How to Migrate Your FiveM Server Base to a Windows VPS Using Google Drive
Step-by-step guide to migrate your FiveM server (server-data, resources, and database) to a Windows VPS using Google Drive as a transfer intermediary.
Prerequisites
Before starting, confirm you have everything in place to avoid getting stuck mid-process.
You need: a complete server-data folder on your local PC with FiveM running, a Google account with at least 20 GB free on Drive, a Windows Server 2019 or 2022 VPS with RDP access active, and XAMPP or MySQL already installed on the VPS if you use a database.
If you haven’t set up the VPS yet, also make sure the default browser (Edge) is functional — you’ll need it to access Drive. Have your local MySQL password on hand, because you’ll export the database as part of the process.
2–8 GB 2x base size 30120 3306 Preparing the Base on Your Local PC
Before uploading anything to Drive, you need to organize and compress your files. Compression reduces upload time and prevents permission and folder-structure issues during transfer.
Fully stop the local FiveM server. Close the FXServer.exe window and any open terminals. This ensures no files are being written during the copy — databases and logs in use can become corrupted if copied while the server is running.
Export the MySQL database using phpMyAdmin (if you use XAMPP). Open http://localhost/phpmyadmin, select the FiveM database (usually fivem, essential, or similar), click Export, choose the Quick method and SQL format, then click Export.
The .sql file will be downloaded to your Downloads folder. Move it into the server-data folder so it gets included in the zip:
move C:\Users\YourUser\Downloads\fivem.sql C:\fivem\server-data\Compress the server-data folder into ZIP format. Right-click the folder and select Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder. For large bases (above 4 GB), prefer 7-Zip with normal compression:
Right-click server-data → 7-Zip → Add to archive...
Format: zip
Compression level: Normal
Name: server-data-backup.zipThe final ZIP is typically 40–60% smaller than the original folder, because .lua, .cfg, and .sql files compress well.
If a cache/ folder exists inside server-data, delete it before compressing. It is regenerated automatically by FXServer and only wastes upload bandwidth — it can be over 2 GB in size.
Uploading the File to Google Drive
With the ZIP ready, upload it to Drive. This is the most time-consuming step, as it depends on your residential upload speed — on a typical 100 Mbps connection, 4 GB takes roughly 6 minutes.
Go to https://drive.google.com in your browser and sign in. Create a new folder called fivem-migration to keep things organized — click New → New folder.
Open the folder you just created and drag server-data-backup.zip directly into the browser window. A progress bar appears in the bottom-right corner. Wait until you see Upload complete.
Do not close the browser during the upload — if the connection drops, it restarts from zero (the Drive web interface does not reliably resume large file uploads via drag-and-drop).
Install Google Drive Desktop on your PC. It supports automatic upload resumption if the connection drops and makes better use of available bandwidth. Available at https://www.google.com/drive/download/.
After the upload, right-click the file in Drive and select Share → General access → Anyone with the link. Set it to Viewer, copy the link, and save it — you’ll use it on the VPS.
The link has the format:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aBcDeFgHiJkLmNoPqRsTuVwXyZ/view?usp=sharingThe file ID is the sequence between /d/ and /view — note it separately, as it can be useful for direct command-line downloads.
Downloading the File on the Windows VPS
Now connect to the VPS via RDP and download the ZIP directly there. Since the VPS has a datacenter link, the download will be significantly faster than your upload was.
Open Remote Desktop Connection on your PC (Windows key + R, type mstsc). Enter the VPS IP address, username (typically Administrator), and the password provided in the Hostini panel. Connect.
Inside the VPS, open Microsoft Edge or another browser and navigate to the same Drive link you copied. Sign in with the same Google account.
Click the download icon (downward arrow) in the top-right corner. If you see the warning Google Drive can’t scan this file for viruses, click Download anyway — this warning appears for any file over 100 MB and does not indicate a problem.
