Google Drive is a cloud-based storage service that allows you to download and upload files. With Google Drive, files can be accessed by you or others at different locations and from different devices. Google Drive is a safe place to keep any file– there are no file type restrictions and all data is encrypted, requiring you to grant permission for others to access, edit, or view the files.
Make Google Drive File Stream Files Available Offline; Now check if the problem is solved; For MacOS: 10. Turn off Screen Share. Mac has the feature which allows a user to share his screen with another Mac user. But due to a bug, Google Drive File Stream may not work when the screen share option is enabled on your Mac. Google Drive for Mac: create, share and keep all your stuff in one place. You can now access your Google Drive files, even the big ones, from your Mac. Share them with whomever you want, and edit them together in real time.
The only file restriction imposed by Google Drive is that individual file/folder uploads cannot exceed five TB (Terabytes) in size.
The Google Drive storage space you receive for free is 15 GB (Gigabytes) and can be upgraded to more space if needed. Upgrade prices are as follows:
- 100 GB – $1.99/mo.
- 1 TB – $9.99/mo. (most popular)
- 10 TB – $99.99/mo.
- 20 TB – $199.99/mo.
- 30 TB – $299.99/mo.
It is highly unlikely you will need any more space than one TB unless you are using Google Drive for your computer hard drive backups, as well as large photo or video libraries. In most cases, you shouldn’t need to upgrade from the free 15 GB storage space provided.
For Mac and Windows, that process is very simple and fast, all you need to do is download.dmg (for Mac OS).exe (for Windows) install files (it might be other file types, for example,.rar Archive type), now you just should open it, and go through the installation process, then you could easily use google drive microsoft office for your purposes. In this video we will teach you how to install Google Drive on your Mac from scratch. How to Download Google Chrome on a Mac - Duration: 3:50. How-To Technology 95,993 views.
Keep in mind, true Linux, Mac, and PC hard drive backups (hard drive clones) are the size of your computer’s entire hard drive and Google Drive is not recommended for this purpose if you are using a metered internet connection. If you choose to use this method of safe file keeping, then it is crucial you check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to make sure that your service is not metered. Metered internet has an allowance cap and using extra data will cause your bill to increase.
If you plan to use Google Drive as a storage facility for all the photos you take with your phone or tablet, then it is important that you shut off the “sync over metered connections” or “background app refresh” setting from the Google Drive app on your mobile device. This will ensure your monthly statements don’t shock you with data overages.
Like many people, you might want to use Google Drive to solely sync files from your smartphone or tablet to your computer.
Getting started with Google Drive
If you have a Google account, then you already have access to Google Drive. If you do not have a Google account, you can sign up easily by creating a new account from the accounts.google web page. Consumer accounts are free and business or enterprise accounts may be provided by your employer.
Once you have a Google account, you can upload, store and share your files using Google Drive by means of three different methods:
- Google Drive online
- Google Drive computer application
- Google Drive mobile application
While Apple’s iCloud and Microsoft’s OneDrive offer similar features and apps, Google Drive is the only cloud storage service that rivals DropBox by spanning out into less popular OS platforms. Google Drive is heavily integrated into ChromeOS (Chromebook),as well as available for many other Linux desktop distributions.
The free 15 GB of storage is incorporated across all your Google services. What does this mean? The storage for Google Drive, Google Photos, and Gmail is shared. Gmail, if used heavily to send large attachments will consume your storage. This will also happen rapidly with Google Photos if you choose to upload original or high quality images. Manage your data wisely!
How to use Google Drive online
To use Google Drive from any modern web browser, simply open the browser of your choice. Navigate to drive.google.com. If you are not already signed into Google, you will be asked to enter your Google account credentials to sign in.
The Google Drive homepage has a simple user interface (UI). The Dashboard along the top of the browser window allows you to adjust settings, perform Google Drive content searches, and manage or share files. To use the dashboard:
- Click or tap the Search box and enter in keywords to perform a search of your Google Drive content.
- Click or tap the Google Apps icon to access other Google services, like Gmail or YouTube.
- Click or tap the Notifications icon to view account notifications.
- Click or tap the Google Account icon to sign in and out of your account.
- Click or tap the New button to create a new file with one of the connected apps, create new folders, and upload files and folders to your cloud.
- Click or tap the link icon to get a shareable link to your file which allows you to grant access to others.
- Click or tap the share icon to send a shareable copy of your file directly via email.
- Click or tap the remove icon to move a file or folder from your cloud to the trash.
- Click or tap the more actions icon for more file management options (folder colors, open files with connected apps, file/folder sorting, and file/folder downloads).
- Click or tap the View/Layout icon to change the file and folder arrangement from list view to grid view.
- Click or tap the View Details icon to view file details such as size, type, previews, and shared status.
- Click or tap the Settings icon for Google Drive settings.
Along the left hand side of the browser window is a sidebar that organizes the content and features in an easy-to-digest layout. To use the sidebar:
- Click or tap My Drive to view and manage the files stored on your cloud.
