Setting Google Drive to Start at Startup.


The following steps describe how to add Google Drive to the startup programs on a Windows device when the Q: drive is not appearing at startup.

Sign in to Google Drive

Step 1: Open the Google Drive application. The Google Drive window appears. If you are not already logged into Google Drive.

Step 2: Enter your NCSU email address.

Step 3: Click Continue.

Step 4: Enter your Unity account password.

Step 5: Click Continue.

Add Google Drive to Startup Programs

Step 1: Open File Explorer by clicking the file folder icon at the bottom of the screen on the center for Windows 11 on the left for Windows 10.

Step 2: In the left-hand navigation pane of File Explorer, select the C: drive.

Step 3: Type GoogleDriveFS.exe into the File Explorer search bar, and then press Enter.

Step 4: Once the file appears in the search results, right-click the file with the highest version number if there are multiple and select Open file location.

Step 5: Right-click the GoogleDriveFS.exe file and select Create shortcut.

Step 6: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.

Step 7: Type shell:startup and press Enter. This opens the Startup folder.

Step 8: Drag and drop the shortcut you created into the Startup folder.

Now, Google Drive will automatically start when you log in to Windows.

End and Restart Google Drive via Task Manager

This section describes how to manually end and restart Google Drive should there be a problem with Google Drive functioning.

Ending Google Drive

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.

Step 2: Enter your UnityID password in the password field of the window that appears and select Yes.

Step 3: Click the More Details tab.

Step 4: Locate Google Drive in the list of processes.

Step 5: Right-click Google Drive and select End task.

Restarting Google Drive

Step 1: Click the Windows search bar.

Step 2: Type Google Drive.

Step 3: Select the Google Drive application from the search results.

Google Drive has now been restarted and will begin syncing your files and allowing access to the Q: drive.