Easy Backup from Hard Drive to Google Drive with RcloneView
Protect your important files and ensure access anywhere by backing up your hard drive to Google Drive.
Ensuring File Safety with Hard Drive Backups to Google Drive
Local hard drives are reliable for daily work but they’re vulnerable: hardware failures, accidental deletion, or theft can cause irreversible data loss. By backing up your hard drive to Google Drive, you gain the security of cloud redundancy, remote access, and easy collaboration.
Understanding Hard Drives
- Fast, local access for personal and work files
- Vulnerable to crashes, physical damage, or malware
- Limited redundancy without external backup
Understanding Google Drive
- Cloud-based storage accessible from any device
- Offers ~15 GB free space, expandable with paid tiers
- Built-in sharing and collaboration with Docs, Sheets, and Slides
Why migrate files to Google Drive?
- Data safety: A second copy ensures resilience against loss.
- Access anywhere: Work remotely without carrying external drives.
- Collaboration: Share instantly with colleagues or family.
- Save space: Free up local disk capacity while retaining availability.
Step 1 – Preparation
Before starting your backup:
- Organize local files to avoid syncing unnecessary data
- Check Google Drive capacity to ensure enough storage
- Keep a local backup copy for extra protection
- Decide workflow: one-time backup vs. ongoing scheduled jobs
Manage & Sync All Clouds in One Place
RcloneView is a cross-platform GUI for rclone. Compare folders, transfer or sync files, and automate multi-cloud workflows with a clean, visual interface.
- One-click jobs: Copy · Sync · Compare
- Schedulers & history for reliable automation
- Works with Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, S3, WebDAV, SFTP and more
Free core features. Plus automations available.
Step 2 – Set Up Connections in RcloneView
- Open RcloneView → click
+ New Remote - Select Google Drive, complete OAuth login, name it (e.g.,
MyGoogleDrive) - For your hard drive, simply choose the Local provider and point to a folder path (e.g.,
D:\Backupsor/Users/Name/Documents) - Both storage sources now appear in Explorer for transfer or sync
Step 3 – Running Backup Jobs
RcloneView offers three methods for moving files:
A) Drag & Drop
- Drag files from your hard drive panel to Google Drive
- Great for quick backups of specific folders
B) Compare & Select
- Compare differences between local and cloud
- Transfer only new or updated files
- Ideal for incremental backups
C) Sync & Scheduled Jobs
- Sync ensures Google Drive mirrors your hard drive folder
- Run a dry-run before large backups
- Schedule automatic jobs (e.g., nightly backups at 2 AM)
Pro Tips:
- Exclude temporary files (
*.tmp,.log) to save space - Run first backups in smaller chunks to verify
- Monitor jobs via the Job Manager dashboard
Conclusion & Extra Tips
Recap
- RcloneView makes hard drive → Google Drive backup seamless
- Set up Google Drive once via OAuth, then run backups as needed
- Options for manual, selective, or fully automated scheduled backups
Extra Tips
- Use mounting to browse Google Drive as if it’s a local drive
- Automate recurring jobs for peace of mind
- Audit logs for a reliable backup history
FAQs
Q: Can I back up my whole computer to Google Drive?
A: Yes, by selecting the root folder or specific directories to sync.
Q: Will this slow down my system?
A: Large jobs can use bandwidth, but scheduling during off-hours solves this.
Q: Is it beginner-friendly?
A: Yes—RcloneView is GUI-based, no command line needed.
Q: Are my files safe during transfer?
A: Yes—Rclone handles transfers securely via OAuth authentication.
Keep your data safe, accessible, and backed up—RcloneView makes it simple to protect your hard drive files with Google Drive.
Supported Cloud Providers
