[GTO]

For a writer, I don't think there is any nightmare worse than losing your work! Damn Google and its bugs. I haven't noticed this before though, so (hopefully) haven't lost any work earlier (not so sure after this event).

Here is the sequence of events:

- I'm away from my desk and edit the Tata Altroz word document using Chrome on https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive. This was done on Computer A (my Macbook).

- Computer B (Windows) was up and running in my office, with Google backup & sync on.

- After 8 - 10 hours, I start working on Computer B and open up the local copy of the Tata Altroz document. Horror of horrors, I don't see the points I had made while editing the document in the cloud on my Mac. Luckily, I noticed the missing comments when I opened the document, else I'd have ended up with 2 conflicting file versions.

- I checked on https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive and the document in the cloud showed my latest edits from Computer A!!! But the local file on Computer B was still showing an older version.

- Perplexed, I made a second edit on https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive and voila, the local file on Computer B updated with the latest version.

My question: why didn't the earlier edits reflect on the local version when Computer B & Google backup & sync were both running? Have any of you faced any sync issues? Is there anything I can do to avoid this situation in the future.

Many thanks in advance .

[Iyencar]

Were they both using the same internet or was the mac on some dongle? Regardless, rule I always follow is always to edit offline and immediately back up. In case you find the same issue again, then you can merge both docs and see all comments and changes. Hopefully I understood the issue correctly.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Iyencar

Were they both using the same internet

Both were perfectly connected to the home internet connection which was alive & working as intended.

[gkveda]

I am not sure if I understood the problem exactly. But, in my understanding,

1. You were working on online document in cloud with computer A

2. After 8 hours when you see "local copy" in computer B obviously, it should have local "NOT UPDATED VERSION" (it is mentioned in your post that you tried opening local version in computer B)

3. Later, When you opened the document in computer A Or B from cloud, the updated version has to be visible.

I don't see anything wrong here.

If you don't download (or checkout) the copy from drive to computer B, then obviously it is expected to have "NOT UPDATED" Version only.

My assumption is, you have not downloaded the latest version from drive to computer B. And it is not mentioned exclusively in your post as well.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by GTO

*SNIP*

My question: why didn't the earlier edits reflect on the local version when Computer B & Google backup & sync were both running? Have any of you faced any sync issues? Is there anything I can do to avoid this situation in the future.*SNIP*

I am not a google user or a Windows user; nor do I rely on anything cloud for important stuff - always prefer local storage etc. and use cloud only for transfers etc. Therefore my answer here may not be correct, but here is my thought for whatever it's worth:

It could just be a temporary glitch with the syncing between the cloud and the Windows computer. It happens. I am guessing the sync would have happened given a little more time, just in this one instance.

I think this has nothing to do with Google or Windows or Mac at all, this is just your internet connection at home glitching out for a short while.

Re. how to prevent this from happening again, when you move to another computer, maybe you could somehow make it a habit to force a sync before continuing? I mean, right from the days of CP/M, WordStar and SuperCalc we old people are so used to keep hitting Ctrl-S continually whenever we are not typing anything, just so that the damn thing saves

Cheers and good luck.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by GTO

Have any of you faced any sync issues? Is there anything I can do to avoid this situation in the future

Just like we say in here, take care of the Car & the Car takes care of you, it applies to everything we do in life.

Always save your work (Ctrl+S for Kbd freaks). Never assume technology will protect us no matter what. There's a fine line of border between trust & reliability; you can rely on your systems, but trust yourself more than anything.

Computers are good enough & have become super intelligent since last 70+ years, but are still dumb enough with common sense for now. So even if there's auto save feature, I would rely none but I.

And always close your work/application (like Word, XL, PPT etc), before you leave; you may choose to leave the system open (which I don't personally unless it's < 10-15 min) but not the work. Even from safety & privacy stand point, do not leave it open even if its your personal room where no one can enter even with retinal scan.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by GTO

My question: why didn't the earlier edits reflect on the local version when Computer B & Google backup & sync were both running? Have any of you faced any sync issues? Is there anything I can do to avoid this situation in the future.

Many thanks in advance .

Not really sure what caused the issue. I use Google drive just to backup scanned copy of documents.

As with most bugs on software products, one would have to delve into the issue to figure out the root cause.

