching ON/OFF some iCloud settings and I suddenly lost everything from the Desktop. After calling Apple, I had to reinstall the full Ventura OS (since the Finder was behaving weirdly), and then updated to Sonoma.

The Desktop was full of very large movie MKV files, PDF, and iCloud never had time to move these to iCloud, which wasn't even large enough to get all the large files from the Desktop anyway. So what happened to these files? Were they simply erased? What the Hell?

So is there a way to recocver the lost files? What good recoveery software would you recommend?

 

[Mike Boreham]

Difficult to know exactly what happened, but usually when you turn off any iCloud storage, it puts a new folder in your Home Directory of what was previously in iCloud (more here). Since you say it only happened briefly and your iCloud space was small, not sure this will have happened. Are there any new folders in your Home Directory?

Have you tried searching for any of the missing ones with Spotlight or free app like EasyFind?

You may get some clue from Apple menu > About this Mac > More Info > Storage Settings

I doubt they have been simply deleted from what you say.

Time Machine would probably have saved you, but you know this.

 

[Cham2000]

Are there any new folders in your Home Directory?

Have you tried searching for any of the missing ones with Spotlight or free app like EasyFind?

I doubt they have been simply deleted from what you say.

Time Machine would probably have saved you, but you know this.

My Home directory contains a dozen of folders. All are intact and safe, except the "Desktop" and "Documents" folders which are now empty. I don't care much about the "Documents" folder since I have a complete backup for it. But I don't understand what happened to all the files in the Desktop folder. There were many large files in there (several large MKV movies, for example). The OS didn't had time to move everything to the iCloud, especially since the available space there was low (5GB).

Spotlight is one of the first thing I tried, even before I reinstalled Ventura (I also used the Find search window). It didn't found anything. I used the Terminal app to inspect my Home directory, and didn't found any hidden files. I also tried to use some recovery software (Wondershare Recoverit and EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard) but it didn't helped much.

The Volume available size is now showing a larger free space than before the file lost event. I don't know if I could trust this, but it seems to indicate that the lost file were just "erased" or zapped in some way!

Yes, Time Machine would have been helpful here, but I don't use it. This file lost is the first time it's happening to me, after more than 30 years of using Macs! I usually do rigorous backups on external drives, but I didn't made it for the Desktop this month (and I regret it a lot!).

 

[Mike Boreham]

My Home directory contains a dozen of folders. All are intact and safe, except the "Desktop" and "Documents" folders which are now empty. I don't care much about the "Documents" folder since I have a complete backup for it. But I don't understand what happened to all the files in the Desktop folder. There were many large files in there (several large MKV movies, for example). The OS didn't had time to move everything to the iCloud, especially since the available space there was low (5GB).

Spotlight is one of the first thing I tried, even before I reinstalled Ventura (I also used the Find search window). It didn't found anything. I used the Terminal app to inspect my Home directory, and didn't found any hidden files. I also tried to use some recovery software (Wondershare Recoverit and EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard) but it didn't helped much.

The Volume available size is now showing a larger free space than before the file lost event. I don't know if I could trust this, but it seems to indicate that the lost file were just "erased" or zapped in some way!

Yes, Time Machine would have been helpful here, but I don't use it. This file lost is the first time it's happening to me, after more than 30 years of using Macs! I usually do rigorous backups on external drives, but I didn't made it for the Desktop this month (and I regret it a lot!).

Oh dear. Out of ideas I am afraid but remain very surprised that toggling iCloud settings would delete data. I have not heard of that happening.

 

[Slartibart]

Has the free space increased on your Mac? What Mac model btw? Did you try to see whether the files are visible after a restart?

 

[Mike Boreham]

My Home directory contains a dozen of folders. All are intact and safe, except the "Desktop" and "Documents" folders which are now empty.

What I asked was whether there were any new folders eg “iCloud Drive (archive)” like in the article I linked. It’s a forlorn hope but worth double checking.

 

[Ben J.]

This will happen when you enable "Desktop and Documents" in iCloud settings: The files they contain are moved here:
~/Library/CloudStorage/iCloud

The solution is simple: Turn off "Desktop and Documents" in iCloud settings, and move all the files back.

Other cloud services will also use this folder, like Google Drive. The idea is that you access your files thru the "iCloud" in the Finder sidebar, and all changes are reflected in the Cloudstorage folder, and automatically synced to the cloud so you can access it from your other devices connected to your AppleID.

I hate it.

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive – Apple Support (UK)

Find out how to share your files from your Mac Desktop and Documents folders to all of your devices with iCloud Drive.

support.apple.com

(Btw, some or all of the files and folders, the ones that have been synced, will still be present in iCloud. You can log in and delete them, or just leave them be. They are no longer linked to Desktop and Documents on your mac, so it doesn't matter.)

 

[Mike Boreham]

This will happen when you enable "Desktop and Documents" in iCloud settings: The files they contain are moved here:
~/Library/CloudStorage/iCloud

The solution is simple: Turn off "Desktop and Documents" in iCloud settings, and move all the files back.

Other cloud services will also use this folder, like Google Drive. The idea is that you access your files thru the "iCloud" in the Finder sidebar, and all changes are reflected in the Cloudstorage folder, and automatically synced to the cloud so you can access it from your other devices connected to your AppleID.

