Microsoft tries to woo Dropbox loyalists with 100GB of free storage

By Dave LeClair February 19, 2015

onedrive will work windows 10 version 1422244858 microsoft — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The battle for cloud storage supremacy continues to heat up, as Microsoft looks to wage war with Dropbox by offering users of that service 100GB of free storage on Microsoft’s own OneDrive. This announcement comes hot on the heels of Microsoft announcing 100GB of storage to dedicated Bing Rewards users.

Recommended Videos

The process of grabbing the free storage is fairly simple, though it’s not as easy as just entering a Dropbox user name and password. Instead, users need to go to this link and accept all of the terms and conditions. Then, they will need to place a special verification PDF file in their Dropbox folder to let Microsoft know they are actually a user of the service.

Once the file is there and has been verified, users will be awarded the 100GB of storage. It’s listed on each account as “Enthusiast bonus,” and it shows that additional storage is valid until one year from the date in which the promotion was added (in this case, 2/19/2016).

Related: This is how OneDrive works in Windows 10

Compared to other cloud storage solutions, Microsoft is offering quite a bit of free space, which makes sense, as OneDrive is playing catch up with older services like Dropbox and Google Drive. It will be interesting to see how many users make the switch, as 100GB is a lot of free space, and it will be even more interesting to see how many of them stick around when the extra storage expires.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Dave LeClair has been writing about tech and gaming since 2007. He's covered events, hosted podcasts, created videos, and…

Computing

Microsoft brings Windows to the cloud with Windows 365 Cloud PC

Cloud PC in Windows 365 open side by side in a web browser.

Microsoft has revealed Windows 365 Cloud PC, a new way for enterprise and business customers to experience Windows 10 or Windows 11 as a cloud service via the power of Microsoft Cloud.

Windows 10 already powers 1.3 billion different devices around the world, but at Microsoft's annual Inspire partner conference, Microsoft is taking a new approach to Windows.

Computing

Windows 10’s Storage menu makes managing your hard drive a cinch

shaky internet have someone else upload your files to googles cloud storage platform harddriveworld1

Is your computer sluggish, taking ages to respond to a simple request? Have you run your antivirus software to ensure that your machine is clean of malware? In that case, it might be that your hard drive is full of little-used programs and years-old files, taking up space and slowing down Windows 10's performance while contributing nothing.
Read on to learn more about how Windows 10 Storage menu and Storage Sense can help you trim the dead weight from your hard drive and improve system efficiency.

What is the Windows 10 Storage menu?
Designed to be a hub connecting all your data management features, the Windows 10 Storage menu has many features allowing you to review and alter files quickly and programs to reorganize and open up additional space. While this feature is extremely convenient, it also means you can mess up or lose your data very easily if you don’t know what you are doing. Learn about Windows 10 storage first (don’t worry, it’s easier than it looks). We’ll start with the most basic of steps, namely where to find Storage in Windows 10.

Computing

10 free online storage services to claim your space in the cloud

google drive application on samsung s7 screen

It’s so easy to generate a mountain of digital files nowadays. We take more photos than ever, shoot hours of video, and love to share. Cloud storage provides convenient access wherever we may be, like a digital filing cabinet. It’s also great for collaborating on projects and providing a simple way of sharing files with selected family, friends, or business contacts. But it can also cost a pretty penny.

Below are our favorite cloud storage apps for iOS and Android and some tips on how to avoid paying for cloud storage at all.
Organize your files into groups, and use different services
Most cloud storage services offer you a limited amount of free space, hoping that you’ll upgrade when you run out and sign up for a subscription package. If you’re willing to do a little organizing, then there’s really no need to pay anything at all. Start by breaking your files down into groups. Split your photos and videos, organize by date, or pick a single service for your media. Also, keep your documents grouped, separate all your work-related files, and so on. Once you have your groups, take a look at how much space you need and create separate free cloud storage accounts for each category.