How to Backup Laptop to Google Drive

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Want to take a backup of your laptop to Google Drive? Check out the complete tutorial on how to backup laptop to Google Drive?

In today’s era of the ever-increasing use of computers and associated devices, we seem to be running out of storage every single day. Innumerable storage devices are being used to cope up with this rampant problem. Online/internal storage options have seemed to outnumber the external/physical ones out of the lot. 

No matter how much the applied sciences around us advances, our data has always been vulnerable and most probably will continue to be. The threats are almost endless. You cannot protect your system from everything. The IT industry has sought alternatives for many years. Though, it looks like we have landed on one and like it too.

It does not matter how resistant and durable your hardware is or how great your antivirus and firewalls are; the data you store on your laptop is under constant attacks, the ones you can’t seem to overcome. Be it malicious attacks, power issues, technical setbacks, whatnot are all there to make your life grimmer.

What is the need to have a backup?

Do we actually need one? Or is this all another way to un-protect our data? 

Come on; we need to accept the truth now. That’s why we are here looking for the importance to backup laptop to Google Drive We have been in such dire times and saw our data getting slipped away, all thanks to technical problems that shut out from your laptop in no time.

You might face some annoying buggers and glitches that resulted in significant data losses, or maybe you lost your data by accident.

Whatever may be the case, it is always a wise choice to curate a safety backup for your laptop or any other device that you are using. Choosing the just right platform for you to do so is as important as it gets.

But how do you do it? Is it safe? Is it too technical? Does it require some cost? Read along, and we have got everything covered for you!

Read Google Drive vs Amazon Drive – Which one is the better Drive?

Offline VS Online Backups 

Gone are the days when you needed hefty hard disks and USBs to get your job done. They were a pain to carry everywhere.

No matter how portable they were built, they somehow always managed to slip away. Did you fill up all your external storage? Uh oh, because then you needed to go out to buy one or wait for ages to get it delivered. 

Wait! Does your device have all the necessary inputs to plug in your data (yes, Apple users, we feel you)? Because if they don’t, you can say goodbye to quick data transfers from numerous devices or operating systems as well.

Well, online storages are in full swing nowadays and have also seemed to create a niche for them. People adore it for a reason.

There’s pretty much nothing that online cloud storage cannot do. Comparatively cheaper than physical models, the unlimited services they offer are mainly free to use. They are painless to access from almost anywhere, and their sheer compatibility transcends across all operating systems and supported devices. 

The sharing is quick, and the downloads are much faster and efficient. But here’s a catch, you probably will not be a huge fan of cloud storage whenever your internet connectivity fails you.

You will definitely have a hard time dealing with the uploaded content now, or just even uploading, for that matter.

Read Google Drive vs Mega – Which is one is a better Cloud Storage Platform?

Why should you opt for Google Drive?

Did somebody say the best cloud service available?

Google Drive has now been rolling away all the major cloud computing platforms (sorry, iCloud) with its oh-so-efficient workspace and seamless syncing all across Google at such affordable prices.

Google Drive is absolutely free for you all for people who do not need much space and have little data to back up (up to 15 GB only). But wait, that’s not it. It now charges only $1.99 per month for a whopping 100GB of space to up your storage bounds.

It was the June of 2017 when Google created ripples with yet another innovative add-on roll-out to its already impressive Google Drive. The very popular, now known as the ‘Google Drive for Desktop ’ feature, was lauded by many due to its simplicity.

This tiny feature now allowed the Drive users to sync their entire Drive to their PC or vice versa on almost all platforms. What more could we have asked for! 

Well, we could write a thesis on why Google Drive is probably the most favored cloud storage service for more than a decade now. The qualities of this storage service are worth paying for.

After all, the user interface has won people hailing from all age groups, and the immense compatibility that it supports is just unmatchable.

Yes, you can now ditch away all those extra Google Drive assistive uploading tools that burdened your devices!

Read How to move files from DropBox to Google Drive

How to Backup Laptop to Google Drive?

Okay, we have now made the importance to Backup Laptop to Google Drive. It is preferable to back up your entire desktop or maybe internal hard disks too, you know, just in case.

Achieving it through Google Drive is not much of a hassle and can be done even by amateurs in a few easy steps. 

Method 1: Using the Google Drive for Desktop

You can choose to backup the laptop to Google Drive by synching all the files directly using their desktop app. Any changes made on the Drive or your local PC (Windows or Mac) will be followed at both ends.

Many people prefer syncing as an alternative to back up as this is more simple, quicker, and comfortable to browse for some. However, this way, you end up taking more space on your hard disk.

Backup laptop to Google Drive

You would first need Google Drive installed for your computer to try it out. Then, proceed further by signing in and confirming all the required permissions.

Next, your linked Google account would be now visible, and you can select what precisely to be backed up and whatnot. You can also choose to back up the entire PC data too. A backup folder will be created for you to sync anything.

This Drive feature can be removed anytime. If not, you have the freedom to halt the syncing process anytime and resume whenever. There are preferences given to users for choosing what happens to files that get deleted in the future.

You may also set networking bandwidth ranges to fit your needs. You can also try setting some limits on sharing options available.

Everything through this Google Drive for Desktop model is under the user’s control. They can start, pause, and select accordingly!

Read How to Scan Google Drive for Viruses

Method 2: Manually uploading to Google Drive

Yes, this is probably the most trusted way of transferring almost anything to Google. If you are a newbie and are not that comfortable using new ways to move to Google Drive, things are going to be way easier than you thought.

The manual uploading method is likely as easy as selecting and then transferring to the final destination. Two easy steps, that’s all it takes!

First things first, open Google Drive from your browser or download the desktop version or the application. Google Drive is now available on all platforms.

Further, from the drive home page, click to ‘Add’ files or folders. It is preferable to back up your entire laptop in My Drive. The storage is unlimited, although it is free up to a particular storage limit, and then Google charges a nominal fee every month.

Upload files to Google Drive

Remember this. While you add all the files and folders to your Drive, you can segregate them into many folders and sub-folders. This will ensure smoother browsing.

One more thing to keep in mind is that this technique is not perfectly synced. It means that any changes made to the data on either space (Google Drive or your PC) won’t be reflected simultaneously, unlike the first method.

The files can be quickly restored from the Drive and also can be accessed remotely too. To recover any data to another PC or your own:

  1. Select the files needed.
  2. Click on the three dots on the top right panel of the Drive folder window to open a drop-down menu.
  3. Then, click to download the highlighted files/folders.

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Conclusion

None of the big techy headaches will be an issue for you if you take some time out and create a backup using Google Drive. The blessings are countless and cheap to afford, too. Being that extra cautious would not hurt, and you will reap your benefits in the long run.

All competitors aside, Google Drive, hands down, is the simplest and most effective platform to put your bid on. The strict security support prevents any data mishandling or tampering. Being the Google brainchild, Drive offers an array of features to make you live your lives much more easily. 

The simple ways to access, share, modify, clubbed with features like ease of uploading and downloading, data retrieval, and collaborative perks make people swear by this service. The backup process is rapid and safe to work with. 

The sooner you create one, the better it is. Imagine the times when this safeguarding backup will always be there when you would end up crashing your laptop, both literally and metaphorically! You and your saved data will indeed thank us later!