How to Change the Google Drive Default Folder Location on Windows?

Shreyas Patil
Shreyas PatilUpdated :
How to Change the Google Drive Default Folder Location on Windows?

Google Drive is a useful cloud storage service that lets you access your files from any device. When you install Google Drive on your Windows 11 PC, it automatically syncs your Google Drive folder to a default location on your computer such as within your user account's Documents folder. However, you may want to change where Google Drive saves files on your Windows 11 computer. For example, you might want to save your Google Drive files to another drive for more storage capacity or set up a separate Google Drive folder for work and personal files.

Fortunately, it's easy to change the default Google Drive folder location on Windows 11. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through the step-by-step process.


Prerequisites

Before changing where Google Drive stores your files on Windows 11, ensure:

  • You have administrator access to make changes on your Windows 11 PC.
  • All files in your existing Google Drive folder are synced and up-to-date.
  • You have enough disk space on the new drive where you want to move the Google Drive folder.
  • You know the new file path where you want to relocate the Google Drive folder.

Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps to change the default save location for your Google Drive folder on Windows 11:

Stop Google Drive Sync

The first thing you need to do is stop Google Drive from syncing your files to the old folder location:

  1. Click the Google Drive icon in the system tray.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Turn off the option for "Start syncing". This pauses syncing between the Google Drive service and your computer.

Move the Google Drive Folder

Now that syncing is disabled, you can safely move your Google Drive folder to a new location:

  1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the current Google Drive folder location (usually within Documents).
  2. Copy or cut the Google Drive folder.
  3. Navigate to the new location where you want to store Google Drive files. This can be an external drive or a folder on another internal disk with more storage capacity.
  4. Paste the copied Google Drive folder to the new location.

Point Google Drive to the New Folder

The final step is to point Google Drive to look at the new folder for syncing your Drive files:

  1. Return to the Google Drive desktop application settings.
  2. Click "Choose Folder" below the "Google Drive folder location" option.
  3. Navigate to and select the Google Drive folder in its new file path.
  4. Turn "Start syncing" back on.

Google Drive will now sync all files between the cloud and your newly chosen folder location on Windows 11.


Quick Tip to ensure your videos never go missing

Videos are precious memories and all of us never want to ever lose them to hard disk crashes or missing drives. PicBackMan is the easiest and simplest way to keep your videos safely backed up in one or more online accounts. 

Download PicBackMan

Simply Download PicBackMan (it's free!), register your account, connect to your online store and tell PicBackMan where your videos are - PicBackMan does the rest, automatically. It bulk uploads all videos and keeps looking for new ones and uploads those too. You don't have to ever touch it.


Conclusion

Changing the default folder location for Google Drive is handy for moving your synced cloud storage to another disk or organizing work and personal files into separate Google Drive folders on your Windows 11 computer. Follow the simple steps in this guide, and you'll be able to seamlessly relocate the Google Drive folder and continue syncing your cloud content without issues. Don't forget to point Google Drive to the new file path so it knows where to sync your Drive data.


Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some common questions about changing the Google Drive folder location on Windows 11:

Does moving the Google Drive folder affect my cloud storage?

No, moving the folder on your Windows 11 PC does not affect the actual Google Drive cloud storage or the files stored there. Your cloud content remains intact.

Can I choose an external drive for the Google Drive folder?

Yes, you can move your Google Drive folder to an external USB drive or SD card connected to your Windows 11 computer. Just ensure the external drive is connected before syncing.

What happens if I use multiple Windows PCs?

The Google Drive folder location is machine-specific. If you change it on one Windows 11 PC, it does not impact other PCs where Google Drive is installed. Repeat the steps on each computer.

Where does Google Drive store files by default on Windows?

If you haven't changed the location manually, Google Drive usually saves files inside your user account's Documents folder on Windows 11. The typical path is C:Users[YourUsername]DocumentsGoogle Drive.

Can I revert the changes if I want to go back to the default location?

Yes, you can always revert by repeating the steps but choosing the default Google Drive folder path under your Documents folder again. All your Drive content will be preserved.

World's #1 Photo/Video Uploader

Backup & Transfer your Photos in Minutes

Automate backup & migration of your photos & videos with support for all top services.

(283 reviews)

Trusted by users in 125+ countries.

95,000+ PicBackMan Users

95,000+ Users Trust PicBackMan To Backup Precious Memories

money back guarantee
Kip Roof testimonial Kip Roofgoogle photos flickr
PicBackMan does exactly what it's supposed to. It's quick and efficient. It runs unobtrusively in the background and has done an excellent job of uploading more than 300GB of photos to 2 different services. After having lost a lot of personal memories to a hard drive crash, it's nice to know that my photos are safe in 2 different places.
Julia Alyea Farella testimonialJulia Alyea Farella smugmug
LOVE this program! Works better than ANY other program out there that I have found to upload thousands of pictures WITH SUB-FOLDERS to SmugMug! Thank you so much for what you do! :) #happycustomer
Pausing Motion testimonialPausingMotionsmugmug
I pointed PicBackMan at a directory structure, and next time I looked - all the photos had uploaded! Pretty cool. I use SmugMug and while I really like it, the process of creating directories in is pretty laborious when you need to make 80+ at a time. This was a breeze. Thank you!
Gavin Whitham testimonialGavin Whithamflickr
PicBackMan was really easy to setup and has been running for 3 days now backing up all my locally saved photos to Flickr. My photos are really valuable to me so it's great to be able to have them easily backed up to a secure location.
 Jim Griffin testimonialJim Griffinsmugmug
It's AWESOME!! I have tens of thousands of pictures...and they are now successfully uploaded to SmugMug, where they are safely backed up, and I can edit and organize them. If you are hesitating about using PicBackMan, hesitate no longer...try it...and you'll be glad you did!!
close icon
World's #1 Photo/Video Uploader

World's #1 Free Photo/Video Uploader

PicBackMan has everything you've ever wanted to backup your photos or migrate/transfer from one account to another. No feature left behind!

(283 reviews)
Trusted by users in 125+ countries.
  • Maintain Folder StructureMaintain Folder StructureUpload to your online accounts & keep your folder structure as you have it.
  • Sub-folder SupportFolders & their sub-folders are automatically picked up.
  • Smart De-dupeDe-dupes photos before uploading so you don’t have duplicate copies.
  • AutomaticPicBackMan monitors & automatically uploads from connected folders.
  • PrivacyPrivacyAll uploaded photos & videos are always marked as private by default.
  • RAW FilesComes with support for RAW files for uploads as well as transfers.

“Your pictures are scattered. PicBackMan helps you bring order to your digital memories.”

the wall street journal
close icon
One Uploader for All Services

One Uploader for All Services

PicBackMan is the only tool you will need to backup to one or more of the top online photo and video services.

(283 reviews)
Trusted by users in 125+ countries.
Google Photos

Google Photos

Flickr

Flickr

SmugMug

SmugMug

Dropbox

Dropbox

Google Drive

Google Drive

pCloud

pCloud

OneDrive

OneDrive

youtube

Youtube