Before your University of Maine System (UMS) account is deactivated, back up the personal files in your University OneDrive and Google Drive so you don't lose them. This guide walks graduating students, departing employees and anyone losing account access through downloading their files, and explains the retention timelines that determine how long you have. It is also good practice to keep your own backup of important files at any time.
Instructions
Anyone leaving the University should back up their files before the account is deactivated. File recovery is not always possible after deactivation, especially once the retention window has ended.
Backing up your files
WARNING: Make sure the files you move to your personal (non-UMS) OneDrive, Google Drive or other location belong to you and are appropriate to store there. Files that others will need after you leave should be moved to a Google Shared Drive or SharePoint instead.
OneDrive for Business
- Sign in to your University OneDrive account in a web browser.
- Select the files and folders you want to keep.
- Click Download; files save to your device, usually as a
.zip file.
- If needed, extract the files from the
.zip.
- Save or move the files to your personal (non-University) storage: personal OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox or an external drive.
WARNING: If backing up to your computer, do not save to a location already synced to OneDrive (Desktop, Documents or the "OneDrive - University of Maine System" folder).
Google Drive for Business
- Sign in to your University Google Drive in a web browser.
- Select your personal files and folders.
- Right-click and select Download; Google may bundle files into a
.zip.
- For a bulk download, use Google Takeout.
- Transfer the files to your personal account or device.
Timeline and data retention
OneDrive
Retention depends on the account lifecycle. See When do my OneDrive files get deleted in the lifecycle of a OneDrive account? for exactly when files are removed.
Google Drive
Access typically ends at account deactivation and data may be deleted soon after, so back up files before your last day of access. For account lifecycle details, see User Account Lifecycle (External Link).
WARNING: Although graduates can keep their University Gmail account for a while after graduating, start migrating off it early so you have time to update email subscriptions, back up important messages, save your contact list and tell others your new address.
Environment