Cloud storage is great for backups—but constantly opening a browser just to upload or download files can feel slow and inconvenient. What if your Google Drive, OneDrive, or Mega storage worked exactly like a real SSD or hard drive inside Windows?
In this guide, you’ll learn how to turn your cloud storage into a virtual disk drive that appears directly in File Explorer. Once set up, you can open files, copy and paste folders, upload instantly, and even stream videos from the cloud as if they were stored locally on your PC. It’s fast, practical, and perfect for anyone running out of internal storage.
We’ll do this using a free tool called Air Live Drive, and the setup takes only a few minutes. Let’s get started.
What Is a Virtual Cloud Drive?
A virtual cloud drive is exactly what it sounds like — your online storage becomes a drive letter inside Windows. Instead of visiting a website to access your files, the cloud appears in This PC just like a normal SSD, HDD, or USB drive.
This means:
- You can browse folders using File Explorer
- Drag and drop files normally
- Copy and paste between drives
- Stream videos directly from the cloud
- Upload files instantly without opening a browser
Behind the scenes, Air Live Drive connects to your cloud account and handles syncing automatically. You don’t need to manually download files first — Windows treats the cloud like a local disk.
For people working with large media files, backups, or limited internal storage, this feels like adding extra storage to your computer without installing new hardware.
Step 1: Download Air Live Drive
First, we need to install the tool that makes this possible.
Open your browser and go to the official Air Live Drive website:
The free version is perfect for personal users and supports multiple cloud accounts.
Once downloaded, run the installer and continue to the next step.
Step 2: Install Air Live Drive
After downloading the installer, double-click it to begin the setup.
- Choose your preferred language and click OK
- Click Next
- Accept the license agreement
- Continue with the default installation options
- Let the installer finish automatically
Air Live Drive installs all required components by itself, so you don’t need to configure anything advanced.
When installation completes:
- Keep Run Air Live Drive checked
- Click Finish
The app will launch immediately after setup.
Step 3: Enable Recommended Startup Settings
Before connecting your cloud account, we should configure a few important settings so the drive works smoothly every time Windows starts.
Inside Air Live Drive:
- Click Settings
- Enable the first three options:
- Start with Windows
- Run in background silently
- Auto reconnect drives
These settings make your cloud storage behave like a permanent drive that reconnects automatically when your PC boots.
Click Save and return to the main screen.
Now we’re ready to add your cloud storage.
Step 4: Add Your Cloud Storage as a Drive
Now comes the main part — connecting your cloud account.
- Open Air Live Drive
- Go to the Drive tab
- Click Add Cloud Disk
You’ll see a long list of supported cloud services, including:
- Google Drive
- OneDrive
- Dropbox
- Mega
- MediaFire
- Amazon S3
- and many more
Air Live Drive supports most major providers, so you can repeat these steps for any account you use.
Step 5: Connect Google Drive (Example)
We’ll use Google Drive as an example because it’s fast and reliable.
- Select Google Drive
- Choose the browser you want to log in with
- Sign into your Google account if needed
- Click Continue
- Allow Air Live Drive permissions
Once authentication finishes:
- Choose a drive letter (like G: or Z:)
- Click Connect
That’s it.
Open This PC, and your Google Drive will now appear like a normal disk drive.
You’ve successfully turned your cloud storage into a virtual SSD.
Step 6: Use Your Cloud Drive Like a Real Disk
Once connected, your cloud storage behaves just like a normal drive in Windows.
Open This PC, click the new drive letter, and you’ll see all your cloud folders instantly.
You can now:
▶ Open files directly from the cloud
Documents, photos, and even videos can be opened without downloading them permanently to your PC.
▶ Stream videos smoothly
You can play large video files directly from Google Drive or other cloud services. As long as your internet is stable, playback is smooth with almost no delay.
▶ Copy files from cloud → computer
Just drag and drop or copy/paste like a regular drive.
▶ Upload files from computer → cloud
Paste files into the mounted drive folder and the upload starts immediately. You can watch the progress live inside Air Live Drive.
When the upload finishes, the file also appears instantly in your cloud app and web version.
This is what makes the virtual drive feel like extra built-in storage.
Step 7: Mount Only a Specific Folder (Optional)
If you don’t want your entire cloud storage visible in Windows, you can mount only one folder.
This is useful for work folders, video projects, or backups.
- Disconnect the drive first
- Open Drive Settings
- Click Browse
- Select the folder you want as the root
- Save settings and reconnect
Now Windows shows only that selected folder as the drive.
It’s like creating a dedicated workspace drive from your cloud.
Step 8: Connect Multiple Cloud Accounts
Air Live Drive lets you connect more than one cloud service at the same time. This is perfect if you use different providers for different purposes.
For example, you could use:
- Google Drive for personal files
- OneDrive for work documents
- Mega for backups
To add another account:
- Click Add Cloud Disk again
- Choose the service
- Log in and grant permission
- Assign a drive letter
- Click Connect
Each account appears as a separate drive inside This PC.
👉 The free version supports up to 3 connected accounts at once. If you need more, the Pro version removes this limit.
Step 9: Improve Performance (Optional Tweaks)
If you’re working with large files, a few settings can make things smoother.
Open Air Live Drive → Settings, then:
- Increase cache size for faster file access
- Choose a performance profile (Balanced or High Performance)
- Enable auto-reconnect so drives mount instantly after boot
A faster internet connection will always improve experience — Ethernet or 5GHz Wi-Fi works best.
When Should You Use This?
This setup is ideal if:
- Your internal SSD is running out of space
- You want instant access to cloud files
- You work with large media files
- You don’t want to keep using a browser to upload/download
- You want a dedicated cloud workspace drive
It’s like expanding your PC storage without buying new hardware.
Important Limitation
Remember: this is still cloud storage.
- Internet connection is required
- Speed depends on your network
- Not recommended for installing software or games
- Best used for files, backups, and media
Think of it as a smart extension of your storage — not a replacement for your system drive.
Conclusion
With Air Live Drive, you can turn your cloud storage into a virtual SSD in just a few minutes. Once connected, it feels like you added extra storage directly inside Windows.
No browser juggling.
No constant downloads.
Just plug-and-play cloud access from File Explorer.
If you rely on cloud storage daily, this setup can seriously improve your workflow and save local space.
