UW-Madison Google Workspace - Getting started with My Drive and Shared Drives
Google Drive
Google Drive offers two types of file storage to manage files:
- My Drive
- Shared Drives
My Drive
My Drive is your personal storage where you can upload and store all of your files online. You can share these files with your team and access them from any computer, smartphone, or tablet. Google also has offline editing capabilities. Learn more about Google Drive using offline.
My Drive Lifecycle
View the deactivation timeline for Google Drive.
If needed, please contact the DoIT Help Desk for file recovery options.
My Drive Storage Quota
Google My Drive has multiple storage quotas available, all My Drives start at 25GB of storage available and can be upgraded up to 500GB if needed. Upgrade requests can be completed by submitting the request form, as long as you meet the criteria.
Shared Drives
Google Shared Drives are shared spaces where teams can easily store, search, and access their files anywhere, from any device.
Learn more about Shared Drives.
Moving Files from My Drive to Shared Drive
Requests to move files from Another User's My Drive to Shared Drive
UW-Madison Google administrators cannot move folders from My Drive to Shared Drive on behalf of a user as described here: https://support.google.com/a/answer/7374057?hl=en#zippy=%2Cmove-drive-folders-to-shared-drives-as-an-admin.
We are unable to offer this option because this process breaks the folder's original folder/file structure and file permissions. Once a folder is moved from My Drive to a Shared Drive, the user will need to recreate the folder structure and reassign permissions again.
We are also unable to grant users admin permissions to their Google account to move folders from My Drive to Shared Drive as noted as another option in the same article. The admin role grants the individual access to the entire university's Google Drive settings.
Individuals who need to move folders from My Drive to Shared Drive will need to do so manually. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Shared Drive Lifecycle
Shared drives must have at least one eligible UW-Madison manager to remain active and available. Shared drives without active and eligible UW-Madison collaborators will be set to inactive for 180 days and then deleted. This change will be implemented in phases.
Phase I: Effective February 20, 2024, shared drives with zero members or external members only (non UW-Madison accounts) will be selected for deactivation.
If needed, please contact the DoIT Help Desk for shared drive or file recovery options.
Shared Drive Storage Quota
Shared Drives have two storage tiers available, 25GB and 500GB, all shared drives start with 25GB by default but can be upgraded to 500GB by submitting the request form and meeting the criteria.
Drive Resources:
Eligibility for a long-term storage quota or quota increase
- My Drive
- The requester must be a current faculty, staff, or student and eligible for the UW-Madison Google Workspace service.
- Service accounts are not eligible.
- All data must be removed from Google Photos.
- Storage cannot be used for backup or archival purposes.
- Shared Drive
- The requester must be a manager of the Shared Drive, a current faculty, staff, or student, and be eligible for the UW-Madison Google Workspace service.
- The Shared Drive membership needs to include at least one manager who is a current UW-Madison faculty, staff, or student.
- Storage cannot be used for backup or archival purposes.
Request form
If you need a long-term storage quota or a quota increase for your UW-Madison Google Workspace My Drive or a shared drive, please submit your request here.
Submitting a request for a long-term storage quota updates your account's quota status from temporary to long-term to prevent a disruption to your workflow after June 1, 2024.
Note: Before requesting additional storage, please try to identify and delete files that are no longer needed to free up more space. Google Workspace is most valuable when used for real-time collaboration and file sharing. If you need to back up or archive files, please consider using another storage provider.