How to Download Large Files from Google Drive?

Google Drive is a prominent service used by professionals to store and manage data in the cloud. There are various instances in which there is a need to download the files from the Google Drive. While doing this task, users often ask how to download large files from Google Drive. That is why we have come up with this professional blog.

Here, we will learn how to download large files from Google Drive in bulk. Be with the blog and backup your data from Google Drive to the Local system.

Why Do Users Need to Download Their Large Google Drive Files?

While Google Drive is fantastic for cloud storage, there are a few compelling reasons why users often choose to pull those large files down to their local hard drive. It primarily centered around three core needs: boosting performance for intensive work, ensuring access reliability no matter the internet connection, and simply bypassing limitations inherent to cloud services.

Here are the main reasons:

1. Offline Access and Reliability

• Guaranteed Access: The most critical reason is to ensure access to the file when there is no internet connection or the connection is slow, unstable, or has limited data. Creative professionals (editors, photographers) often need massive files accessible offline.
• Working in Remote Areas: Users who frequently travel or work in locations with poor internet infrastructure rely on local copies.

2. Performance and Speed

• Faster Local Processing: Large files, especially media like high-resolution video or complex datasets, can be processed, edited, and rendered much faster when they are accessed directly from a local drive (especially an SSD) compared to continually streaming or downloading segments from the cloud.
• Reduced Bandwidth Usage: Once the large file is downloaded, accessing it repeatedly does not consume internet bandwidth, saving on data caps and improving overall network speed for other tasks.

3. Overcoming Google Drive’s Limitations for Large Files

• Download Quota and Bandwidth Limits: Google Drive has daily download and sharing limits. If a file is downloaded too many times in a short period (e.g., sharing a large file with many people), users may hit a “Download quota exceeded” error. Downloading locally bypasses this.
• Browser Download Instability: Very large files downloaded through a web browser are prone to timeout errors, network interruptions, or failed zipping (if multiple files are selected), leading to corrupted or incomplete downloads. Using the Google Drive for Desktop application or a dedicated download manager can mitigate this, but a local copy eliminates the risk entirely.
• Virus Scan Warnings: For files over 100MB, Google Drive cannot scan them for viruses and requires manual confirmation, which can interrupt the download process, especially in automated or bulk operations.

4. Backup and Archival

• Redundancy (3-2-1 Backup Strategy): Following best practice backup strategies often requires keeping an independent local copy of crucial data, in addition to the cloud copy, as protection against accidental cloud deletion, account compromise, or sync errors.
• Freeing up Google Drive Storage: Users sometimes download large archival files to an external or local drive so they can delete the copy from Google Drive, thus freeing up their cloud storage space (especially for free tier users).

Ways to Download Large Files from Google Drive

Here we have explained two ways to download files from Google Drive accounts: manual and professional. First, we will use the Google Drive Download option to do this task manually. Then, we will move to the third-party professional utility for downloading multiple files using a reliable tool.

Manual Method to Download All Data from Google Drive

Google Drive provides the facility to download Google Drive files to local storage. Now, we will learn how to download all data from Google Drive accounts with this solution.

• Firstly, open the Google Drive login page and enter your details to sign in.

• Select the files you want to download from Google Drive.
• Right-click on the selected files and tap the Download button.

• The files will start downloading to your local storage.

• After that, you need to extract the downloaded file as it downloads files in the ZIP format.

• Once the files are extracted, you can easily access them in your system.

In the above steps, we have explained, users can download files from Google Drive accounts. However, this solution takes too much time if the data is larger, and the question remains the same that how to download large files from Google Drive.

Professional Way to Download Large Files from Google Drive:

• Install and Launch Shoviv G Suite Backup and Restore.
• In the dashboard, Select Mailbox/ Google Drive Backup Job.

• From the options, select Google Drive Backup.

• Give a Job Name.
• From a dropdown menu, select your existing Source Project ( if any).

• If no prior project is available, create one by clicking Add Project and entering the Credentials.
• See the Shoviv Technical Guide for a comprehensive explanation of these credentials: https://www.shoviv.com/technical-guide/add-service-account-id-and-p12-file-path-for-google-drive.html.

• Pick the required User from the Users List.

• On the other window, Add New Backup Directory.
• Set the location of the Backup Directory Path.

• Adjust backup filters as needed to get only the required data.

• Modify the settings here as per the requirements for the backup.

• Here, you can decide the job run action. You can also schedule your Job with the help of the scheduler facility.

• Based on your selected option, the backup job executes automatically.

Learn more: How to Back Up Entire Google Drive?

Why Do Professionals Prefer This Utility?

• It works on job-based processing and allows adding multiple Google Drives in a single go.
• No limitation on the file size; efficiently back up large items.
• It allows creating multiple jobs and running them simultaneously.
• Multiple filter options are available to get only the required data.
• Shoviv Google Drive Backup Tool also allows scheduling the backup task as per the need.
• A free demo version of this software is also available to download, install and try for free.

Gist of the Blog:

This wr̥ite-up has touched all the dimensions of the topic. In the end, we suggest using the professional utility for proficient backup. The Shoviv Google Drive Backup Tool to do this task in a convenient way. It comes with a simple user interface to make it easier for all users to process this task. Users can also take a trial of this professional solution by downloading its free demo version.

Frequently Asked Questions: