Google Data Transfer

You can transfer files from your Google Drive to another location, such as another cloud provider like Microsoft OneDrive or, if you are a student or alumni (ONLY), you can transfer files to a personal account like Google, e.g.

Please note: faculty and staff may not transfer university-business content to a personal account.

Transferring your Google Drive Files to OneDrive or Another Cloud Service

Several options are available to transfer files from Google to another cloud storage solution. The instructions below describe methods for transferring to Microsoft OneDrive, but they may be used with other services. Please note: After you transfer your content, you need to delete that content from Google.

Option 1: Transfer Files From Google Drive to Onedrive USING MICROSOFT'S MOVER TRANSFER WIZARD (mover.io)

Go to the Microsoft Mover Transfer Wizard (Mover.io) website, click on "Go to Transfer Wizard," click "Sign in with Microsoft," and sign in using your Microsoft username and password, which is the same as your Illinois Tech username and password.
Under "Step 1: Select source:"
1. Click "Authorize New Connector."
2. Select "Authorize" next to "Google Drive (Single User)."
3. Enter a name of your choosing (such as "bsmith - GDrive," e.g.) under "Please provide a name for your Google Drive (Single User) connector and any required credentials. Display Name."
4. Click "Authorize."
5. Under "Choose an account to continue to Move," select your Google account.
6. Click "Allow" under "Mover wants to access your Google Account."
Under "Step 2: Select destination:"
1. Click "Authorize New Connector."
2. Select "Authorize" next to "OneDrive for Business (Single User)."
3. Enter a name of your choosing (such as "bsmith - OneDrive," e.g.) under "please provide a name for your OneDrive for Business (Single User) connector and any required credentials. Display Name."
4. Click "Authorize."
5. Under "Microsoft Sign in," enter your Illinois Tech email address and press "Enter."
6. Enter your Illinois Tech password.
Under "Step 3: Start transferring:"
1. Click "Start Copy."
2. A page will appear showing the status of the copy.
  1. Running shows the number of transfers in progress.
  2. Complete shows the completed transfers.
Go into your One Drive and confirm that you have all of your files.
Google Docs (Sheets, etc.) may not be copied. If this is the case, you have two choices:
1. Keep them in your Google Drive "as is."
2. Download them into their Microsoft format (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) and put them in your OneDrive.
Once you have confirmed that your files have been successfully copied to OneDrive, please go into your Google Drive and delete those files. Do not delete any Google Docs that you wish to keep in Google.

Option 2: Transfer FILES From Google Drive to Onedrive Using Google takeout

Go to the Google Takeout website, click "Deselect all," click the checkbox on the right side of "Drive," then click "Next Step."
Select "Add to OneDrive" as the delivery method.
Scroll down to "Link accounts and create export" and click it.
You must log into your Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive. Please do so and click "Open in OneDrive" after the exporting process ends. You can also go to your OneDrive and view the archived files.
Once you have confirmed that your files have been successfully transferred to OneDrive, please go into your Google Drive and delete those files. Do not delete any Google Docs that you wish to keep in Google.

Option 3: Transfer FILES From Google Drive to OneDrive with Drive Files to OneDrive App

Open Google Drive in your browser.
Click "My Drive" > "More" > "Drive Files to MS OneDrive."
In the Drive Files to MS OneDrive app, hit "Select files" from the Google Drive button to either choose specific files or everything from Google Drive, then press the "Select target folder to save from OneDrive" button to choose the target folder.
Press the "Save to OneDrive" button to transfer the Google Drive files to OneDrive.
Once you have confirmed that your files have been successfully transferred to OneDrive, please go into your Google Drive and delete those files. Do not delete any Google Docs that you wish to keep in Google.

You may receive an error message that some files failed to back up and/or that the declared fragment length does not match the provided number of bytes. If this happens, use Option 4 or 5 below for those files.

Option 4: Download Files From Google Drive and Upload to OneDrive

If you do not want to use the above-mentioned options, you can manually move files from Google Drive to OneDrive. Here are the steps:

Log in to your Google Drive, create a new folder, and then move all your Google Drive files to that folder.
Right-click the new folder, and select "Download."
Google Drive will download the new folder containing everything from Google Drive to a zip file. Unzip the file. If you do not unzip the file, you cannot upload it to OneDrive.
Log into your OneDrive account, then click "Upload" > "Folder."
Choose the new folder containing all of your Google Drive files, and hit "Upload" to transfer your Google Drive files to OneDrive manually.
Once you have confirmed that your files have been successfully transferred to OneDrive, please go into your Google Drive and delete those files. Do not delete any Google Docs that you wish to keep in Google.

Please note: This method takes a lot of time. In addition, your Internet's upload bandwidth can impact the speed at which the transfer occurs. Using the Internet on campus will likely be faster.

