Having a nightmare scenario with Photos

[madihavu]

I got a warning that iCloud is full, but I use it for a lot of things, and I'm trying to just get some videos out of the Photos app... and I'm in some sort of bizarre black hole where they're in the Photos app but nowhere on the Mac even though I've "imported" them using the Mac's Photos app.

I looked up this guide: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201517

Under section 'Move Photos Library to the storage device', it says "In the Finder, open the folder that contains Photos Library. By default, Photos Library is stored in the Pictures folder of your home folder. You can open your home folder by choosing Go > Home from the Finder menu bar." I found a bunch of pictures in my Pictures folder and also some in an iCloud Pictures folder (I can't tell if the latter was created by Mac or me though). I see no videos anywhere. Nothing in the Movies folder. I re-open Photos on Mac and they're all still there... "imported"... somewhere...

So now I'm stuck trying to figure out how to actually get my videos off of the iPad to the Mac, to their own folder outside of any designated auto-sync folders, any that could go two ways and accidentally delete the videos everywhere if I delete them in one place.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

• Are the videos on both the Mac and iPad?
• Can you find them when in the Photos application on either device?
• Can you see the videos if you login to icloud.com > Photos?

C

 

[madihavu]

The videos and many of the photos were only on the iPad or in the Mac Photos app; I couldn't find them anywhere in Finder. That's what was driving me crazy. I'm pretty sure they were downloaded by Google Photos when I had it synced. I've since disabled that app's sync and deleted the app. I'm just trying to make sure I'm not losing anything, but I think these items are already backed up elsewhere. I just don't want to mass-delete and lose something, so I'm astonished that I just can't find them in Finder no matter what I'm doing. How is it they show in Mac Photos, even after "import", but not in Finder?! Mac Photos seems to hide them somewhere so I can't copy or move them to a backup detachable drive.

Many of the photos and videos are not in iCloud Drive at least, otherwise I'd see them in Finder. If Mac syncs iCloud Drive, but doesn't sync "iCloud [that isn't quite iCloud Drive]", then I guess I don't understand why it's syncing one and not all of iCloud automatically; that seems counter-intuitive to me.

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks.

• If they were from Google Photos, have you tried logging into your Google account to see if they are still there?
• Do you happen to have a Time Machine or other backup of your Mac?
• Photos that are present in your Photos application on the Mac are stored in the Photos Library, not loose in a folder.
• If they are still present on the iPad, you should be able to import them to your Mac or the Photos application.

C

 

[madihavu]

If they were from Google Photos, have you tried logging into your Google account to see if they are still there?

Yes, but now I have to figure out which of the ones in iPad/Photos/iCloud are not on Google Photos. That's why this is such a problem; I can't just delete the ones on the iPad or in Photos because I can't tell what I'm losing without painstakingly comparing each one.

Also, I noticed that there's some strange duplicates of dozens of them, where they have slightly different names (all following the same pattern) and much different file sizes... I can't tell what created the duplicates or really which ones are the duplicates. I'm just guessing at this point, but because I see no difference yet in visual/audio quality of the large ones, I just delete them.

Do you happen to have a Time Machine or other backup of your Mac?

What does this have to do with figuring out where the photos/videos came from and how to just get them out of the iPad and Photos and to just an ordinary folder that I can view in Finder? If I can just figure out how to move them anywhere, then I can delete them off of the iPad and in Photos.

Photos that are present in your Photos application on the Mac are stored in the Photos Library, not loose in a folder.

I thought that's what I was basically saying, and is the problem. I need them in a normal folder I can move around, not in some library. I need to get them off the iPad and out of Photos. They need to be accessible on a Windows computer as well, even if the Mac is off.

If they are still present on the iPad, you should be able to import them to your Mac or the Photos application.

I already did that, and stated that I did that. That's why I'm at where I'm at asking what I am. Maybe you didn't see that part? Please read what I wrote before more carefully, or just address the issues I'm pointing out in this reply.

I just need to the get the photos/videos off of the iPad and Photos to an ordinary folder that I can manage as I like with any operating system, not locked into an app or device.