Unable to Index Google Drive as External Volume

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Level 1

22 points

Unable to Index Google Drive as External Volume

Hi guys, I have a problem to get my Google Drive volume indexed by mac os.

There are several workaround I have tried without any luck such as:

Run terminal command sudo mdutil -i on /Volumes/GoogleDrive, only bring response:

/System/Volumes/Data/Volumes/GoogleDrive:
	Indexing and searching disabled.

Run terminal command sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SpotlightServer.plist ExternalVolumesIgnore -bool False, only bring response following code in the com.apple.SpotlightServer.plist

bplist00—_ExternalVolumesIgnore#$

Run terminal command sudo mdutil -E /Volumes/GoogleDrive, only bring response:

 mdutil disabling Spotlight: /System/Volumes/Data/Volumes/GoogleDrive -> kMDConfigSearchLevelOff
	Indexing and searching disabled.

Run terminal command sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist and sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
Upgrade to macOS Monterey
Look for .metadata_never_index, there is no such files found in the google drive volume
Reinstall google drive several times
Adding and removing google drive from spotlight preferences

Any advise will be very appreciated. Losing search ability means losing productivity for me.

Posted on Oct 28, 2021 5:30 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 19, 2021 9:06 AM in response to ramadhs

With Monterey we've lost what was working in Big Sur. Hope Apple and/or Google will get this fixed.

My "workaround" is to have Google Drive open in one of my Chrome Tabs. When I need a file I search under that tab.

Not perfect, but it works - have 93 GB of files I access daily.

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Answer 2

jsameth

Level 1

11 points

Jan 15, 2022 12:16 PM in response to Mitzusu

I haven't actually seen from anyone that downgrading to Big Sur will allow enabling of Spotlight indexing of Google Drive. Just want to confirm to that it does. After setting up my new MacBook Pro, I restored my 2017 MacBook Air, installing Big Sur Version 11.6.2 (20G314), then installing Google Drive Version 54.0.3.0 (Intel) and set my "My Drive syncing options" to "Stream Files" (the default setting on installation). I've got 97 GB of storage on My Drive so the status showed as "synchronizing" for several hours. When the status changed to "Everything is up to date" I tried searching and... was disappointed that Searchlight was still not finding files on Google Drive. I then opened a Terminal window and ran the following command: "sudo mdutil /Volumes/GoogleDrive -E /" and... Voila! I can now search all of my Google Drive even though the files are not downloaded! Mischief managed, for now.

I've installed Monterey on my new MacBook Pro. It has a 1 TB hard drive, so I've got the My Drive syncing options on it set to "Mirror Files" and, of course am able to search files through Spotlight because copies actually exist on my local hard drive.

So there are two work arounds that 100% restore Spotlight searchability to the experience before Monterey. The second is a lot less work but requires sufficient hard disk space to hold everything on your My Drive (if there's a way to pick and choose what is mirrored I haven't figured it out). The first works perfectly too once implemented, but requires a fair effort to get there.

None of this is to suggest that Apple shouldn't fix the problem and at the very least, publicly acknowledge it and provide a status report on plans to fix, but I'm happy to be "back in business" again.

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Answer 3

Dec 21, 2021 1:03 PM in response to ramadhs

This workaround has been effective for me so far https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253300660?answerId=256394524022#256394524022

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Unable to Index Google Drive as External Volume

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