Students
How to reduce Google Storage
Google mail can take up significant storage in your account, especially as you use the same inbox over the years. Many of these emails include large attachments or files from external sources. Review the help resources below to identify and delete unwanted emails. Exercise caution when deleting emails and keep college policies on data retention requirements in mind.
Tip: Review and delete emails in your Spam folder
Tip: Empty the trash in your email. Emails that are emptied from the trash are irrecoverable
Google Drive has been used as one of the go-to services for collaborating and storing files. As quotas are rolled out, users must reevaluate how they use Google Drive in order to stay within new quota limits. Google Drive should no longer be used to archive or backup data. We also advise against using Google Drive to migrate or move data when your institutional machine is replaced.
Google Drive should be used for active working and collaboration files. Refer to the storage matrix for additional information on where files should be stored, as well as offline storage options. Review the help resources below to identify, archive, and delete files. Exercise caution when deleting or moving files and keep college policies on data retention requirements in mind.
Tip: Empty the trash in your Drive to clear storage. Files that are emptied from the trash are irrecoverable
Tip: Review and delete large or unnecessary files from your Google Drive.
Tip: Move personal* files to your own storage (e.g., a personal Google account, your personal storage). Your LC Google account is only for college use. Please refer to the Responsible Use Policy. (*Personal files reference non-LC files. Ex: Dog photos, family videos, personal files, personal sensitive files)
As a reminder, Google Photos was disabled as part of the storage reduction campaign. Review the Google Photos Discontinuation for more information. If your Google Photos has been disabled but you still have Google Photos in storage, email itservice@lclark.edu to request temporary reactivation and utilize the guides below to migrate and delete photos.
Helpsheet: Utilizing Google Takeout and deleting photos from trash.
Personal Data Storage Options
In addition to your LC Google account, as a student, you have freedom to choose where to store your personal files. Below, you will find a number of cloud and offline storage suggestions for both free and paid storage. Keep in mind that these are not all the cloud storage providers. As a student, you may also have access to special student discounts, while you are enrolled.
There are a number of starter services with free cloud storage tiers. This article from CNET charts the Pros and Cons of a few services, as well as pricing for paid tiers: Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, Apple iCloud, and Dropbox. Below you can find some basic information when deciding which service to use.
Google Drive
15GB of free storage. 100GB of storage for $2/month. 200GB of storage for $3/month.
Microsoft One Drive
15GB of free storage. 100GB of storage for $2/month.
Apple iCloud
5GB of free storage. 50GB of storage for $1/month, 200GB of storage for $3/month.
Dropbox
2GB of free storage. 2TB of storage for $10/month.
USB
USBs are an easy way to move data from one device to another. USB drives can be relatively cheap and reliable, although the downside is that larger size USB drives can significantly increase in cost. Below you will find two recommended USB drives with high read and write speeds. These recommendations were proposed in October 2022.
USB-A 64GB Samsung USB 200mb/s read and write
USB-C 64GB Samsung USB 300mb/s read and write
External Drives
External drives work similarly to USBs in allowing you to move data from one device to another, but they truly shine with their larger capacities. These larger capacities allow users to backup their devices using tools such as Apple Time Machine or Windows Backup. You can purchase external drives in two formats, spinning hard drives or solid state drives. Modern external drives will come with a USB-C connector that can use a USB-C or USB-A cable, rather than the permanent plug from USB devices from above. Spinning hard drives are often cheaper, but fail much easier after a drop and have slower speeds. Solid state drives are similar to large flash drives and can withstand rougher conditions. Below you will find two recommended external drives. These recommendations were proposed in October 2022.
512GB Lexar Solid State External Drive with a USB-A and USB-C cable
1TB Western Digital External Spinning Hard Drive with a USB-A and USB-C cable
Computer Backup Suggestions
A good way to ensure your data is backed up and protected is to utilize a native backup solution for your computer. These backups should backup to a source that is equal to or larger than your computer’s storage capacity. After picking an external drive to backup to, we recommend utilizing one of these utilities for a daily or weekly backup.
Google Takeout - Graduation
Your LC Google account will remain active for 1 year after graduation. We recommend using Google Takeout to move your data from your LC account to a personal account after graduation. Visit takeout.google.com to review the data you can move out of your LC account. You can move your data to a personal Google account, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, or download the data locally. This process can take up to a week to compile as an export, so we suggest starting this process with sufficient time.
FAQs
Information Technology is located in Watzek Library on the Undergraduate Campus.
MSC: 97
email ITservice@lclark.edu
voice 503-768-7225
fax 503-768-7228
Chief Information Officer Adam Buchwald
Information Technology
Lewis & Clark
615 S. Palatine Hill Road MSC 97
Portland OR 97219