Best I can think off:
1. Can you check if your sync preferences have been configured for your entire drive rather than specific folders.
2. Do you have any PC optimization software running on windows? It might have seen the multiple files being written as an performance bottleneck and tried to stop the Google drive service. If so, you would need to add Google back and sync as an exception to that optimization software.
3. Is the file located within a multi level folder structure? Files that are nested within folders within folders and so on.. don't always sync. You might have to redo the folder structure.
4. The file name length might be an issue too. Ideally the folder and file names should be as short as possible.
5. Try running Google backup and sync as an administrator and see if that resolves it.
6. One final solution (saw it online and honestly I have no clue how it would make a difference).

Switch proxy settings from "Automatically detect" to "Direct connection" and move local Google Drive folder to "C:\Google Drive" should solve Google Drive doesn’t sync all files problem.

[NaXal]

I am not sure which word processor (app) you are using, if its Microsoft Office, switch to OneDrive (with 5Gb free account)

OneDrive is way better integrated with Microsoft Office products, you don't get any local copy (if you choose) rather the file always stays in cloud so every save happens in cloud storage directly rather waiting for another process to sync multiple local files.

OneDrive allows you to sign into MS Office, eliminating the need for an extra app for syncing (there is OneDrive app, in case you need to sync any other files) documents and sheets.



And when you save a file, it gives you the option to choose OneDrive (Cloud) rather a local copy and sync later.



Make sure to change the auto save feature of Word/Excel/PPT to 1 min, from default 10 mins.



Lastly, like Google Drive, its free but storage is limited to 5GB only.

Personally, I have felt OneDrive does a better job when it comes to MS Office cloud based needs, like multiple person working on a same doc or your need, where you need to work in a doc from multiple systems. Be it PC, Mac, iPad or android phone, MS Office has its own dedicated app and excellent integration with OneDrive.

Thanks.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Computer B (Windows) was up and running in my office, with Google backup & sync on.

- After 8 - 10 hours, I start working on Computer B and open up the local copy of the Tata Altroz document. Horror of horrors, I don't see the points I had made while editing the document

Point in bold seems to be the problem - check the update log if it reflects any details. My office Windows laptop auto-syncs every file change to OneDrive but I have noticed at times there are a few issues in the sync
- Login into OneDrive is paused/not done (inspite of me being on the office network and everything else logged in)
- A particular file upload has some sync/upload issues and that creates a backlog of local files that were changed recently but not synced/uploaded from the source system
- The auto-sync shows 'paused' status (without any reason of why); I need to un-pause it and all backlog of files then get updated asap

I don't believe you'll get an exact answer to your query but seems to be one of the above scenario (or something similar).

[AZT]

Is computer B a laptop or desktop. If the laptop goes on power saver / low battery mode sync gets paused.

[GTO]

^ Laptop, but no power saver mode or low battery mode kicked in. Google backup & sync was up and running, as was the laptop itself.

I checked online and some other users have also faced such issues.

Me thinks Dropbox has far superior & more consistent syncing reliability.

[Jaggu]

You were using MS word doc in drive right? which was opened in A and edited. I guess it is some sync issue that would have happened and got corrected second time you accessed the drive. Maybe a refresh of the browser or folder was needed. This is what I do:

- work on doc in A, save and close.
- let google sync to cloud and B. Refresh helps.
- open doc in B and continue.

Like mentioned above if MS ecosystem, one drive is the best to sync.

[GrandTourer]

My suggestion GTO is to move to Google Docs instead of using MS Word. It provides instant sync across all devices.
If you're not a fan of Google docs, then you can use the Online version of Microsoft Word, which is created for collaboration. That way each and every letter, space, etc. is reflected across all devices wherever the document is open instantaneously. No more sync issues.
You'll need to pay for an O365 subscription separately I think.

A lot of organizations (including mine) work on either of the above two.

[steadfast]

Originally Posted by GTO

F

My question: why didn't the earlier edits reflect on the local version when Computer B & Google backup & sync were both running? Have any of you faced any sync issues? Is there anything I can do to avoid this situation in the future.

Many thanks in advance .

Was the file in Computer A open and not closed while you started working on Computer B ?

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

...

Like mentioned above if MS ecosystem, one drive is the best to sync.

Second that.

I use Google Docs strictly online, no file sync.
But I do use OneDrive for file sync and it has worked perfectly, even between a laptop and a mobile, it has synchronized the changes well. Of course these are simple text documents, and don't even have a lot of formatting.

And to those not storing their critical files online, may god bless you.