Can I use iCloud Drive as a backup with non-macOS? I am a Mac user who used to benefit much from the Genius Bar in America.
Now I relocated to elsewhere without the support and I know so little what to do right now.

A couple of months ago, I made a lot of change to my Macintosh' directories. I sent most of the archives to iCloud and removed them from the hard drive. Then I bought another laptop so that I can install Windows, the OS needed to run the particulars of South Korean web browsers. Also my Mac was aging (bought 2012, MacBook Pro).

I was able to locate the iCloud section on my sidebar and check the contents I need are there. But is it something sustainable?

The problem of its not synching with my new laptop properly still persists though. The model it is not synching to is MSI GS63 7RD stealth, although I think Windows is causing the problem. Domestic customer contact commented that it sometimes doesn't sync well with non-macOS environment, and that was it.

Inquiry in sum: 


I would like to ask if anyone restored data using iCloud Drive in a non-MacOS environment with success. If it is even possible. 
I mean iCloud Drive by the storage service that you pay monthly. I started the service expecting it could be used in place of external hard drive for backup.. or is it not how it should be used?


I currently use macOS High Sierra 10.13.2
No single backup destination should be your only backup of important files. iCloud Drive is no exception.

iCloud Drive is supported on Windows as you've found. This folder is synchronised with iCloud Drive, so providing you have an internet connection, the files you add there will be copied to iCloud. Later, on another computer or if you erase your current computer, you can sign in to iCloud again and your files will still be there.

iCloud Drive is not meant to be a backup solution for your files in their current location. You shouldn't expect to store all your files in iCloud Drive on Windows as the integration just isn't there yet. You can add iCloud Drive as a library folder so it appears as part of Documents, but unlike macOS you can't replace your entire Documents folder on Windows with iCloud Drive.

An external drive is useful for backups since you take the files on your computer, copy them to the external drive, then remove the drive and place it elsewhere — that's a quintessential backup. iCloud Drive is a little different:


If you copy all your documents into iCloud Drive, you're using twice as much storage space on your computer.
If you move all your documents into iCloud Drive, they're no longer where you left them in your Documents folder or wherever.


iCloud Drive is great for files you want to synchronise, and can work as a backup solution, but it's not designed for that primarily.