Cloud storage, backups and a new computer: follow one file

Where does a file go?

Justine Ezarik, known online as iJustine, makes videos about technology and Apple devices. To understand cloud storage, follow one ordinary document: which device has a copy, what appears online and what can be opened somewhere else.

References: iJustine

Justine saves a document called Weekend plans in Documents on her laptop. She opens Google Drive in a browser, chooses New, then File upload, selects the document and waits until the upload finishes. She opens the uploaded file in Drive to show it can be found under her account. The original is still in Documents; she has made an online copy.

Google’s Drive instructions describe the upload steps. Cloud storage keeps a file on a provider’s remote computers, reached through an account and an internet connection. The folder in the browser tells you where to find it in that account; it does not show you a particular physical server.

References: Google Drive Help · Dropbox

A shared working file and a backup have different jobs

Cloud storage can hold files for everyday access and sharing. A backup is a copy kept so you can recover a file if the working version is lost or damaged. A cloud service can hold a backup too; what matters is whether the copy you need remains available and can be restored.

References: Dropbox

With a synced folder, changes can travel between connected places. Microsoft says that deleting a synced online-only OneDrive file from a device also removes it from the cloud and other devices; its recycle bin may allow restoration. That recovery option is useful, but check it before relying on it as your only way back.

References: Microsoft Support

Justine shows Pulenaz a separate external drive containing a dated copy of Weekend plans. She edits the working document later and then opens the older copy from the external drive to recover the earlier wording. The older copy answers a different question from the cloud folder: not “can I open today’s file elsewhere?” but “can I get back the version I had before?”

Pulenaz makes a copy she can find again

Pulenaz plugs in an external drive, opens Documents and copies Weekend plans to a folder on the drive called Backup. She adds the date to the copied file’s name, opens it from the drive and checks that the text is there. She leaves the original in Documents, so the external copy is separate from the working file.

A copy is only as recent as the last time you made it. After a meaningful edit, make another dated copy and open it to check. Keep the drive somewhere separate from the computer, and decide which important folders need the same treatment.

Take the files to a new computer

When Pulenaz changes computers, Justine helps her copy the Documents folder onto the external drive. They safely remove it, connect it to the new Windows PC and copy the folder into Documents there. Pulenaz opens Weekend plans on the new machine and checks a second file before treating the move as finished.

Microsoft’s guide walks through the same broad route: copy files to an external storage device on the old Windows PC, connect it to the new one and copy them across. Keep the old files and the backup until you have checked that the files you need open on the new computer.

References: Microsoft Support

The online copy is another way to retrieve a file: sign in to the same Drive account on the new computer, find Weekend plans and download a copy. For a folder that remains synced, remember that deleting a working file may also remove it from the connected cloud folder.

References: Google Drive Help · Microsoft Support

Sources and attribution

1. iJustine

   About iJustinePublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

2. Google Drive Help

   Upload files and folders to Google DrivePublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

3. Microsoft Support

   Work with synced files in File ExplorerPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

4. Microsoft Support

   Move your files to a new Windows PC using an external storage devicePublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

5. Dropbox

   Cloud storage vs. cloud backup: The key differences explainedPublished Jan 21, 2025 · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

6. Google Drive Help

   Download a filePublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026