- Click or tap Computers to view and manage all the computers and mobile devices synced to your Google Drive account.
- Click or tap Shared with me to view and manage other’s files stored on other Google Drive accounts that have been shared with you.
- Click or tap Recent to view all recent Google Drive activity.
- Click or tap Google Photos to view and manage your photo storage.
- Click or tap Starred to view all of your favorite or important files.
- Click or tap Trash to view or empty items you placed in the trash for removal.
- Click or tap Backups to view and manage backups of device and app data.
- Click or tap Upgrade Storage to be routed to a web page containing larger tier storage price plans.
You risk losing all your files, photos and data, in case your computer is lost, stolen or it starts malfunctioning. An easy way to be prepared for such an eventuality is to Backup computer to Google Drive using Google’s Backup and Sync Tool.
How to Backup Computer to Google Drive
Google’s Backup and Sync tool is designed to automatically pull data from your PC or Mac and save it to your Google Drive Account.
The procedure to setup Google’s Backup and Restore service on Windows PC or Mac is really simple and it offers the following advantages.
1. Automatically Backs up Documents, Pictures and entire Desktop to Google Drive. No need to manually transfer files to Google Drive.
2. Data is stored in the same order as it is stored on your computer. Any changes that you make to your Files on computer are immediately synced to Google Drive.
3. Data can be accessed from anywhere and on any device. For example, you will be able to access any file on your computer using an Android Phone or iPhone, if you are travelling and not carrying your computer with you.
4. You can Backup multiple Computers to Google Drive. Data for each computer is stored separately in your Google Drive Account.
Backup and Sync Replaces Google Drive
In case you are already using Google Drive, Backup and Sync will remove Google Drive App from your computer.
However, there is no need to worry about your data being deleted. Backup and Sync will not remove any of your Files and Folders in Google Drive Folder.
Now that you have an idea about the advantages of Google’s Backup and Sync utility, let us go ahead and take a look at how to backup computer to Google Drive using Backup and Sync.
Backup Computer to Google Drive Using Backup and Sync
The first step is to download Backup and Sync tool from Google Drive, as available for both Mac and Windows PC.
Once “Backup and Sync” is downloaded to your computer, launch the tool by clicking on it and it will start the process of setting up your computer for backup to Google Drive.
If you had previously installed Google Drive app on your computer, you will be automatically logged into Backup and Sync. If not, Click on Get Started button.
On the next screen, Login to your Gmail Account by entering your Gmail User Name and Password. Once you are logged in, you will see an information screen, click on Got it to move to the next step.
On the next screen, you will see Desktop, Documents and Pictures automatically selected for backup to Google Drive. You can leave these items checked or uncheck any item that you do not want to Sync to Google Drive.
In case you want to add more Folders, click on Choose Folder Link and select the Folder that you want to Backup & Sync to Google Drive.
Photo & Video Upload Size: In this section, you can choose to upload either High Quality or Original Quality Photos to Google Drive.
If you choose High Quality, Google will convert uploaded Photos to 16 MP size and in-turn provide you with unlimited Free storage for these photos on Google Drive.
If you choose Original Quality, Photos will be uploaded to Google Drive in the same format as shot by your Camera, but the uploads will count towards your allowed Google Drive storage limit.
Google Photos: Checking this option uploads Photos and Videos on your computer to Google Photos, which allows you to share these Photos with others.
Once you are done making above selections, click on the Next button to move to the next screen.
On the next screen, you can uncheck Sync My Drive to this computer option, if you do not want your Google Drive Files to be available on your computer (Note: these files are Drive Files and not files from your computer).
In case you choose “Sync My Drive to this computer” option, Backup & Sync utility will Sync back Google Drive Files to your computer.
The advantage of having Google Drive Files syncing back to your computer is that you will be able to view and edit Google Drive Files while you are offline. The changes made will Sync back to Google Drive, once you get online.
After making your selection about Google Drive Files, click on the Start button to begin the process of Backing up selected Folders (Desktop, Documents, Pictures) to Google Drive.
The time to Backup will depend on the Amount of Data available on your computer and the upload speed of your internet connection.
How To Download Google Drive Folder To Mac
Once the process of backup to Google Drive is completed, you can access Google Drive at any time by clicking on the Cloud Icon located in the taskbar and then clicking on Google Drive icon.
Your computers data will be available on Google Drive under Computers section. In case you have more than one computer, you can provide a unique name to each of your computers.
Can Backup and Sync Restore Windows PC ?
How To Download Google Drive For My Mac
Once your computer is setup to Backup and Sync its data to Google Drive, a copy of your computers data will always be available on Google Drive.
How To Download Google Drive Files To Mac
However, you need to be aware that “Backup and Sync” only saves your Files and Photos to Google Drive, it does not backup the Operating System, Apps and Program Files on your computer to Google Drive.
How To Download Google Drive For Mac
Hence, you won’t be able to Restore your Windows computer using Backup and Sync. In order to Restore computer, you still need to make use of a System Restore Point or use a System Image.