Odrive to Google Drive Issues

  1. The Google Drive app on my Mac uploaded 155GB to its Google Drive cloud. However, when I installed Odrive and unsynced, it did not release 155GB back to my Mac hard drive. Why?
  2. When I right click on a file or folder, it does not have all the Odrive commands. Why? Odrive is running in my Mac top menu bar.
  3. Should I have Google Drive app syncing running and Odrive running on Menu bar?

Please advise. Thank you!
Kim

Hi @coramdeojoy777,
Thanks for reaching out. I will do my best to answer your questions. It may also help to take a look at a video I made describing the basics of the odrive desktop client, here:

odrive will not affect the local data within your Google Drive desktop application folder. The odrive app is intended to replace the Google Drive app, although it doesn’t have to, but unsyncing data on odrive will not remove data you have locally in the Google Drive desktop application.

It may help if you can take a few screenshots of where you are seeing the data so that I can better understand what you looking at on your computer.

Can you tell me what folder you are clicking on and what commands you are seeing?

odrive can be used to replace the Google Drive app, once you are comfortable with it, so that you do not need to use both.

Screen Shot 2020-08-12 at 7.19.00 AM Screen Shot 2020-08-12 at 7.22.18 AM

Hi Tony, see attached screen shots. The first two screen shots answer question number 1. Google drive app uploaded data from my Mac Mini to its Google drive (into those 3 folders). How do I reclaim those disk space on my local hard drive using Odrive?

The last two screen shots answer question number 2. When I right click a file or folder, it does not have all the Odrive commands that you show in your video. Why?

Please advise. Thanks!

Hi @coramdeojoy777,
Thanks for the additional information!

I think I understand the scenario here.

You’ve used the Google Drive client to backup your Pictures, Documents, and Desktop folders and now you want to free up that space on your local disk, correct?

You can do this with odrive, using “sync to odrive” (Manage Sync):
This can be done by:

  • Right-clicking on each of the Pictures, Documents, and Desktop folders and choosing “sync to odrive”.
  • Then choose where you want to sync these folders to on the remote side
  • Google doesn’t offer a way to target the “Computers” section of storage that they use with their client, so you would need to sync these folders again to a new location in your Drive, unfortunately. (I am actually currently investigating a way to work around this).
  • Once odrive is done syncing the folder, you can use the “unsync” feature to unsync the items and free up the local disk space. (Here is a video about that, for more information:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S6KM6eiglU

Just let me know if you have any questions about the above steps.

It is possible that the Google Drive client is interfering with the odrive Finder extensions. Can you go to your Mac System Preferences->Extensions and make sure the odriveapp Finder extension is enabled (checked)? If it is, try toggling it off and on again and see if the extensions return. If that doesn’t fix it, try disabling (unchecking) all other extensions except odrive and seeing if that changes anything (it may require a restart of the system to take effect).

Thanks for your explanation. Just to clarify.

  1. When I use “sync to odrive”, I have to click on a folder on my local computer and send it to Google Drive. Correct? For example, I right-click on Documents in my computer, not on Documents in Google Drive. Correct? But what about the Documents already backed up to my Google Drive? Do I delete it since it would be a duplicate?
  2. Once odrive is done syncing the folder, I use “unsync” feature to unsync items. But if I use “unsync”, then when I update a file in my local drive, how do I get that file updated to my Google drive automatically? If I turn on “sync to odrive” again to sync, would that space on my local disk be used up again? If so, that’s not really a long term benefit of freeing up that space on my local disk.
  3. I right-clicking folder “Documents”, “Pictures”, there’re no Odrive commands to sync (see attached screen shots). I followed your instruction and saw that Odrive Finder extensions was already enabled (checked). So I togged it off and on again, but there are still no odrive commands when I right click on “Documents.” Please advise how to fix. Thanks!
  4. When using “sync to odrive”, how long does it take odrive to upload Documents to Google drive? Is it as fast as using Google drive client to backup?
    Screen Shot 2020-08-12 at 10.24.04 PM Screen Shot 2020-08-12 at 10.24.22 PM

Hi @coramdeojoy777,

Yes. You can delete the duplicate data, but I would wait until you know that it has been all synced by odrive in the new location before deleting anything. It looks like you have plenty of free space in your Google Drive, so you shouldn’t run into a storage problem there.

