How to Automatically Backup Your Hard Drive to Google Drive

The stuff we have on our devices is very important to us, and this is especially true now that we store everything from images and videos to work files and even passwords on our hard drives. Hard drive failures, damages, and disk errors can happen unexpectedly, and it’s important to be prepared by way of periodic or frequent backup. One of the most reliable hard drive backup services today is Google Drive, a cloud-based storage system that will allow you to store all of your important stuff online for safekeeping.

We will guide you through how to back up your hard drive using Google Drive so you don’t have to worry about the safety of your beloved files ever again.

Why Back Up Your Hard Drive to Google Drive?

There are two main reasons to keep your hard drive backed up to Google Drive:

1. Data Protection

As we have previously mentioned, if your hard drive gets damaged in some way all of your most important stuff will be lost. And even if you decide to back up your files on something like an external hard drive, it will not be as reliable as storing them on a cloud, as it can get damaged as well.

2. File Sharing

The other main reason is that you will have the option of file sharing. When you sync your hard drive to Google Drive, you will be able to access and modify the stored files from any device that uses the same account. This will give you full control of all of your stuff from any location.

Backup Methods

There are two different ways to back up your hard drive to Google Drive, and we will explore them both so that you can pick the method that is the most suitable for your needs.

1. Backup via Google Drive Folder

Before you can store your files using this method, you will have to create a Google Drive folder.

1. Download, install and sign in to the Google Drive A folder called Google Drive will be created on your desktop.
2. Open the app and set the preferences that you prefer.
3. Create a folder and give it a name. You can name it any way you like, although we suggest calling it Backup Files.
4. Create some subfolders in this one to help you organize your files. Name them depending on what you will store inside (Documents, Images, Videos, Work Files…).

The files stored in these folders are kept both on your hard drive and on Google Drive’s cloud.

1. Create a folder for storing files you will be moving to backup. This will be the source folder that will be synced to the Google Drive “Backup Files” folder.
2. To add files to the folder, just select them and drag them into the folder.
3. If you want to add multiple files at once, press and hold Ctrl and select each file. Then just click and drag the files into the folder.

2.    Backup via Backup and Sync Tool

This tool was released recently by Google Drive and it allows you to back up your hard drive a lot more smoothly than the first method, as it will not mess up the file and folder structure of your data.

1. Download and install, and then sign into the Backup and Sync
2. During the My Computer step, check the folder that you want to sync.
3. Add additional folders by clicking Choose Folder.
4. Decide on what upload size to use.
5. Click Next.
6. After you read the information, click Got It.
7. Specify Google Drive settings.
8. Click Start to start syncing.

The Backup and Sync tool will automatically back up files from the chosen folders, and when you change the files from the source folder, Google Drive will send them to Recycle Bin.

How Much Can You Store on Google Drive?

Unfortunately, Google Drive doesn’t offer unlimited storage, but it does offer the most amount of storage out of any other cloud storage option. You will have 15GB of free space, which is quite a lot to work with, and with the provided automatic syncing tool, it has never been easier to protect your beloved files.