7 Ways to Fix Google Drive Not Syncing on Windows
Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud storage services. The ability to sync files in real time is Google Drive’s best feature. Real-time syncing makes sure that any changes you make in Google Drive show up right away on all of your other devices.
However, if the Drive’s sync functionality breaks for any reason, you might lose some or all of your recently uploaded files. While there are many different causes for the syncing problems, a slow internet connection may be one of them.
If you’re having trouble getting Google Drive to sync your files on Windows, keep reading to learn some recommended fixes.
1. Restart Your Computer
Restarting the computer is an ideal and recommended way to solve almost all Windows-related errors.
If a Windows program crashes or your computer screen freezes for any reason, you can fix such problems by restarting your computer. Besides, you can also fix syncing issues with cloud storage solutions like Google Drive, OneDrive, or MEGA with just a quick restart.
For restarting your computer, click theWindowsicon on the taskbar and then thePowerbutton. Finally, clickRestartto restart your computer. Once your computer boots up properly, try downloading a file or uploading one via Google Drive for desktop.
2. Disconnect and Reconnect Your Google Account
If your Google account doesn’t connect properly during the initial Drive setup, it starts throwing syncing errors. So, if you’re unable to modify any files in the Drive, you should try reconnecting your Google account. Note that before reconnecting your account, you first need to disconnect it from Google Drive preferences.
Follow the below steps to disconnect your Google account from Drive:
Note that, during signing in with your Google account, it’ll ask for some permissions—so verify you tick all the checkboxes. This should hopefully fix the syncing issues on your computer.
Once you login again, it’ll take some time to fetch all your files from the cloud, depending on the files you’ve stored in Google Drive.
3. Clear Temporary Files
While reconnecting your Google account should generally work to resolve sync issues, it occasionally won’t. So, another way to fix syncing errors is to delete Windows temporary files.
The Windows operating system generates temporary files to ensure the smooth functioning of all programs that run on your computer. However, if such files become corrupted for any reason, Windows programs begin to behave abnormally and stop working properly.
If you run into problems with Windows programs often, you should knowhow to delete temporary files in Windows. By deleting the temporary files, you force all the Windows programs to recreate them at startup. This removes all the corrupted files and fixes some common sync errors.
4. Examine the Internet Connection
Undoubtedly, a faulty internet connection can cause huge trouble if not fixed in time. If everything is fine but the internet connection is weak, there’s no way you’re able to get the sync to work flawlessly.
We have a dedicated guide with commonfixes for no internet access errors. Besides, even if your internet connection is fast and you’re getting decent speed, do purge the DNS cache once.
Purging or clearing the DNS cache helps solve internet-related issues in Windows. Open aCommand Promptand typeipconfig /flushdnsto clear the DNS cache. Finally, hit theenterkey on your keyboard.
If your issue is still not resolved, keep reading, as you may need to jump on to some advanced troubleshooting methods.
5. Check the Required Permissions to Sync Files
Google Drive not only allows you to download and upload your files to the cloud, but it also allows you to access others' files if they choose to share them with you. However, the sender must grant you the required permissions before sharing the files via Drive.
So, if you’re trying to sync the shared files, there are chances that you may not have the appropriate permissions. In that case, you need to clickRequest accessor ask for approval from the true owner of the shared file.
In case, the files are owned by you, it’s always a good idea to change the Google Drive streaming folder for troubleshooting. To do this, openGoogle Drive Preferencesand chooseFolderfrom the list of options under the headingGoogle Drive streaming location.
To make sure the changes are applied properly, clickRestart nowon the subsequent popup.
Changing the stream location will remove the Google Drive’s virtual disk from your file explorer, so we recommend you choose the streaming location wisely.
6. Reinstall Google Drive
If you’re still having trouble syncing, you can try reinstalling Google Drive. Reinstalling will automatically clear all the settings and may fix the corrupted Drive files. First, uninstall Google Drive from theSettings > Apps > Installed appssection.
Once you’re done uninstalling it from your computer, follow the below-given steps to reinstall Google Drive:
All sync-related errors should be resolved after reinstalling Drive for desktop program. However, if it’s still not fixed, the chances are that the problem is not with your Google account but with your computer.
7. Other Fixes for Resolving Sync Issues
As a last measure, try out the following troubleshooting steps to fix the syncing error on Windows:
Restore Google Drive Sync on Windows
Google Drive is undoubtedly the best way to store your files in the cloud and keep them all synced across different platforms. When such random syncing issues occur, they completely ruin the experience. Most importantly, the major headache is that you lose access to your files.
The sync problems may now be fixed on your Windows computer, but the same thing could happen on any web browser too. The most common cause of such sync issues is your Google account or Google Drive settings. So, you should avoid tweaking the preferences without prior knowledge.
Experiencing problems with Google Drive? Try these tips, fixes, and workarounds to resolve Google Drive issues.
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