Google Drive to OneDrive Move

Overview

This guide walks you through moving your personal files and folders from Google Drive to Microsoft OneDrive.
By the end, your files will be securely stored in OneDrive and accessible across your Microsoft 365 account.Before You Begin

Before starting the transfer, review this quick checklist:

✅ Confirm access to both your Geneseo Google account and Microsoft 365 account.
✅ Check your OneDrive storage — make sure you have enough space for your Google Drive content.
✅ Review your Google files — note that Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides will be converted to Microsoft formats when downloaded.
✅ Identify shared or team files — Shared Drives and “Shared with me” items must be moved separately (see Shared Drive to SharePoint Move guide).
✅ Plan enough time — large folders or .zip files may take several minutes or hours to upload depending on internet speed.

Table of Contents

Open OneDrive

  1. Go to onedrive.com and sign in with your Geneseo Microsoft 365 credentials.

  2. Navigate to the folder where you want your Google Drive files to be stored.

  3. Keep this OneDrive window open — you’ll return to it shortly.

Download Files from Google Drive

  1. Go to drive.google.com and sign in with your Geneseo Google account.

  2. Select the files and folders you want to move.

  3. Right-click your selection and choose Download.                       image of google drive with shared drive highlighted with documents selected and pop up with downloaded highlighted

    • Google will compress your selections into a .zip file.                        Image of google drive files selected and ready to download

    • Depending on the number of files, this may take several minutes. 

  4. Once complete, your .zip file will appear in your Downloads folder.

Extract the Downloaded Files

  1. Open your Downloads folder.                                                     image of downloads folder with zipped file

  2. Right-click the .zip file and choose Extract All (Windows) or double-click to unzip (Mac).                                image showing download folder with zip file and extral all highlighted image of the extract compressed pop up window to select a destination and extract files

  1. A new folder containing your files will appear.  

💡 Tip: Rename the extracted folder to something clear, like GoogleDriveBackup_2025.

Upload to OneDrive

  1. Switch back to your open OneDrive window.

  2. Drag and drop the extracted files or folders into the desired OneDrive folder.

    • You can also click Upload → Files or Upload → Folder in the OneDrive toolbar.

  3. Wait for the upload to finish. Progress and status appear at the top of the OneDrive page.

🛈 Note: Upload time depends on your internet connection and the total size of the files.

Verify and Organize

  1. After uploading, open several files in OneDrive to confirm they display correctly.

  2. Check sharing permissions — files that were shared in Google Drive will not retain those permissions automatically.

  3. Update any bookmarks or links that previously pointed to Google Drive.

After the Move

Once everything is successfully in OneDrive:

  • ✅ Delete the .zip and extracted folders from your computer to free up space.

  • ✅ Archive or remove the old files from Google Drive to prevent confusion or duplication.

  • ✅ Notify collaborators that your files are now available in OneDrive.

  • ✅ Consider organizing files into folders or shared libraries (e.g., SharePoint) for team use.

Important Notes

  • File Conversion: Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides will download as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. Always review formatting after the move.

  • Version History: Version history and comments from Google Drive will not transfer to OneDrive.

  • Shared Drives: If you need to move content from a Google Shared Drive, refer to the Google Shared Drive to SharePoint Move guide.

  • Accessibility: All images and files uploaded should meet accessibility standards outlined in the Accessibility Guidelines.

OneDrive Training - Microsoft 

 

 

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