How to install Google Drive on your Mac or PC
Google Drive is the leading web-based collaboration tool. It offers a place to store and access your files from any device. It also includes Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Vids, letting you easily create and collaborate on new content through Google Chrome without purchasing and installing software on your computer.
Google Drive comes as part of Google Workspace, and you can access your files from a computer in two ways. The quickest way is to navigate to drive.google.com, where you will find all your files; you can create new files, organise existing files, and download and delete your files.
If you are creative, however, you may be using programs such as Adobe, where you need to be able to open your files within the programs that you use. While you can manually download and upload files from Google Drive, this becomes relatively inefficient, and that's why Google Drive also offers Drive for Desktop. This program lets you access your files in File Explorer on Windows and Finder on Mac. Any changes you make get synced in real time with Google Drive.
How to install and set up Google Drive on a Windows PC.
Go to this Google support article to download Drive for Desktop.
Select the option to download for Windows.
Double-click on the downloaded file to start the installation.
Follow the on-screen installation guidance.
How to install and set up Google Drive on MacOS.
Go to this Google support article to download Drive for Desktop.
Select the option to download for MacOS.
Double-click on the downloaded file to start the installation.
Follow the on-screen installation guidance.
Now that you have Google Drive installed on your computer, you can easily access and move files between your computer and Google Drive. However, knowing that this is not a backup of your data is essential. If you delete a file on your computer from Google Drive, this file will also be deleted from Google Drive on the web. To back up your data to regulatory standards, you must use an independent third-party backup solution, such as Enhanced Backup by Kimbley IT.
