{"id":2242,"date":"2015-12-01T23:20:07","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T23:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/how-to-backup-your-external-hard-drives-using-google-drive-checklist\/"},"modified":"2024-02-28T15:26:07","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T15:26:07","slug":"how-to-backup-your-external-hard-drives-using-google-drive-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/how-to-backup-your-external-hard-drives-using-google-drive-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Backup your External Hard Drives using Google Drive [CHECKLIST]"},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"understand-the-idea\">\n<h2> Understand the idea <\/h2>\n<div class=\"image-content\">\n<figure>\n   <a href=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ojcbiLvDFseR9gbL17RJxQ.jpg\" alt=\"Understand the idea\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ojcbiLvDFseR9gbL17RJxQ.jpg\" \/> <\/a><br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p>Google Drive can be used to backup 1TB of data for free.<\/p>\n<p>To use Drive as a backup tool, you will need to create a file structure inside the app that mirrors the one on your computer.<\/p>\n<p>One folder (z. ONLINE FILES) contains files immediately synced to Drive, while one (move to)&nbsp;is for files that need sorting&nbsp;into their relevant directories (Download, Pictures, Videos, etc).<\/p>\n<p>This guide will show you how to create a new file structure and selectively sync your files to the right places on Drive.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"download-google-drive\">\n<h2> Download Google Drive <\/h2>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p>First things first - you need to <strong>sign into<\/strong> <strong>and download Google Drive<\/strong>. Start by<strong> recording the details<\/strong> of your Google Drive account in the <strong>form fields<\/strong> below.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-field-content form-field-content\">\n<div class=\"form-group\">\n   <label> Google Drive Account Name <\/label><br \/>\n   <input type=\"text\" placeholder=\"Something will be typed here...\" disabled=\"disabled\" class=\"form-control\" \/>\n  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-field-content form-field-content\">\n<div class=\"form-group\">\n   <label> Google Drive Account URL <\/label><br \/>\n   <input type=\"text\" placeholder=\"Something will be typed here...\" disabled=\"disabled\" class=\"form-control\" \/>\n  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/drive.google.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google Drive<\/a> is available for PC, Mac, Android and iOS.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/drive\/download\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.google.com\/drive\/download\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Once you've got the app, you'll see a new folder on your computer called Google Drive, containing all files you have on Drive, if any. Don't worry, these aren't taking up space, they're not synced until you tell them to be.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-content\">\n<figure>\n   <a href=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sOi7s3G1xuukx1gmCLNI9Q.png\" alt=\"Download Google Drive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sOi7s3G1xuukx1gmCLNI9Q.png\" \/> <\/a><br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"enable-selective-sync\">\n<h2> Enable selective sync <\/h2>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p>The first thing you need to do is to go into your Google Drive app's preferences and <strong>enable selective sync<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Enable this if you're not going to want everything to sync to Drive and to get more control over what you back up.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-content\">\n<figure>\n   <a href=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/p_OCpT6AJyobrHQNG2hJRg.jpg\" alt=\"Enable selective sync\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/p_OCpT6AJyobrHQNG2hJRg.jpg\" \/> <\/a><br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"create-z-online-files\">\n<h2> Create &quot;z. ONLINE FILES&quot; <\/h2>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p>Next, you want to <strong>create a folder called &quot;z. ONLINE FILES&quot;<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Put a 'z' at the start so this folder is always at the bottom of the list. That makes it easy to find, since you'll be using it a lot from now on.<\/p>\n<p>This folder is the top level directory for your new folder structure and the primary destination for synced files.<\/p>\n<p>Sync&nbsp;all your internal 'Pictures' folder to your z. ONLINE FILES\/Pictures folder in Drive, and so on.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"create-a-new-folder-structure-inside-z-online-files\">\n<h2> Create a new folder structure inside &quot;z. ONLINE FILES&quot; <\/h2>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p><strong>Create a folder structure<\/strong> inside &quot;z. ONLINE FILES&quot; that mirrors the one on your computer you want to back up.