iCloud drive Windows 11 will not sync

For what its worth Im having exactly the same issue. Pics, Password etc synch ok BUT NOT DRIVE.

Have uninstalled icloud from PC and resinstalled. Signed out/signed in multiple times. Downloaded and installed from MS store also. End apps through Task Manager and so on and so on. Clearly this problem appears to be more widespread.

I haven't heard from Apple in over a week. Here's some other stuff I've tried in the meantime:

• Added iCloudDrive.exe to the list of exclusions from Windows Security. I think that helped a bit with the speed.
• Increased the priority of iCloudDrive.exe to High. No instability noted. Pretty big increase in throughput. Obvious downside is increase in system resources used.

There are currently about 600,000 files in my iCloud Drive. It has synced only about 160,000 files' worth of metadata to the local folder. That is just over 25% of my files since August 22. At this rate, I've got 6 more months before it will finish.

I'm wondering if iCloudDrive.exe starts over each time the computer is rebooted. I have a brand new laptop and have had all sorts of software and firmware updates along with Windows 11 updates. If iCloudDrive.exe has to churn through the existing 160,000 files before it can move on to new stuff, that would explain a lot. Hopefully that is not the case. I have asked Apple this question. I will provide an update if I get any new information.

I have been working with Apple Support for weeks on this same issue. I've got a brand new high-end laptop - 12th gen Core i7, 64GB RAM, 2x2TB SSDs in RAID 0. I have to use a native Windows 11 machine for school. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling. I have tried disabling and re-enabling iCloud Drive. I finally have just let it continue to sync. The last time I re-set it was August 21, 2022 at 1:04PM. Since that time, I have been running my laptop nearly 24/7 in order to allow it time to sync. It still isn't done.

To clarify, I have not asked iCloud Drive to download any files. I have not selected "Always Keep on this Device" for any files. This is just the initial sync of what I would guess is just metadata.

I can see using ProcMon64.exe that iCloudDrive.exe is working furiously in the background accessing a file C:\Users\XXXX\AppData\Local\Packages\AppleInc.iCloud_XXXXXX\LocalCache\Local\Apple Inc\iCloudDrive\iCloudDrive.db. I estimate that it is reading or writing to that db file 70,000 times a second. That is not the only thing that it is doing, but it is the vast majority of what it does. The process rarely uses the network. It uses about 8% of my processor at all times. I mostly am syncing from home with 1000 down/100 up fiber and WiFi 6.

I have sent multiple logs to Apple engineering. So far, they are saying that everything is working correctly, which obviously can't be the correct answer.

Hello davidtkhayes,

It sounds like you're having trouble with iCloud Photos on your Windows PC. We're happy to help. This article covers several troubleshooting steps for iCloud Photos:

If your iCloud Photos aren't loading on your PC - Apple Support

If the issue persists after trying those steps, contact Apple Support. They will be able to assist further.

Have a great day.

Hey davidtkhayes,

Apologies about the misunderstanding. Do other files that are not photos appear without an issue? Also make sure that requirements are met following the guidance here, which is required for features to function properly: System requirements for iCloud - Apple Support. You can try on a different network as well to help isolate the issue to the network itself.

Keep us updated!

davidtkhayes,

Got it! You mentioned earlier that you're using the built-in Windows security software. Are you able to temporarily disable it to see if that makes a difference? While the issue seems to happen with just one type of data, it's definitely worth testing to rule out a possible issue with security settings: Resolve issues between iCloud for Windows or iTunes and third-party security software - Apple Support

Let us know, and have a good day.

I'm currently trying a couple of things. I've added iCloudDrive.exe to the exclusion list in Windows Security as well as the c:\Users\XXX\AppData\Local\Packages\Apple.iCloud_xxxx\LocalCache folder. I'm also experimenting with elevating the priority of the iCloudDrive.exe process. I've got it set to High priority at present. It seems to work fine and is crunching data faster without reported or logged errors.