google drive Code Upload Failed Error

Fix Google Drive Error: Upload Failed

Diagnostic Procedures

  • 1 Analyze causes of Google Drive upload failures
  • 2 Verify file name conventions and sizes
  • 3 Check file access locks by local software
  • 4 Reset local sync database on Windows
  • 5 Reset local sync database on macOS

Fix Google Drive Error: Upload Failed

Encountering an Upload Failed or Upload Blocked error in Google Drive means the sync engine cannot copy your local file to Google’s cloud storage. This is typically indicated by a red warning icon next to the file name in the desktop menu or a persistent “Uploading 1 item…” status that never completes.

This guide walks you through fixing network timeouts, resolving local process locks, and resetting the sync database.

What Causes Google Drive Upload Failures?

Upload failures generally point to one of the following root causes:

  1. Active Local Process Locks: A local app (such as Microsoft Excel, Photoshop, or CAD software) is actively editing the file and has placed a system-level lock on it, preventing Google Drive from reading it.
  2. Unsupported Filenames: Characters in filenames that are invalid in cloud file systems or cause conflicts during cross-platform sync (e.g. \, /, :, *, ?, ", <, >, |).
  3. Corrupt Metadata Database: The local database tracking file chunks (DriveFS) is corrupted.
  4. Size and Account Limits: Attempting to upload a file larger than the 5 TB individual limit, or exceeding the 750 GB daily upload limit.

Detailed Steps to Resolve Upload Failures

Follow these steps to unlock files and reset the local sync engine.

Step 1: Check and Remove Special Characters from Filenames

Ensure your filenames conform to safe naming conventions. Remove trailing spaces and these symbols: \ / : * ? " < > |

If a file was created on macOS with a character that is invalid on Windows (like a colon :), the sync client will fail to upload it. Rename the file to contain alphanumeric characters and hyphens/underscores only.

Step 2: Identify and Release File Locks

If the file is locked by a background process, Google Drive cannot open it for reading.

On Windows:

Find out what application is locking the file using Resource Monitor:

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click the Performance tab, then click Open Resource Monitor at the bottom.
  3. In Resource Monitor, click the CPU tab.
  4. Expand the Associated Handles section and search for the filename.
  5. Right-click the locking process and select End Process.

On macOS:

Use the terminal lsof (list open files) utility to locate the locking application:

  1. Open Terminal and search for the lock (replace filename.ext with your actual file): 
    lsof | grep -i "filename.ext"
  2. Identify the process ID (PID) from the output and terminate it: 
    kill -9 <PID>

Step 3: Clear and Rebuild the Sync Metadata Database

If the upload remains stuck, resetting the local sync tracking database will force Google Drive to re-index the file cache.

On Windows:

  1. Quit Google Drive from the system tray.
  2. Open Command Prompt (Admin) and run:
:: Kill the desktop sync client processes
taskkill /F /IM GoogleDriveFS.exe

:: Delete the local sync engine database files
cd /d "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\DriveFS"
del /F /S /Q *metadata*

:: Restart Google Drive
start "" "C:\Program Files\Google\Drive File Stream\bin\GoogleDriveFS.exe"

On macOS:

  1. Open Terminal and run:
# Stop the Google Drive app
killall "Google Drive"

# Delete the sqlite metadata databases
find ~/Library/Application\ Support/Google/DriveFS -name "*metadata*" -delete

# Start the Google Drive app again
open -a "Google Drive"

Summary Checklist

  • Verify you have not exceeded Google’s 750 GB daily upload limit.
  • Rename the file to remove special characters (:, *, ?, \).
  • Close any application (Word, CAD, etc.) currently using or displaying the file.
  • Inspect and kill process locks using Resource Monitor (Windows) or lsof (macOS).
  • Reset the local metadata database using the terminal scripts above.