Fix files are not syncing between the computer and Google Drive Issue

Read time 7 minutes

Google Drive makes it easy to keep your files in one convenient place, accessible from anywhere in the world. But if your files are not syncing correctly between your computer and Google Drive, it can be frustrating. This issue can happen for a number of reasons, such as a poor internet connection or an outdated syncing application.

As an expert, I am here to provide you with technical and informative solutions to this problem, so you can maximize your productivity and collaboration capabilities. In this blog post, we will take a look into the common causes of this issue and provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to resolve it.

Google Drive for Desktop

Google Drive for Desktop synchronizes the files between Drive and computer. Syncing means downloading the cloud data to the computer and uploading data from the computer to Drive. After synchronization, the same data is present in both platforms.

This application was earlier known as Google Drive File Stream and many people are still using it. If the Google Drive File Steam is not working then you should check the below methods and use them.

When the files do not sync, there will be discrepancies in the data in both platforms. When the Google Drive for Desktop application gives errors, you should go to settings and check the error list.

The error list will contain the mistakes that are stopping the connection and synchronization. The error will help you in understating the problem and using the correct method to remove it.

• The user is trying to open Google Drive in the older version of the web browser.
• Internet connection is slow and down.
• Web Browser has a large sized cache information.
• The file that the user is trying to access is a large file causing the hindrance.
• Offline access is turned off.

Google Drive for Desktop is a manual app that the user controls. A user can pause the syncing, and the connection will stop working.

1. When you right-click in the application icon, you can see that syncing is paused. Under settings gear, you should click the Resume syncing option.
   

1. In the Application, you should go to settings and click Preferences.
2. In the Google Drive Preferences, choose to disconnect the account. Click Save.
3. Now, you should reconnect your account after providing the credentials. Confirm the connection, and the app will start to synchronize.

1. Restarting the Application will attempt to validate the credential and recheck the connection. In the Settings icon, click Quit.
   

Now, restart the Application form Application’s menu. It will start to work again.

If you have disabled the software updates for the application, then Google Drive for Desktop will have problems. You can download its new version from the following URL –
https://www.google.com/intl/en_in/drive/download/
Click Download Drive for Desktop.

Google Drive shares the same free 15 GB space with other applications. If the user has saved more data in other applications like Gmail, Photos, Docs, YouTube, etc., there will be no more space to save data in Google Drive.
Also, there should be enough space in the file system to sync the online files there. If the selected Drive does not have space, then synchronization will affect it.

When the user tries to sync a file with some limitation due to ownership or sharing, it will not sync with Google Drive. You should contact the owner of the file and ask for permission to handle it.

For cloud storage, there are some limitations related to the size of a file. Check the following-

• Photos should not be more than 200 Megabytes or 150 Megapixels.
• Videos should not be larger than 10 Gigabytes.
• Files should not be smaller than 256 x 256 pixels.

The files and folders saved in the cloud can be deleted to Trash. Once the files are deleted, they will not sync with the Desktop version of Google Drive. So, you should restore such files to their original cloud location, and it will start to sync.

When files fail to sync between your computer and Google Drive, it is highly likely that the Windows Firewall or antivirus program installed on your system is causing the issue. Disabling the Windows Firewall and antivirus program can help resolve the problem and allow files to sync correctly.

To disable, follow these steps:

• In the Search window, type up Firewall. Tap on Windows Defender Firewall.
• From the left side dashboard, tap on Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off.
• Choose Turn off Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended) and tap on OK to apply the changes.

To resolve issues with Google Drive, running the app as an administrator may help. Numerous users reported success with this simple solution. Follow these steps to try it out and see if it works for you.

• Type up Google Drive in the Windows Search field. Right-click and tap on “Run as administrator.”
• Navigate to the Compatibility tab, check mark the option “Run this program as an administrator”.

Conclusion

There can be several reasons behind a bad synchronization between a computer’s file system and Google Drive. Google Drive for Desktop is a simple application that allows you to access cloud data conveniently. But, it has some limitations also. If you want to migrate File system data to Google Drive, you should use the Kernel Google Drive Migration tool. It will access the files from your local system, and network shared locations. Then, you can migrate them to Google Drive easily. It will also migrate data between two Google Drive accounts. As you can only share limited data manually between Google Drive accounts, so our tool provides an easy way to migrate Google Drive data to another account.