I hate it.

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive – Apple Support (UK)

Find out how to share your files from your Mac Desktop and Documents folders to all of your devices with iCloud Drive.

support.apple.com

(Btw, some or all of the files and folders, the ones that have been synced, will still be present in iCloud. You can log in and delete them, or just leave them be. They are no longer linked to Desktop and Documents on your mac, so it doesn't matter.)

I posted that link in post #2 above, which also says they are moved back to new folders in the Home Directory when it is turned off as the OP has done.

But I agree it is good suggestion to look in ~/Library/Cloudstorage and also ~/Library/Mobile Documents, but Apple makes it very difficult for users to find stuff in the hidden ~/Library, and prefers putting shortcuts in the Sidebar and hiding their true location. EG I can't see my D&D folders in CloudStorage or Mobile Documents when viewed from the boot volume even though my D&D are on iCloud Drive. (I can see them in ~/Library/MobileDocuments browsing my backup drive).

@Cham2000 you should read this article on the subject, which contains comments about users easily believing their data has been lost.
I still believe your data is there somewhere.

 

[Mike Boreham]

@Cham2000 Suggestion. Analyse your drive with DaisyDisk. Use the browser at top right (not the useless graphic) to drill down into the User Library for Mobile Documents and CloudStorage, and look for your missing files. If you find location try right click > Show in Finder.

 

[Mike Boreham]

@Cham2000 Here is a thread in ASC with exactly your problem. User found them in the 'iCloud Drive (Archive)' inside their user folder...what I suggested earlier.

 

[Cham2000]

@Cham2000 Suggestion. Analyse your drive with DaisyDisk. Use the browser at top right (not the useless graphic) to drill down into the User Library for Mobile Documents and CloudStorage, and look for your missing files. If you find location try right click > Show in Finder.

I already checked the "iCloud Drive" folder. It's almost empty. The few files there are useless to me.

I also checked the "Library/CloudStorage", and it's empty. And I don't have any "Mobile Documents" in the Library.

My available disk space as increased by about 200GB after my issue. This issue happened on a one year old Mac mini M2Pro, with the latest Ventura OS and 32GB of ram.

So I ended trying to forget my painful issue. After I re-installed the Ventura OS, I installed Sonoma, and rebuilded my whole desktop. A few important files are definitively lost.

I finally learned to be more paranoid with Apple's OS, and I'll do more frequent backups. I don't trust anymore Apple for their stupidly buggy OS...

 

[Mike Boreham]

I already checked the "iCloud Drive" folder. It's almost empty.

It's not the iCloud Drive folder I was suggesting but a new one created when iCloud Drive is turned off, called iCloud Drive (Archive). Did you look at the thread on ASC which I linked, from someone who did exactly what you reported and found it all in his iCloud Drive (Archive)?

I also checked the "Library/CloudStorage", and it's empty. And I don't have any "Mobile Documents" in the Library.

I don't apparently have a "Mobile Documents" folder either because, as I said, Apple hides it from us when viewed from the booted volume. When I browse the ~/Library on my cloned backup drive and my Time Machine Drive it is there with all my iCloudDrive docs.

My available disk space as increased by about 200GB after my issue.

This does make it seem unlikely that your missing stuff is still there.

I finally learned to be more paranoid with Apple's OS, and I'll do more frequent backups.

👍👍

I don't trust anymore Apple for their stupidly buggy OS...

There are lots of things wrong with macOS and some some apparently stupid features (like hiding the Mobile Docs folder), but I have not come across your problem of losing 200GB of data just by toggling iCloud on and off.

 

[Mike Boreham]

@Cham2000 ...just had another crazy thought...did you look on iCloud.com at any point? ....might even still be there.

 

[Ben J.]

This will happen when you enable "Desktop and Documents" in iCloud settings: The files they contain are moved here:
~/Library/CloudStorage/iCloud

The solution is simple: Turn off "Desktop and Documents" in iCloud settings, and move all the files back.

Other cloud services will also use this folder, like Google Drive. The idea is that you access your files thru the "iCloud" in the Finder sidebar, and all changes are reflected in the Cloudstorage folder, and automatically synced to the cloud so you can access it from your other devices connected to your AppleID.

I hate it.

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive – Apple Support (UK)

Find out how to share your files from your Mac Desktop and Documents folders to all of your devices with iCloud Drive.

support.apple.com

(Btw, some or all of the files and folders, the ones that have been synced, will still be present in iCloud. You can log in and delete them, or just leave them be. They are no longer linked to Desktop and Documents on your mac, so it doesn't matter.)

For anyone interested; this is my alternative solution to have Desktop and Documents shared across my devices:

I use my 2TB Google Drive account instead of iCloud. It achieves the same thing, but without moving all the content to the ~/Library/CloudStorage folder. Makes much more sense for me. Google Drive still uses the Cloudstorage folder for syncing, there is a Google Drive folder in there, but if you open it, it simply takes you to the googledrive files on the web. Like an alias.

Anyway, unlike with iCloud Desktop & Documents, this way everything looks normal on the mac, and all changes to those two folders are reflected on Google Drive, so I can access them from my other devices.

I implemented this over the weekend - it works great, and looks completely transparent.

I still use iCloud for syncing the regular apps, like calender, contacts, notes etc.