About Google Drive File Stream

File Stream is the new name for the Google Drive application installed on your PC or Mac that syncs your computer to Google Drive. With Google Drive File Stream, you can quickly and directly access all of your Google Drive files from your computer. And any changes you make are automatically synced with the cloud. What’s more, all your files are stored on the cloud instead of your computer, without losing precious drive space.

✎Note: From October 2021, Google Drive File Stream and Backup and Sync have been integrated into the new Google Desktop software - Drive for desktop, so if you need to continue to enjoy the functions of Drive File Stream, switch to Drive for Desktop. Of course, you can read below to learn how to solve the Drive Files Streamed problem and stop.

My Drive File Stream encountered a problem and has stopped!

“I can't run Google File stream at all. Whenever I open it, it says 'Drive File Stream encountered a problem and has stopped'. I have tried many methods but it still doesn’t work. Please help. I literally cannot work without it! Thanks in advance!”

Although most of the time, Google Drive File Stream can run well on your device, sometimes, you may find your Google Drive File Stream is not working on Windows 10 or Mac as mentioned in the case above. If you are facing this situation, don’t panic, you can learn the main causes of this error and find some effective fixes to this issue in the following contents.

Why does Google Drive File Stream stop working?

Actually, your Google Drive File Stream may stop working for different reasons and there is no specific cause of the problem and it can be caused according to each user’s preferences and configurations. However, there are some basic factors that you can check:

• Corrupted cache.

• Network restrictions.

• Conflicting computer applications.

• Outdated OS/File Stream application.

Fix Google Drive File Stream stopped issue on Windows 10 or Mac

If you are facing this error of connection "Google Drive File Stream encountered a problem and has stopped", you can follow the methods below to resolve this issue.

Fix 1. Quit and restart the Drive File Stream app

Sometimes, your Google Drive File Stream stopped working just because your Drive File Stream app is stuck. So, you can try to quit the Google Drive File Stream and restart it to see if it can run normally.

Step 1. Click the Drive File Stream tray icon, click the three-dot menu, and click Quit.

Step 2. Run Drive File Stream and log in again.

☛Tip: You'd better log back in to Drive for desktop to continue enjoying the Drive File Stream feature.

Fix 2. Check your internet connection

Whenever you use Google Drive File Stream, you need a stable internet connection. So, if your Google Drive File Stream stopped working suddenly, you need to check your internet connection and use the Network troubleshooter to repair your network if needed.

Step 1. Open the computer's settings window and click Network and Internet to see if there are any problems with your network status

Step 2. If there are any problems. Scroll down and click Network troubleshooter to view and repair.

Fix 3. Uninstall the Google Drive File Stream app

Since Google Drive File Stream is out of use, uninstalling the program and then re-downloading or upgrading the program to Drive for desktop may resolve the issue.

Step 1. Sign out and quit the application.

Step 2. Use standard procedures on your computer to uninstall the Drive File Stream application (agree to clear the files cached on the computer when uninstalling).

Step 3. Wait for the uninstall process to finish, and then reboot your computer and download the latest version of the Drive for desktop.

Step 4. Run the installer and log into Drive for desktop.

Fix 4. Disable other versions of the Google Cloud service

Besides the Google Drive File Stream for work and school users, the Google Cloud service also offers Google Backup & Sync for home users. Sometimes, users may use both the Backup and Sync and File Stream at the same time. However, chances are that Backup and Sync and Google Drive File Stream may interfere in the operation of each other and cause the Drive File Stream not working issue.

If you are running both of the applications on your computer, please try to exit or uninstall the Backup & Sync application with the following steps:

Step 1. Exit the Google File Stream app.

Step 2. Exit the Google Backup and Sync and end all its running processes through the Task Manager.

Step 3. Open and log in to your Drive File Stream. If it still fails to run, uninstall Backup and Sync and try to run Drive File Stream again.

Fix 5. Disable your antivirus and Firewall

The antivirus and Firewall applications on your computer are aiming to keep your PC secure. However, these applications may block normal operations of other applications like Google Drive File Stream sometimes. Therefore, you can try to disable your Antivirus/Firewall applications or add an exception for Google File Stream.

It is worth mentioning that turning off your antivirus and Firewall applications at your own risk because your system will be more vulnerable to threats like viruses, malware, etc. Without the protection of antivirus and Firewall.

• On Windows

Step 1. Enter "firewall" in the Windows search box and select Windows Defender Firewall.

Step 2. Click Turn Windows Firewall on or off.

Step 3. Click both the Turn off Windows Firewall options under Private network settings and Public network settings and press OK.

• On Mac

Step 1. Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen and select the System Preferences, and select the Security & Privacy.

Step 2. Open Google Drive File Stream and then click on the Allow tab which is available at the bottom side of the screen.

Fix 6. Turn off Screen Share on Mac

If you are using Mac, you need to pay attention to the Screen Share on Mac. This feature allows a user to share his screen with another Mac user. But sometimes, Google Drive File Stream may stop work when the screen share option is enabled on your Mac. Thus, you can turn off the Screen Share features to solve the “Google Drive File Stream not working” on Mac.

Step 1. First exit the File Stream application on Mac OS.

Step 2. Open the system preferences of the desktop, and then go to Sharing.

Step 3. Next, uncheck the Screen Sharing checkbox.

Fix 7. Update your Operating System

An outdated OS can also cause problems with Google File Stream. Therefore, if all the methods above can’t solve your problem, you can also try to update your OS to the latest version. Here, we will take Windows 10 as an example to show you the correct update to the operating system:

Step 1. Open the Settings on the computer, click Update & Security.

Step 2. Click the Windows Update tab, and then click the Check for updates button on the right panel.

The best alternative to Google Drive File Stream

If all the methods above fail to solve the “Google Drive file stream encountered a problem and has stopped” issue, but you need to backup files to Google Cloud service, you can find an alternative to Google Drive File Stream to avoiding these unexpected errors.

CBackup is a good alternative to Google Drive File Stream that can help you back up or sync files to Google Cloud service with ease. In addition, it also has its own cloud server called CBackup Cloud. So, you can choose to backup files to CBackup Cloud or Google Cloud as you like.

Conclusion

Normally, the methods above can help you solve the “Drive file stream encountered a problem and has stopped” issue successfully. But if you fail to turn the Drive file stream back to normal, you can also use an alternative like CBackup to backup or sync files to Google Cloud as a workaround.