You Can Recover The Google Drive Files That Disappeared Last Month: Here's How

In November, a bug caused a frenzy on Google Drive as many users reported missing files. Google states that the issue affected a limited number of Google Drive desktop users. If you lost your files to this bug, Google now has a way for you to recover your files.

Google has updated a support document with guidelines on getting your lost files back. Before you attempt recovery, Google recommends updating to the latest version of the Drive for desktop app on Windows or macOS (version 85.0.13.0 or higher).

Unsplash

Even though the recovery method is available for Google Drive users, Google claims that there's no guarantee for file recovery. If the recovery tool can find a backup, you should be able to restore your lost files.

How to recover missing Drive files using the recovery tool

• First, make sure you have the latest Drive for desktop version (85.0.13.0 or higher).
• In the menu bar, click the Drive for desktop icon.
• Press and hold the Shift key and choose Settings.
• Here, click Recover from backups.

Unsplash

You should no see a notification that says "recovery has started." If there are no backups available, you'll see a notification that states "no backups found."

If a backup was found, a prompt that says "recovery is complete" should appear on your screen. Sometimes, the recovery process can fail if you don't have enough free space. You can free up space and rerun the recovery tool if you experience failure the first time.

Unsplash

There's another way to recover your Drive files - by running the command line tool. To try this method, you'll need the latest Drive for desktop app. Command prompts for Windows and macOS may be found here.

Did you lose any files to the Google Drive bug? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com and click here for our how-to guides.