Google Drive synchronization method

Force Google Drive Synchronization

I researched how to force Google Drive to synchronize, or in other words, manually synchronize it.

Shou Arisaka
1 min read
Sep 30, 2025

I researched how to force Google Drive to synchronize, or in other words, manually synchronize it.

You cannot force Drive to sync but closing and reopening Drive may encourage Drive to sync again. Drive syncs automatically when you add/delete files from the Drive folder on your computer. If the other users start Drive before working on the document, Drive should sync and download any changes. https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/drive/VMIjqrWsvCw

In the end, it appears that restarting Google Drive will make it synchronize.

How to Restart Google Drive

  1. Right-click Google Drive Sync from the taskbar and select “Quit Backup and Sync”.

  2. Next, launch the following file:

    C:\Program Files\Google\Drive\googledrivesync.exe

This should resume synchronization.


Actually, while writing this article, I realized that Google Drive simply wasn’t running. No restart was necessary.

However, I don’t usually intentionally quit Google Drive. (I rarely restart or shut down Windows either.)

Java updates might be the cause. When Java updates come, Google Drive might be automatically terminated.

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Shou Arisaka Sep 30, 2025

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