File storage

File storage options.

OneDrive (Office 365)

OneDrive gives you 1 TB of storage in the cloud (as part of your Microsoft Office 365 account).

Home network drive (M: Drive)

  •  Your home network drive gives you 1 GB of personal storage on the University network.
  • You can access your home network drive from your My Documents folder when logged into a University Windows computer.

Box

Box gives you 1 TB of personal storage in the cloud (your MyBox folder) and unlimited storage for department shared folders.

Sending large files (ZendTo)

Use our ZendTo file transfer service to send files up to 5 GB to anyone. Files are automatically deleted 14 days after you upload them.

Recovering lost files

You can request a file recovery from a network drive from up to two years ago.

We're unable to restore files from removable storage, such as external hard drives and USB sticks, or local storage, such as your desktop or C: Drive.

Help guides

How to access your home network drive (M: Drive) remotely

You can access your home network drive remotely using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).

We recommend using the FileZilla Client but you can use a different SFTP client if you prefer.

  1. Download and install the FileZilla Client.
  2. Open FileZilla and choose FileSite Manager...New Site
  3. Enter a name for the site, for example "My home drive", and then enter the following settings:
    Setting Value
    Host unix4.essex.ac.uk 
    Port 22
    Protocal SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol
    Logon Type Normal
    User Enter your University username (do not add @essex.ac.uk after your username)
    Password Enter your University password
  4. Choose Connect.
  5. Choose OK if you're asked to confirm the host's key fingerprint.
  6. Once you're connected you'll be able to see all of your files and folders stored in your drive. Drag and drop files to download or upload.
  7. To disconnect from your drive simply close FileZilla Client.

For help using the FileZilla Client, visit FileZilla Support.