Earlier this week, numerous Google Drive users took to forums to report a serious issue: files were disappearing from their Drive storage without a trace. While using Google’s Drive desktop app, some people discovered that months or even years of data had suddenly disappeared.
One distraught user claimed to have lost hundreds of personal and business files representing more than a decade of work. Others noticed similarly catastrophic syncs, leaving their accounts wiped. Overall, many users faced data loss even though they did not take any measures to delete the content.
Google recognizes the widespread problem
With growing awareness of sync errors, Google posted a message on its Drive help forum. It confirmed having received “reports of an issue affecting a limited subset of Drive desktop users.” While the details are still unclear, Google is actively investigating the cause behind these dysfunctional syncs.
Meanwhile, Google has advised users not to disconnect accounts or delete local Drive data folders. This can help recover files in case they still reside in caches. However, the instructions provided for signal data recovery may be difficult for affected individuals.
Two local storage modes add complexity
What makes this issue particularly complex are the Drive desktop app’s two file storage methods: file mirroring and streaming. With mirroring, files stay synced across devices like Dropbox and remain available locally. But in the case of file streams, local versions are often deleted, keeping the content exclusively in the cloud.
So if Google’s “sync issue” is due to failures to upload before the file stream deletes the data, users may have permanently lost files. While mirroring is fault tolerant thanks to local copies, the reliance on file streaming in the cloud makes it vulnerable to these points of failure.
Drive continues to seek reliability after recent challenges
Considering Drive is sold as an ultra-reliable cloud storage solution, this year has exposed some cracks in that reputation. Beyond this latest incident, Drive came under fire in early 2023 when it suddenly applied file count limits without warning. This disrupted numerous businesses before being reversed under public scrutiny.
With subscribers paying monthly fees for robust and responsible data management, Google Drive has been hesitant to provide the expected service. While businesses and individuals alike await solutions and answers, the next few days will be critical to regaining user confidence in Drive’s capabilities. However, for affected users facing permanent data loss, that trust has undoubtedly already been eroded.
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Categories: Technology
Source: vtt.edu.vn