The file will be saved to C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\. Create the destination folder and move the ZIP there using PowerShell (right-click Start → Windows PowerShell):
New-Item -Path "C:\fivem" -ItemType Directory
Move-Item -Path "C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\server-data-backup.zip" -Destination "C:\fivem\"Extract the ZIP. In File Explorer, right-click the file, choose Extract All…, and confirm the destination as C:\fivem\. When done, you will have C:\fivem\server-data\ with the full original structure.
The PowerShell equivalent is:
Expand-Archive -Path "C:\fivem\server-data-backup.zip" -DestinationPath "C:\fivem\"Restoring the Database
The FiveM files are on the VPS, but the server will not start without the database restored. This step imports the .sql file you exported at the beginning.
With MySQL/XAMPP already installed on the VPS, open the local phpMyAdmin at http://localhost/phpmyadmin. Create a database with the same name as the original (e.g., fivem) by clicking New in the left sidebar.
Select the database you created, go to Import, click Choose file, and point it to C:\fivem\server-data\fivem.sql. Keep the format set to SQL and click Import.
If the file is larger than 50 MB, phpMyAdmin may complain about upload limits. In that case, use the MySQL command line:
C:\xampp\mysql\bin\mysql.exe -u root -p fivem < C:\fivem\server-data\fivem.sqlEnter the MySQL password when prompted (in a default XAMPP install it is blank — just press Enter).
Update server.cfg or the MySQL connection file for your framework (vRP, ESX, QBCore) to point to localhost instead of the old PC’s IP. Look for lines like:
set mysql_connection_string "server=127.0.0.1;database=fivem;userid=root;password="Make sure server is set to 127.0.0.1 or localhost, not your old machine’s IP.
Verification
With everything in place, start the FiveM server on the VPS to confirm the migration worked. Open the run.cmd or start.bat in your server-data folder (or the FXServer path).
The console should display messages like:
Starting resource oxmysql
Database server connection established!
Starting resource es_extended
Server is now listening on port 30120If you see Database connection failed or Cannot connect to MySQL, the issue is in the database credentials — revisit step 13. Connect to the server from the FiveM client using connect YOUR_VPS_IP:30120 in the F8 console.
Troubleshooting
Drive download fails with
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Google Drive Desktop directly on the VPS instead of downloading via browser?
You can, but it is not recommended. Google Drive Desktop syncs files in the background and consumes CPU and RAM on the VPS unnecessarily. Use a one-time download via Edge instead, or prefer a direct download link via PowerShell with Invoke-WebRequest.
Why won't my FiveM server connect to MySQL after the migration?
In almost every case, the connection string is still pointing to the old machine's IP. Check the configuration file for your framework (usually under resources/[essential]/) and replace the IP with 127.0.0.1 or localhost. Also confirm the MySQL service is running on the VPS via services.msc.
How much RAM and CPU do I need on the VPS to run FiveM with 32 slots?
For 32 slots with a mid-sized ESX or QBCore framework (50–80 resources), the realistic minimum is 4 vCPUs and 8 GB of RAM. Servers with many custom scripts, heavy MLOs, or complex economies may need 6 vCPUs and 16 GB. Single-thread CPU performance matters more than core count, because FXServer does not parallelize well.
Does Google Drive alter or watermark the ZIP file?
No. Drive stores the file as a binary-identical copy of what you uploaded. The MD5 hash of the downloaded file matches the original — you can verify this with Get-FileHash in PowerShell if you want to confirm integrity.
Can I transfer only part of the base, like just new resources?
Yes, and it is the recommended approach for incremental updates after the initial migration. Compress only the resources/ folder or a specific resource, upload it to Drive, and extract it over the existing files on the VPS. For the database, export only the modified tables instead of a full dump.
What should I do if the upload to Drive keeps dropping?
Use the Google Drive Desktop client instead of the browser — it supports automatic resumption. Alternatively, split the ZIP into smaller parts using 7-Zip (Split to volumes of 500 MB) and upload each part separately. On the VPS, join the parts before extracting.