UW-Madison Google Workspace - Getting started with My Drive and Shared Drives

Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service. Access files across multiple devices. Seamlessly collaborate with colleagues using Google Drive.

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

All My Drives accounts start with a default 25GB quota. Eligible users can request a larger quota.

Eligibility

The requester must be a current faculty, staff, or student who is 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.

Storage Quota Request Form

Available storage tiers: 25 GB - 500 GB. Quota increases are done in 50 GB increments, up to 500 GB. Larger quotas are available for select use cases.

Note: Before requesting additional storage, please delete files that are no longer needed to free up 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 use another storage provider. Backup or archive use cases will not be approved for increased storage.

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

See UW-Madison Google Workspace - Move files or folders from My Drive to Shared drives

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

All shared drives start with a default 25GB quota. Eligible users can request a larger quota.