This wikiHow teaches you how to download all the files from your Google Drive account to a Mac or desktop computer. You can download your files directly from the Google Drive website or download all your data as a Google file. If you have approximately 5GB of data on your Google Drive, it is recommended that you sync your account to your computer using Google's free backup and sync program.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Use Google Drive
Step 1. Open Google Drive
Go to https://drive.google.com/ in the web browser from your computer. This will open your Google Drive page if you are signed into your Google account.
- If you are not signed in to your Google account, click Go to Google Drive if prompted, then enter your email address and password.
Step 2. Click on any file or folder in the Drive window
This will select it.
Step 3. Select everything in Google Drive
Press Ctrl + A (Windows) or Command + A (Mac) to do so. You should see that all the elements on the main page turn blue.
Step 4. Click ⋮
It's in the upper-right corner of the page. A drop-down menu will appear.
Step 5. Click Download
This option is in the drop-down menu. This will cause the Google Drive files to start downloading to your computer.
Google Drive will compress the files into a ZIP folder
Step 6. Wait for the contents of Google Drive to finish downloading
Once the files are downloaded, you can extract them for viewing.
Method 2 of 3: Use the backup and sync program
Step 1. Open the Backup and Sync web page
Go to https://www.google.com/drive/download/ in your computer's web browser. The backup and sync program allows you to sync files between a computer and your Google Drive account, thus allowing you to download all the contents of Google Drive to the computer.
The main benefit of this method is that any changes you make to Google Drive will automatically be reflected in the backup and sync program on your computer
Step 2. Click Download
It's a blue button under the "Personal" heading on the left side of the page.
Step 3. Click Accept and Download when prompted
This will cause the Backup and Sync installation file to begin downloading to your computer.
Step 4. Install Backup and Sync
Once the installation file finishes downloading, do one of the following depending on your operating system:
- Install on Windows: Double-click the installation file, click Yes when prompted and click To close when the installation is complete.
- Install on Mac: double-click the installation file, verify the installation if prompted, click and drag the Backup & Sync icon to the shortcut in the “Applications” folder and wait for it to finish installing.
Step 5. Wait for the Backup & Sync login page to open
After the program finishes installing itself on your computer, a page will open for you to sign in with your Google account.
- You may have to click START before continuing.
Step 6. Sign in with your Google account
Enter the email address and password for the Google account with which the Google Drive content you want to download is linked.
Step 7. If necessary, choose folders on your computer to sync
Check the box next to any folder you want to upload to Google Drive.
If you don't want to upload any files, uncheck each box on this page
Step 8. Click NEXT
It's in the lower-right corner of the window.
Step 9. Click DONE when prompted
This will open the Download page, where you can determine the Google Drive files that you want to download to your computer.
Step 10. Check the box "Synchronize all the contents of My Drive"
You will find it at the top of the window. This will ensure that everything on Google Drive is downloaded to your computer.
Step 11. Click GET STARTED
It's a blue button in the lower-right corner of the window. Your content from Google Drive will begin downloading to your computer.
- This process can take a long time depending on how large your Google Drive files are, so be patient.
- Once the download is complete, you will be able to view your files in the “Google Drive” folder on your computer, which you can access by clicking on the icon. Backup and sync and then clicking on the folder icon in the upper right side of the menu.
Method 3 of 3: Download a file from Google
Step 1. Open your Google account page
Go to https://myaccount.google.com/ in a web browser. This will open the account settings page for Google if you are signed in.
- If you are not logged into your Google account, click the blue button Log in on the upper right side of the page, then enter your email address and password before continuing.
Step 2. Click Control your content
It's under the heading "Personal Information and Privacy."
You may have to scroll down a bit to see this option
Step 3. Click CREATE FILE
It's on the right side of the page, just below the "Download your data" heading.
Step 4. Click DO NOT SELECT NONE
This gray button is on the right side of the page.
Step 5. Scroll down and click the gray "Drive" switch
This switch, which is on the opposite side of the “Drive” heading which is about a third of the way down the page, will turn blue.
, which means your Google Drive files will be downloaded.
You can also click the gray switch next to any other Google products you want to include in the file
Step 6. Scroll down and click NEXT
It's a blue button at the bottom of the page.
Step 7. Select a file size
Click the "File size" drop-down box, then click a size that matches (or exceeds) the download size of your Google Drive.
If your Google Drive is larger than the selected size, multiple zip files will be downloaded
Step 8. Click CREATE FILE
It's at the bottom of the page. Google Drive will start to collect a ZIP folder with all the Drive contents in it.
Step 9. Wait for the file to finish collecting
It will usually take several minutes for the Google Drive file to finish forming, so stay on this page until you see the message appear TO DOWNLOAD.
- Google will also send a download link to your email address so if you close the page you can open your Google email and click Download file in the message to download the file.
Step 10. Click DOWNLOAD
This blue button is to the right of the file name in the middle of the page.
Step 11. Enter your Google password
When prompted, enter the password you use to log into your Google account. This will allow the file to begin downloading to your computer.
Step 12. Wait for your Google Drive content to finish downloading
Once the files finish downloading, you can extract them for viewing.