Data storage

OneDrive from Microsoft is the University's recommended file storage solution.

Access

On personal devices

With OneDrive, you can sync files between your computer and the cloud, so you can get to your files from anywhere - your computer, your mobile device, and through OneDrive on the web. You can access your files in OneDrive using the OneDrive app available for iOS and Android devices.

If you add, change, or delete a file or folder in OneDrive, the file or folder is added, changed, or deleted on the OneDrive website and vice versa.

You can work with your synced files directly in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and access your files even when you're offline. Whenever you're online, any changes that you make will sync automatically. If you've shared your files with others, their changes will sync automatically too.

Sync files with OneDrive in Windows
Sync files with OneDrive on Mac OS X

On-campus computers

Your OneDrive is accessible from any device with an internet connection, so it's great for accessing saved work both at home and on campus:

1. Log in to MYUWE using your UWE Bristol username and password and follow the quick link to Office365.
2. Navigate to My content in the navigation bar.
3. Click the Upload button at the bottom of the My content menu to save a file to OneDrive.

Storage allowance

• Each student is provided with a free 5TB OneDrive account from Microsoft that is accessible from within Microsoft 365 and tied to your email account.

Access

• On-campus the H: Drive will appear in the usual list of drives when logged on to a UWE Bristol PC or Mac. On a Mac be aware that the symbols for the Home location of the Mac and the H: Drive look very similar.
• From home you will need to use the eXternal Access system (XA) service for access to your personal H: Drive.

Storage allowance

• UWE Bristol allocates every student 1GB of space on its servers.
• It is secure because this space can only be accessed by you and is automatically backed up so files can be restored if deleted.
• If you get close to or exceed, this space allocation you will not be able to save or copy files to it. A full H: Drive can affect your ability to log on or use some programs as profile and temporary files are stored here. To reduce the size:
  • delete old and unnecessary files
  • move files to OneDrive or your personal storage space
  • reduce the size of graphics files by reducing the resolution where possible.

View available space

PC

1. Within Windows Explorer, go to This PC.
2. Right-click on (H:).
3. Select Properties.

You will be presented with a pie chart showing the used and free home drive space.

Mac

1. Within Finder go to My computer.
2. Right-click on Home (H:).
3. Select Get Info.

The space left is shown under Available.

Access

Blackboard provides a personal storage area, accessible from the Blackboard Content Collection option under Tools.

Storage allowance

• All students have an allocation of 40Mb of storage space to store assignments and GDP materials for use in Blackboard.
• It is not intended for long term general data storage. Guidance for students is available on the Blackboard support website.

USB memory sticks

This is the least secure method for saving work and not recommended as the primary working area for saving work. They need to be used with caution for the following reasons:

• Sensitive information should not be stored on them (consider the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when saving sensitive information).
• Data can easily be corrupted. To reduce this risk use the Remove hardware safely option.
• They are not very robust and easily damaged.
• They are easily lost. Any items found are handed into Lost Property.
• They should be encrypted and password protected.
• Some are formatted to only work on Macs or PCs which can be inconvenient if moving between different platforms.
• If you do decide to use a USB stick, make sure you load the file onto the computer before working on it, then save finished work to either your H: Drive or OneDrive and then to your USB stick.

1. Within Windows Explorer, click on the folder you wish to restore.
2. Right-click and choose Restore Previous Versions. A list of each copy of the selected folder is shown in a pop-up window, along with the date it was made.
3. Select the version required and choose either Open, Copy or Restore:
   
   • Open: this will open the selected version of the folder (for example, the folder as it was at the point in time chosen).
   • Copy: this will copy the selected version of the folder to a location of choice. The copy will be the folder as it was at the point in time chosen (requires a right-click on the folder to access this option).
   • Restore: this will restore the selected version of the folder over the existing copy of that folder.

1. Within Windows Explorer, click on the folder where the restore is required.
2. Right-click and choose Restore Previous Versions. A list of each copy of the selected folder is shown in a pop-up window.
3. Select the version required and choose Open. The folder will open and the date of the version will be shown in the address bar.
4. Select the required file, right-click and choose Copy.
5. Paste the file in a location of your choice. The file will now be restored to that location.

Information on restoring deleted files or folders in OneDrive can be found via Microsoft Office Support.