Option 5: Use Google Drive and OneDrive Desktop Apps

Please ensure you have installed Google Drive for desktop and the OneDrive desktop apps on your computer. Then follow the below-listed steps to migrate files from Google Drive to OneDrive. Please note: If you are using the Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system, you probably will not need to install OneDrive because it has likely been installed by default.

Open Google Drive for desktop and the OneDrive app and log in. Both of them will show you a folder, named "My Drive" in Google Drive and OneDrive.
Choose all files and folders in the My Drive folder, and drag and drop them into the OneDrive folder.
It will copy files from Google Drive to OneDrive.
Once you have confirmed that your files have been successfully transferred to OneDrive, please go into your Google Drive and delete those files. Do not delete any Google Docs that you wish to keep in Google.

After you have taken these steps, OneDrive will need to sync the files to its cloud server. This can take a long time, depending on your network connection and upload limit.

Transferring your Gmail, Drive Files, and Other Google Data to a Personal Google Account (Students and Alumni ONLY)

Students and alumni can copy and transfer their Illinois Tech email and My Drive files to a personal Google account. Please note: Faculty and staff should NOT use a personal account for university data. This process takes only a few steps when you use Google’s Transfer Tool.

Access Google's Transfer Tool from your Google Account profile page for your Illinois Tech account.

Essential Considerations Before You Begin

Processing Time

If you have a large amount of data, the process may take up to several days to complete, according to Google Support. Once you initiate the transfer or download, you can continue to do your work and even log out. However, the new files may not be available for some time. Please plan accordingly.

Storage Amounts

Your personal Google account may be limited to 15GB, subject to change by Google at any time. You may have to do some clean up or purchase more space from Google. To view details on your storage usage, navigate to Google Drive Storage within your Google Drive to see the current amount of storage you are utilizing for your Gmail, Drive, and Photos, etc.

Large Email Messages

The Transfer Tool may have difficulty transferring large emails, e.g., email messages with large attachments. If you receive a transfer error, this could be one of the reasons why. Before you begin the transfer (or if there is an error when doing the transfer and it does not complete), you may want to review large emails and save the attachments in another way or simply delete these messages.

Shared with Me Files

ALL files shared with you will be transferred over as part of the transfer function (unless the document owner has turned off the ability to execute downloads and copies for commenters and viewers). Currently, there is no way to control this. You can reduce the number of files that you will transfer by removing your access to documents that you don't want to transfer. To do this, right-click on the file in Windows or CTRL+click on the file on a Mac, then select the "Share" option. Select the dropdown status to the right of your name and choose the "Remove access" option. Please note taking this step updates the Last Updated information for the file, but it does not indicate that you edited the file.

COPY AND TRANSFER YOUR GMAIL AND DRIVE FILES TO A PERSONAL GOOGLE ACCOUNT (Students and Alumni Only)

To transfer your Illinois Tech mail and Google Drive files that you own or are shared with you to a personal Google account, use the Google Transfer Tool available from your Google account dashboard. Again, please note: Faculty and staff should not use a personal account for university data.

The Google Transfer Tool feature will automatically transfer your Illinois Tech Gmail and Drive files and upload them to your personal Google account. If you do not have a personal account, you can create one for free.

IMPORTANT NOTE

When you start the process of migrating your Illinois Tech account data to your personal account, please open an incognito/private browsing window or use a different browser than you usually use. This will help to ensure the transfer will start.

Reminder

Please review the above-noted Important Considerations Before You Begin and remember to transfer ownership of any files and folders that should belong to someone else upon your departure from Illinois Tech.

To access the Google Transfer Tool:

In a private/incognito browser window or different browser than you usually use, log into your Illinois Tech Gmail account.
Access the tool from myaccount.google.com. Alternatively, from the upper-right corner of the browser window in Google, select the "Google Account" icon, and then select "Manage your Google Account."
From the home page of myaccount.google.com, select "Start transfer" under "Transfer your content." Then complete these steps:
- Enter a destination account;
- Verify your destination account; and
- Select the content to copy and transfer.
Please be patient. According to Google Support, the process may take up to several days to complete, particularly if you have a lot of data to transfer. When the transfer is complete, you will receive a confirmation email.
Once you have confirmed that your files have been successfully transferred, please go into your Google Drive and delete those files. Do not delete any Google Docs that you wish to keep in Google.

For Assistance

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact the OTS Support Desk at supportdesk@iit.edu or 312-567-3375 (on campus x7Desk). If you are at the Conviser Law Center, please contact the IT Help Desk at the ITS Help Desk at helpdesk@kentlaw.iit.edu or 312-906-5300 (on campus x65300).