PSA: Regardless of the comfort and rising ubiquity of cloud storage companies, customers should not assume that information saved on the cloud are protected. Many Google Drive customers at the moment are discovering {that a} glitch within the service can put months of information in danger. Google is investigating the issue, and one person has discovered a attainable resolution.
Google is investigating quite a few circumstances the place months’ value of person information have disappeared from Google Drive. Till it resolves the difficulty, the corporate warns customers to not take away information from vital folders, however it will be protected to create new backups.
A number of account holders have just lately complained that their Google Drive information from the previous couple of months have vanished. One reported shedding three months of labor. A person described the drive rolling again to Could 2023 in an much more excessive instance.
Sadly, Google Drive’s built-in file restoration system would not assist as a result of it solely restores information that customers deleted. Some discussion board commenters obtained messages from Google help saying they could not assist, however different indicators point out the information is perhaps recoverable.
At the least one person found {that a} cache throughout the Google Drive part of the AppData folder incorporates the most recent information however warns others in opposition to manipulating it. An official message from Google additionally says customers should not delete or transfer the AppData folder (the Mac equal is Software Assist) or disconnect the service from their accounts. The most secure measure is to make an area backup of your complete Google Drive folder till the corporate solves the issue.
One individual keen to take the danger claims to have recovered the misplaced information from the cache by manipulating an older model of the Drive desktop app. Anybody attempting this resolution needs to be extraordinarily cautious, because it goes in opposition to Google’s official instructions and will completely harm the file system. Disclaimer out of the best way, here is the answer described:
First, uninstall the desktop app, then set up an older version (model 82 or 83 is perhaps accessible, however guarantee it is from a trusted supply). Subsequent, deactivate the 2 Google Replace companies and the 2 scheduled duties. Whereas Google Drive isn’t working, navigate to a folder with an extended quantity beneath Person Knowledge (they is perhaps referring to AppData) > Google > DriveFS. Discover a folder known as “backups,” transfer its contents into the first folder, and restart Google Drive. Lastly, again up the principle drive folder, re-enable the replace companies, anticipate the app to auto-update, and use the backup to overwrite the drive folder.
Nobody else has verified the unofficial resolution, so it ought to most likely be taken solely as a final resort, if in any respect. It is perhaps finest to attend till Google has official directions for recovering knowledge.