Reflashing - what happens with Notes etc?

[Gullspira]

Hey!
If reflashing the MacBook Pro laptop:
What happens to Notes where I saved very important work stuff and to Gmail labels that are extremely important for my job to keep. I have an old email function in the computer that is taking up 15G of space that I can't access. If I delete it, will important emails disappear in Gmail because they seem connected? Also have an old picture library that takes up space that I didn't dare move because all the pictures don't seem to have been able to be downloaded by the Pictures library in the Mac because it tries to download. Pictures are extremely important, even personally for me and the family! As for Reminders, which I also use for work and are very important to keep.
Can you save all that stuff on a hard drive? How to do it in the best way?
Thanks for the advice!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

First off:

• Do you have a current Time Machine or other backup of your data on an external drive?
• Are you using iCloud?
• Which model Mac?
• Which version of OS X/macOS?

Your questions:

• Notes: Are they synced via iCloud or only stored on the Mac?
• Gmail Labels: If you login to Gmail in a browser, can you see all of the emails/labels/notes?
• Photos: Are you using iCloud Library?
• Reminders: Are they synced via iCloud or only stored on the Mac?

C

 

[Gullspira]

Hello Cory Cooper!
Thank you very much for answering my questions! I was afraid that they were too many.

The information you asked for:
* It has not been possible to save back up with Time Machine for more than six months.
* Yes, I use iCloud. However, all my photos have not been able to be transferred to Photos from the phone. The transfer has been paused for 26 items
* MacBook Pro (Retina, 13 inch, mid 2014) Processor: 2.6 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel Iris 1536 MB
* macOS CatalinaVersion 10.15.7 (19H2)

Regarding my questions:
* Notes: Yes, I assume they are synced via iCloud because I also access Notes through my iPhone and iPad.
* Gmail Labels: Yes, it seems I can log into Gmail via a browser. It says I use 4.89 GB in Mail even though I only use Gmail. I won't be able to throw from Mail either. Will emails disappear from Gmail if I delete from Mail? I have a lot of work-related stuff in Gmail that I put Gmail labels on that I need to be able to save.
* Photos: I think I'm using iCloud Library but I’m not sure. It says I have Migrated Photo Library. Haven't dared to throw Photo Library because I'm afraid of losing photos. Do I gain any space by throwing Photo Library?
* Reminders: I access Reminders via iPhone but no longer via iPad.
(iCloud Drive uses 2.20GB of storage. I haven't clicked Enable Desktop and Documents on iCloud)
I have no single document left on my computer. Still Macntosh HD-data sais I use 105 GB, Other volumes 13 GB and only 2,32 GB free. I have thrown away cashe files. I have only a couple of really big programs, iMovie and QGIS. The rest of the programs are quite small.
Many greetings!
Gullspira

 

[Gullspira]

Hi Cory!
Thanks for answering my thread. https://www.mac-help.com/threads/reflashing-what-happens-with-notes-etc.229456/
I have replied on your questions now. I wonder if you have seen my answer? I would be very greatful if you or someone else could take time to look at them and give some suggestions.
Gullspira

 

[Gullspira]

How do you clear your Mac safe? See thread. Any suggestions?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

Sorry for the delayed response...life gets in the way sometimes!

• Time Machine: Is there a reason you haven't been able to perform a Time Machine backup for 6 months? Is the Time Machine disk full, or are you getting an error?
• Notes: Sounds like they are all stored on iCloud, so they will come back if you erase the Mac.
• Gmail: If you can see all of the email and mailboxes when signed into Google Gmail in a browser, then they will come back if you erase the Mac. If you manually delete the emails from the Mail application, they WILL delete from Gmail as well, but not if you simply erase the Mac. Make sense?
• Photos Library: To play it safe, it would be a good idea to copy the Photos Library to an external in addition to a Time Machine backup.
• Reminders: If you can see them all on your iPhone, then they are also syncing with iCloud, so same as Notes.

Honestly, the best thing to do first would be to get a current Time Machine backup. Without being able to see what is taking up the space, I can't make a suggestion yet.

C