#Google drive desktop free

If using Google Drive to free up hard disk space on your computer.Īfter you copy all the files you want to your G: Drive and they have finished transferring, you can then delete the files from your computer. Once your new or re-imaged computer is setup and Google Drive is installed, you can copy files you want back from the Google Drive to the PC. That is why this is most useful for a quick backup before a re-image or changing computers. If you make changes to a file in your pc's document folder, it will not change on the Google Drive, or vice versa. Otherwise the file will have a progress bar if it hasn't been synced yet.Ī copy of your files will now be on your hard drive and on your Google Drive. If completed, all files will have a time synced under their name and a green checkmark across from it. If you plan on deleting the files on your computer, go the Google Drive preferences and check that it is finished copying the files.Then you can drag folders you want from your user folder to the My Drive folder. Name the folder whatever you'd like and open it.You can either just copy items into here or you can make a new folder for your files as I do here:.(open Shared Drives if you'll want to put in a shared drive with other co-workers)

#Google drive desktop windows

You should resize the windows so you can drag them to be side-by-side.

You can right-click on the folder icon, and then choose Google Drive G: (or whatever you named your drive). Then open a second folder in File Explorer.

Open up your user folder found on the Desktop, usually with your name or name used to setup computer.

It's as simple as dragging the folder you want copied, into the folder you want inside your G: Drive. Once Google Drive for Desktop is setup, you can copy any files over from your computer to the drive. There are few other settings but as Google adds features, there will be more options in here.Ĭopying files to Google Drive for a temporary backup or to move to a new computer Here you can change the drive letter to something other than G or switch accounts if want to access another google account's drive. To get to Drive for Desktop's settings, go the system tray and click on the Google Drive symbol.Ĭlick on the gear symbol and then Preferences.

#Google drive desktop Offline

If you are using Google Docs in Chrome, you can get an extension that enables you to work offline on files. It will cache whatever file you are working with on your computer, and should you lose connection, it will attempt to resync any changes made afterward. They will be streamed from Google's cloud and so you will need internet access to interact with them. Note: the files in your G: drive are not stored on your computer. You will notice both your My Drive and Shared Folders are inside and can open either one. By default, it will be assigned G: but that can be changed in preferences if you prefer. If you click on the button or open a File Explorer window, you will find it in your quick access and/or further down where the Drives are listed. If you proceed to its final slide, there will be a button to open your Google Drive. If you have 2fa setup on your NMU gmail account, you will be prompted to provide authorization similar to below.Īfter that, Google Drive for Desktop will be setup.

#Google drive desktop install

Select Install and then sign in with your NMU email and password. You can choose to create shortcuts to the Drive and to Google's apps. Once you've downloaded the installer (located here), open it to begin installation. If already have Google Drive for Desktop installed but need to get to its settings, see below. Note: Drive for Desktop was previously called Google File Stream and still is currently on Macs (changed 2-4-2021).īefore using as a backup solution, please read the warning note at the bottom of the page.