Set up Drive for desktop for your organization

This article is for administrators. To learn how to set up and use Drive for desktop on your own device, go here instead.

Supported for all Google Workspace, Cloud Identity, and G Suite editions

Google Drive for desktop can help users get started with cloud-based files and collaboration. Drive for desktop makes it easy to get existing files into Drive and maintain familiar desktop workflows. As an administrator, you can choose how users get Google Drive for desktop on their computers and what features are available to them. You can allow users to install Drive for desktop themselves or you can install it for them using software deployment tools.

Before you begin

Review the system requirements.

Step 1: Configure Drive for desktop for your organization

Set up Drive for desktop for your organization

Before you begin: If needed, learn how to apply the setting to a department or group.

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. In the Admin console, go to Menu  AppsGoogle WorkspaceDrive and DocsGoogle Drive for desktop.

3. (Optional) To apply the setting only to some users, at the side, select an organizational unit (often used for departments) or configuration group (advanced). Show me how

   Group settings override organizational units. Learn more

4. Click Enable Drive for desktop.
   • To turn on Drive for desktop, check the Allow Google Drive for desktop in your organization box.
   • To allow access only on authorized devices, check the Only allow Google Drive for desktop on authorized devices box.
   • To allow Google Drive on the web to promote installing Drive for desktop to users, check the Show Google Drive for desktop download link box. Users must have admin privileges on their computers to install.
   • To allow users to see who’s editing shared Microsoft Office files, check the Allow users to enable real-time presence in Microsoft Office from Google Drive for desktop box.
5. Click Save. Or, you might click Override for an organizational unit.

   To later restore the inherited value, click Inherit (or Unset for a group).

6. (Optional) Click Syncing options.
   • To allow users to sync folders to Google Drive, check the Allow users to sync local folders to Drive box.
   • To allow users to use mirror sync for their My Drive directory, check the Allow users to mirror My Drive box. Learn more
   • To allow users to backup photos and videos from their device to Google Photos, check the Allow users to backup photos and videos to Google Photos box. Note: Photos and videos backed up to Photos and Drive will be uploaded twice and will use more storage.
   • To allow users to backup files and folders from external media like USB drives, cameras, and phones, check the Allow users to backup files and folders from external media box
7. Click Save. Or, you might click Override for an organizational unit.

   To later restore the inherited value, click Inherit (or Unset for a group).

Step 2: Install Drive for desktop on devices in your organization

You can choose to let users install Drive for desktop themselves, manually install it for them, or use software management tools to automatically deploy Drive for desktop to your organization.

To manually install Drive for desktop with the installer, follow the steps in Use Google Drive for desktop at home, work, or school.

To silently install Drive for desktop, use the following steps for your device:

Windows

1. Download GoogleDriveSetup.exe.
   Download now
2. Run the installer in silent mode:

   GoogleDriveSetup --silent --desktop_shortcut

   Note:

   • The desktop_shortcut flag for Drive for desktop is optional. Users can also find Drive for desktop in the Windows Task Bar.
   • To skip launching the app after installation, add the --skip_launch_new parameter.
   • Drive for desktop includes desktop shortcuts to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides by default. You can turn off the Docs editors shortcuts by adding the
     --gsuite_shortcuts=false parameter to the installer.

Mac

1. Download GoogleDrive.dmg.
   Download now
2. Run the installer in silent mode:
   hdiutil mount GoogleDrive.dmg; sudo installer -pkg /Volumes/Install\ Google\ Drive/GoogleDrive.pkg -target "/Volumes/Macintosh HD"; hdiutil unmount /Volumes/Install\ Google\ Drive/

Note: You might see a folder called "localhost" when starting Drive for desktop on a Mac for the first time. This is expected behavior, and you can ignore this folder.

If you have problems installing Drive for desktop, restart the computer and try again.

Step 3: (Optional) Advanced Drive for desktop setup

As an administrator, you can set override values for Drive for desktop settings, such as the cache location, bandwidth limits, and proxy settings. For details, see Advanced Drive for desktop configuration.

By default, Drive for desktop is set up to auto-update on your users’ computers, using Google Update (Windows) or Google Software Update (Mac). Auto-updates prevent service disruption, promote data security, and give users access to new features as soon as they’re available (learn more about keeping Drive for desktop updated). However, you can turn off auto-updates. Follow the steps at Configure auto-updates (Windows) or Manage Chrome updates (CBCM).

Known issues

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Digital Guardian compatibility

Drive for desktop isn’t compatible with Digital Guardian.

Anti-virus software interference

Certain virus detection and security software can interfere with the operation of Drive for desktop.

If you have virus scan software on your computer and repeatedly get the error "Drive for desktop encountered a problem and has stopped," exclude Drive for desktop from your virus scan.

• For Windows: The default streaming location is G:, but may be another location that you've configured.
• For macOS: The default streaming location is /Volumes/GoogleDrive, but may be another location that you've configured.

Sync issues

Syncing a folder with both Google Drive for desktop and another syncing service might cause files to not sync with Google Drive or to be removed from Google Drive entirely. Be careful when making configuration changes in the other applications.

Silently uninstall Drive for desktop from Windows devices

In addition to standard uninstall methods, you can silently uninstall Drive for desktop from Windows devices. Run:

%PROGRAMFILES%\Google\Drive File Stream\<VERSION>\uninstall.exe --silent --force_stop

Note:

• The --force_stop argument is required if Drive for desktop is currently running. The --silent argument is optional. It will suppress uninstall dialogs and skip end-user confirmation of the uninstall.
• The UninstallString registry key for Drive for desktop, (Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{6BBAE539-2232-434A-A4E5-9A33560C6283}), points to the uninstall.exe.

If you don’t allow Drive for desktop

When Drive for desktop isn’t allowed for your organization, users can’t sign in or use the app. If they used Drive for desktop in mirror mode before it was disallowed, the files synced from Drive remain on their computer but no longer sync.

Users can still manually upload and download files to and from Drive on the web, and they can still access Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms. To block some or all of these features:

• If you have the Essentials edition, you can turn off Docs creation.
• If you want to turn off all Drive components and the Docs editors, you can turn off Drive.

Related topics

• Drive for desktop release notes
• Drive firewall and proxy settings
• Capture Drive for desktop logs for support

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