Icloud has cleared out my calendars on calendar

Hi all, first time poster so please be gentle with me
I never use iCloud but today thought I would give it a go and boy what regret I have for this decision now. I actually wanted to back up my photos but of course I don't have nearly enough room for that so next I thought I'd just back up my calendar. Here's where it went fun. So I started to do that and then changed my mind. Now I have barely any calendar entries on my calendar. If I enable the icloud accounts then some of my calendars reappear but most of the entries that used to be there before I tried this experiment have gone (like years of stuff). I am really devastated as everywhere I look online simply offers me the simple solution of backing up from icloud! Guess what no backups to be found in icloud (when I go to icloud and try restore calendars it says "no archives available"). I'm on a mid 2011 imac running Sierra 10.12.6 Would love to hear someone's brilliant idea on where the data would have gone and how to get it back? Thanks so much

Have another look as sometimes some iCloud stuff takes a while to show. (And no, I really don't like iCloud and how it sometimes works.)

What shows in your Calendar when you login to https://icloud.com/ ???

PS: Do you not have a current backup of your iMac user data???





- Patrick
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Hi, thanks for the reply, appreciate it. Sadly no different to earlier. So the weird thing is if I select icloud in accounts (in the calendar software) it brings up what my calendars used to be called and there's one or two entries but nothing like what was there before I attempted to link to icloud. In the icloud version of the calendar its blank, no entries at all. Sadly I do not remember the last time I did any kind of backup so yeah I don't think that's going to be an option either. Feel like I might have completely messed things up and this is my reward

@moremalice

A warm welcome to Mac-Forums.

I'm sorry for your misfortune.

Before we start, can you just tell us how you synced your Calendar with iCloud - just for the record so we all know the process you went through. Tedious, I know, but helpful to us.

I thought I'd just back up my calendar - So I started to do that and then changed my mind

Click to expand...

Please take no offence, I'm on your side. But this appears to be where the problem lies. You started, but didn't give Calendar and iCloud time to sync and terminated the sync process mid-stream as it were. And from what I gather there were several Calendars, each going back some years. A lot of data.

What you might do is sign in to iCloud via the web - use iCloud.com - enter your Apple ID and Password. Open Calendar and see what is there.

You talk about "stuff" from years' ago not being on your Mac's Calendar. That may not be such a catastrophe as current and future Calendar events, but I understand.

As I understand your second post, you do not have any Time Machine or other form of backup? I may have picked you up wrongly. But if that is the case, I would say the only way I see of reclaiming anything is by re-establishing the iCloud sync in the hope that, if you give it time, you may find that equilibrium is restored between your Mac and iCloud.

In fairness, I don't think this is iCloud's fault. And I say that in no offence to you.

Ian

Hi thanks for the reply and I am in no way offended and totally agree with you its me who messed up. Honestly I'm somewhat disabled so the process has taxed my less than useful brain and in answer to your question I don't really remember what happened (my memory is rubbish). What I wonder though is what happened to the original calendar files since I remember clicking something about saving a copy to my mac (but this is where I suspect the problem lies since the process wasn't completed in all likelihood its made a copy of a not complete bit of data?). The calendar that's sitting on the icloud site looks like the local one with very little in it. Yep no time machine. The loss of the old data is a problem for me since as already mentioned: memory issues (so now when I need to fill out anything related to my disablities for social security purposes for example I just don't have any dates as to when I started to go down hill). So I'm guessing I've lost it all and should learn my lesson regarding back ups

Doesn't Time Machine back up automatically or is that an opt-in? Open it up and see if you can restore Calendar to before you trifled with iCloud.

Good point, Sue; but the OP doesn't say what Mac he/she has - or my tired brain has missed it.

If a Desktop, then Time Machine has to be set up as you know. If a notebook, then I think it still has to be set up even though it initially backs up internally and then transfers to an EHD when connected.

At least on my wife's 2017 MacBook Pro, TM was not "on" by default.

Ian

Theirs is an iMac so probably no good.

Having faffed (unsuccessfully) with iCloud in the past, I do recall that Calendar takes some while to repopulate so maybe all is not lost. Have another go, moremalice.

In Calendar, on your Mac, you should have two separate calendars, one for iCloud, and one for On My Mac. Do you still have the option for "On My Mac"?

Having faffed (unsuccessfully) with iCloud in the past, I do recall that Calendar takes some while to repopulate so maybe all is not lost. Have another go, moremalice.

Click to expand...

I agree and that sounds a bit familiar and I think I already mentioned Calendar's sometimes catchup delays!!!




- Patrick
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Yep desktop so no time machine set up unfortunately (don't actually have a spare hard drive to use for back up)

Hi Sue thanks but left my computer on overnight and no change

Hi Bob the options on the left of my calendar do not include anything "on my mac", I have Gmail, iCloud and Other (found in apps, birthdays, Aust Hols)