Deploy Google Drive for desktop

This article is for administrators. To learn how to use Drive for desktop, see the user Help Middle.

Deploy Google Drive for desktop to your organisation for a quick and easy mode for you and your users to access your Drive files from your computer.

How it works

With Drive for desktop, you stream your Drive files directly from the deject to your Mac or PC, freeing up disk space and network bandwidth. Considering Drive files are stored in the cloud, any changes you or your collaborators make are automatically updated everywhere. Y'all'll always have the latest version.

You can as well make Drive files available for offline access. These cached files sync back to the deject when you're online, so the latest version is bachelor on all your devices.

Expand all  |  Plummet all

Install or deploy Drive for desktop

  1. Verify that Bulldoze for desktop will piece of work for your organization. You lot tin use Drive for desktop on these operating systems:
    • Windows:
      • Windows Server 2012 and up.
      • Windows vii and up,  with at to the lowest degree Service Pack 1 and Windows vii security update installed.
    • MacOS:
      • For Intel devices running High Sierra (10.13) or newer, follow these steps.

    For the best user experience, we recommend that you upgrade to the latest Bone version available for your auto. As well make certain to use a supported browser.

  2. If you lot oasis't already done so, plow on sync for your organization. Make certain to allow Drive for desktop and specify whether users tin see Drive for desktop download links.
  3. (Optional) At the same Admin console page where y'all turned on sync, bank checkOnly allow Google Bulldoze for desktop on authorized devices.This restricts access to Drive for desktop to only devices owned and managed past your system.
  4. (Optional) At the aforementioned Admin console page, checkAllow users to enable real-fourth dimension presence in Microsoft Part from Google Drive for desktop. This lets users run across when someone is editing shared Microsoft Office files, and tin can assistance prevent editing conflicts.

  5. Install Bulldoze for desktop on each user's computer using 1 of these options:

    • Let each user install Drive for desktop on their own motorcar. For this option, users demand administrator rights to their calculator.

    • Download the .exe file and deploy it in silent mode:

      Windows
      1. Download GoogleDriveSetup.exe.
        Download at present

      2. Run the installer in silent mode:
        GoogleDriveSetup --silent --desktop_shortcut

        Thedesktop_shortcut flag for Drive for desktop is optional. Users tin too find Drive for desktop in the Windows Chore Bar.

        Drive for desktop includes desktop shortcuts to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides past default. Y'all can turn the Docs editors shortcuts off by adding the
        --gsuite_shortcuts=fake parameter to the installer.

      3. (Optional) Delete the Google Drive binder at \Users\%USER%\Google Drive. Use caution deleting this folder, equally information technology might contain content that has non withal been saved or synced.

      Note: Drive for desktop is currently non supported on Windows laptops and tablets with ARM processors.

      Mac
      1. Download GoogleDrive.dmg.
        Download now
      2. Run the installer in silent mode:
        hdiutil mount GoogleDrive.dmg; sudo installer -pkg /Volumes/Install\ Google\ Drive/GoogleDrive.pkg -target "/Volumes/Macintosh HD"; hdiutil unmount /Volumes/Install\ Google\ Bulldoze/
      3. (Optional) Delete the Google Drive binder at ~/Google Drive.

        Use caution deleting this folder, equally it might contain content that has not nonetheless been saved or synced.

      Annotation: Yous might see a binder called "localhost" when starting Bulldoze for desktop (v.48 and later) on a Mac for the first time. This is expected behavior, and yous tin ignore this binder.

    Bulldoze for desktop comes packaged with Google Update (Windows) or Google Software Update (Mac) to auto-update Drive for desktop on your users' computers. To turn off motorcar-updates, depending on your user's device and organization, follow the steps atConfigure auto-updates (Windows) or Manage Chrome updates (CBCM)

If you lot accept problems installing Drive for desktop, restart the calculator where you're having trouble and effort once again.

Tip: As an administrator, you can find information about the Bulldoze for desktop installation in the Admin console. Y'all can verify the version number, last sync engagement, or the amount of offline data on a device.

Uninstall or reinstall Bulldoze for desktop

Uninstall Drive for desktop

Subsequently you lot uninstall Drive for desktop from your computer, y'all tin can still open up your files on the web at drive.google.com.

Step 1: Sign out and quit Bulldoze for desktop

  1. On your bill of fare bar, click Google Bulldoze"" and thenSettings"".
  2. Click Preferences and thenSettings"".
  3. Disconnect business relationship.
  4. In the pop-up window, click OK.
  5. Later on you are signed out of Drive for desktop, on your carte du jour bar, click Google Drive"" and thenSettings"".
  6. Click Quit.