When you use “sync to odrive” it creates a sync relationship between the local and remote folders. That relationship will remain until you remove it. This means any new files you add will be uploaded and any files you update will be uploaded. You can use unsync to convert files or folders into placeholders freeing up the space until you need them locally again.

For example, I have my Documents folder synced with “sync to odrive” and have several subfolders unsynced because I do not need immediate access to them. Once I do, I can just sync the files or folders I need and then unsync again when I no longer need immediate access.

Do you see an odrive icon at the top of Finder?

Also, do you see the right-click menu on folders within odrive now, or is it still the same, with no odrive options anywhere?

If you still don’t see them, did you try unchecking the other extensions and leaving only odrive?

It is going to mostly depend on your connection, but it should be about the same. There are options that can be set to adjust the performance if you are seeing that it is less than expected.

  1. I don’t see what you see there in your screen shot. However, when I right click on folders within odrive, then I see odrive options. Why?
  2. What options to adjust the performance (just in case)?
  3. Once I use “sync to odrive” completed, I don’t need to run Google drive app on my menu bar together with odrive. Correct?

Hi @coramdeojoy777,
Try navigating to your user folder and then right-click on the folders from there. The right-side shortcut listings do not allow for the context menus, which is why you aren’t seeing the “sync to odrive” option there when you right-click on them.

The odrive icon should be appearing in the top of the Finder window, however. If you right-click at the top of the Finder and select “customize toolbar” do you see the odrive icon in the listed icons? If so, drag it out to your Finder top toolbar.

There are basic settings here: Manage Sync

There are advanced settings here: Advanced client options
For the advanced settings you can try changing the maxConcurrentUploads number from 4 to 8.

That is correct

I am syncing Documents folder, looks like it’s working. How do I check on the progress or know when it’s completed the syncing? How do I check if all my files in Documents are uploaded?

Please advise. Thanks!

1 Like

Hi @coramdeojoy777,

odrive will upload until it is done. The odrive tray menu will show the current activity and if there are any files in “not allowed” or “waiting”. If odrive says “Ready to sync new changes” at the top of the menu, and you do not have any items in “waiting” or “not allowed”, then it will be all done. You will also have checkmarks on all of the files and folders, indicating that you have nothing left to upload.

I notice something interesting. While obdrive is syncing, Google drive app is syncing/uploading as well, but it should not be because it was already done uploading all files. Could it be that obdrive trigger Google drive app to upload again? What should I do to prevent it from doing extra uploading?

Hi @coramdeojoy777,
odrive won’t change anything about the files during upload, so it shouldn’t be triggering a change for Google’s app, but I am not as familiar with what they are doing on a regular basis.

I would recommend closing the Google Drive app on your desktop to let odrive perform its uploads without interference.

If you go to the Google Drive webclient, you can take a look at the activity in the “Computers” section to see what changes Google is reacting to.

With obdrive syncing, it’s been taking up my local computer space quickly. But the strange thing is when I deleted the files from Google drive that odrive uploaded, why does it not free up my local computer hard disk space? How do I free them up by deleting?

Please advise. Thanks!

Hi @coramdeojoy777,
If odrive is still in the process of uploading then it may not see the remote deleted items yet in order to process them.

For the items that are already uploaded, you can right-click->unsync them to free up the local space. (https://docs.odrive.com/docs/manage-disk-space#unsync-old-files)

I may not be understanding, however. I wouldn’t think odrive would be adding to your local space since the files were already there on the local disk and odrive is uploading them. Can you provide some additional details on where you see new local space being taken up?