PSA: Regardless of the comfort and rising ubiquity of cloud storage providers, customers should not assume that recordsdata saved on the cloud are secure. 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 consumer has discovered a potential answer.
Google is investigating quite a few instances the place months’ value of consumer recordsdata have disappeared from Google Drive. Till it resolves the problem, the corporate warns customers to not take away recordsdata from crucial folders, however it could be secure to create new backups.
A number of account holders have just lately complained that their Google Drive recordsdata from the previous few months have vanished. One reported shedding three months of labor. A consumer described the drive rolling again to Might 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 recordsdata that customers deleted. Some discussion board commenters obtained messages from Google assist saying they could not assist, however different indicators point out the information is perhaps recoverable.
A minimum of one consumer found {that a} cache throughout the Google Drive part of the AppData folder comprises the newest recordsdata 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 Help) or disconnect the service from their accounts. The most secure measure is to make an area backup of the whole Google Drive folder till the corporate solves the issue.
One particular person keen to take the chance claims to have recovered the misplaced recordsdata from the cache by manipulating an older model of the Drive desktop app. Anybody attempting this answer 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 way in which, here is the answer described:
First, uninstall the desktop app, then set up an older version (model 82 or 83 is perhaps obtainable, however guarantee it is from a trusted supply). Subsequent, deactivate the 2 Google Replace providers and the 2 scheduled duties. Whereas Google Drive isn’t operating, navigate to a folder with a protracted quantity beneath Consumer Knowledge (they is perhaps referring to AppData) > Google > DriveFS. Discover a folder referred to as “backups,” transfer its contents into the first folder, and restart Google Drive. Lastly, again up the principle drive folder, re-enable the replace providers, look forward to the app to auto-update, and use the backup to overwrite the drive folder.
Nobody else has verified the unofficial answer, so it ought to in all probability be taken solely as a final resort, if in any respect. It is perhaps greatest to attend till Google has official directions for recovering knowledge.