Step ii: Uninstall Drive for desktop

On a single computer:

Use standard procedures to uninstall the Drive for desktop application. Consult the Os instructions for your computer if you demand assistance.

Across your organization:

  • On Windows, employ the command:
    %PROGRAMFILES%\Google\Drive File Stream\<VERSION>\uninstall.exe --silent --force_stop

    The --force_stop argument is required if Drive for desktop is currently running. The --silent statement is optional. Information technology will suppress uninstall dialogs and skip terminate-user confirmation of the uninstall.

    The UninstallString registry central for Drive for desktop, (Reckoner\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{6BBAE539-2232-434A-A4E5-9A33560C6283}), points to the uninstall.exe.

  • On macOS, right-click /Applications/Google Bulldoze.app in Finder, and then Move to Trash.

Footstep 3: Clear files cached on your reckoner.

Before you clear the Drive for desktop cache, create a backup copy in case you need to later on restore the folder. For example, y'all can copy your existing enshroud and rename information technology "DriveFS_old".

Once you've verified your reinstallation of Drive for desktop is successful, yous can delete this one-time cache file. If your new installation doesn't succeed, you lot can contact support to try to recover your erstwhile cache.

The enshroud folder is constitute here:

  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\DriveFS

  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Back up/Google/DriveFS/

    On macOS, the library folder might be hidden. To find it:

    1. Open Finder.
    2. On your keyboard, agree Pick.
    3. In the menus at the meridian of your screen, click Goand thenLibrary.

Warning:Be cautious most immigration the Google Drive for desktop enshroud to effort to fix general bug. Files are moved here before they're uploaded. If you clear the cache earlier an upload is complete, that file will be lost.

Reinstall Drive for desktop

  1. Uninstall Drive for desktop, as described in a higher place. Brand sure to complete step three, to articulate buried files.
  2. Redeploy or reinstall Drive for desktop.

Known issues

  • Windows devices—Drive for desktop currently doesn't back up ARM-based Windows laptops and tablets, including the Microsoft Surface Pro 10.

  • Spotlight—Drive for desktop versions newer than version 47 don't back up Spotlight indexing on Apple Silicon devices, MacOS Monterey or newer, or for Gmail accounts. Yous can use the integrated Google Bulldoze search released in version 55 to search for files.

  • Digital Guardian—Bulldoze for desktop is currently not compatible with Digital Guardian software.

  • Anti-virus software—Certain virus detection and security software tin can interfere with the performance of Bulldoze for desktop. If you have virus scan software running on your computer and repeatedly meet the error "Drive File Stream encountered a trouble and has stopped", try excluding the Drive for desktop from your virus scan. For Windows, the default is G: (or whatsoever the user has configured). For MacOS, the default is /Volumes/GoogleDrive (or whatever the user has configured).

    Steps to address this issue
    • On Windows, add the post-obit directories to your anti-virus allowlist or exclude them:
      1. Windows default mounted directory One thousand:\
      2. Application data directory %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\DriveFS
    • On MacOS, add the following directories to your anti-virus allowlist:
      1. MacOS default mounted directory /Volumes/GoogleDrive
      2. Application data directory /Users/*/Library/Application\ Support/Google/DriveFS

    If that doesn't work, accomplish out to support from your antivirus provider.

  • Sync issue—Syncing a binder with both Google Drive for desktop and another syncing service might cause files to fail to sync with Google Bulldoze or to exist removed from Google Drive entirely. Please exist specially vigilant when making configuration changes in the other applications.

  • Pop-ups—Some users on Drive for desktop version 41 and prior might report seeing repeated pop-ups to sign-in. This tin happen if they've had their account deleted or disabled. If yous no longer wish to go on using Drive for desktop and are encountering this event, we recommend uninstalling Drive for desktop.

    On Windows, yous might have to manually stop Drive for desktop from running in order to uninstall information technology.

    Steps to accost this issue on Windows

    1. Brand certain Drive for desktop is running in the background.

    2. Open the Job manager by right-clicking in the empty area of the task bar and selecting Task Manager from the bill of fare.

      Notes:
      • Don't click any icons or options, as this will display a different card.
      • If Windows doesn't respond, hold downward CTRL + Alt + Delete and select Start Task Manager from the card

    3. Click the Processes tab at the top of the screen. Notation: On Win10, the processes are listed in 2 groups.

    4. Look for Google Drive for desktop under Background processes. There might be multiple instances of Google Bulldoze for desktop.

    5. Right-click on each process i-by-one and select End Task. Repeat this step until all instances of Google Drive for desktop are gone.

Related topics

  • Bulldoze for desktop release notes
  • Bulldoze firewall and proxy settings
  • Capture Drive for desktop logs for back up


Google, Google Workspace, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.

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