<\/p>\n<p>It should contain Documents, Videos, Pictures, etc \u2014 all of the folders that currently divide your files up.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-content\">\n<figure>\n   <a href=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/jiOeU7v5PQF484gEMEZNfw.jpg\" alt=\"Create a new folder structure inside &quot;z. ONLINE FILES&quot;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/jiOeU7v5PQF484gEMEZNfw.jpg\" \/> <\/a><br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"create-a-to-move-folder\">\n<h2> Create a 'to move' folder <\/h2>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p>Just like how your &quot;z. ONLINE FILES&quot; folder is for files that sync automatically, your '<strong>to move' folder<\/strong> is for files you want to specify a destination for.<\/p>\n<p>Move files you&nbsp;don\u2019t need synced to your local drive into the \u201cto move\u201d folder and once every couple of weeks&nbsp;login to Google Drive through the browser and move everything in the \u201cto move\u201d folder into their relative folders in the online structure.<\/p>\n<p>This doesn\u2019t take any time since they\u2019re already uploaded and synced with Google Drive.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"schedule-a-time-to-organize-your-folder\">\n<h2> Schedule a time to organize your folder <\/h2>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p>Now you need to <strong>schedule a time to organize your folder<\/strong>. <strong>Record<\/strong> this time in the <strong>form field<\/strong> below.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"date-field-content form-field-content\">\n<div class=\"form-group\">\n   <label> Time To Organize Folder <\/label> <\/p>\n<div class=\"date-container\">\n    <button type=\"button\" disabled=\"disabled\" class=\"btn btn-default\"> <i class=\"fa fa-calendar btn-icon\"><\/i> Date will be set here <\/button>\n   <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p>The 'to move' folder will fill up over time. While Drive is smart, it's not smart enough to read your mind and conform to your custom file structure. This means that you'll have to set aside time (5 minutes per week) to drag your unsorted files into the z. ONLINE FILES directory and give them a home.<\/p>\n<p>After you've synced your hard drives, you're going to want to keep up the good work by updating drive on a regular basis.<\/p>\n<p>Schedule yourself to get this out of the way using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/2014\/05\/how-to-manage-small-business-calendars-in-the-cloud\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google Calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"bonus-automatically-create-google-docs-slides-and-more\">\n<h2> Bonus! Automatically create Google Docs, Slides, and more <\/h2>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p>If you're syncing your Word documents, Keynote presentations and Excel Spreadsheets to Drive, you might want them in an immediately editable format when you come to use them online.<\/p>\n<p>If so, check out this neat option in the&nbsp;settings menu (top right cog)&nbsp;on your browser version of Drive.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-content\">\n<figure>\n   <a href=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mIRHlTWJHlgqb4mPLoFOVA.png\" alt=\"Bonus! Automatically create Google Docs, Slides, and more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/templates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mIRHlTWJHlgqb4mPLoFOVA.png\" \/> <\/a><br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-content\">\n<p>For more cool tips like this check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.process.st\/2014\/10\/25-google-drive-tips-youve-probably-never-heard-before\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">25 Google Drive Tips You've Probably Never Heard Before<\/a>&nbsp;and become a Google Drive master.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understand the idea Google Drive can be used to backup 1TB of data for free. To use Drive as a backup tool, you will need to create a file structure inside the app that mirrors the one on your computer. One folder (z. ONLINE FILES) contains files immediately synced to Drive, while one (move to)&nbsp;is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"cover_icon_emoji":"","cover_icon_url":"","tasks_count":"8","template_description":"Here's your bonus checklist to free yourself from external hard drives using Google Drive.","template_id":"i_AmXjGSsamuLLvdXhdDgA","task_0":"Understand the idea","task_slug_0":"understand-the-idea","task_1":"Download Google Drive","task_slug_1":"download-google-drive","task_2":"Enable selective sync","task_slug_2":"enable-selective-sync","task_3":"Create &quot;z. ONLINE FILES&quot;","task_slug_3":"create-z-online-files","task_4":"Create a new folder structure inside &quot;z. 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