Google Drive - change ownership of large number of files are extremely tedious/takes weeks. Any workaround?

Question

I have a folder with at least 5000 files in Google Drive. I want to change ownership of both the folder and the files to another user. Changing the owner of the folder was quick and easy but didn't apply to the files in it. Instead I have to

1. scroll down again and again (because otherwise only 20 files are listed)
2. select a bunch of files
3. click share
4. change ownership
5. switch account
6. search for pendingowner:me owner:someoneelse
7. scroll down again and again (because otherwise only 20 files are listed)
8. select all files
9. click share
10. accept the transfer of ownership
11. remove the original users access to these files

And I can only do this for 200-300 files at the time, otherwise Google Drive chokes. And it doesn't stop there, the number of files I can change ownership on per day seem to be limited to 500-600 or so.

This is a PITA. Is there some better way to transfer the ownership of a large number of files in Google Drive?

I found this tool but it only works on filetypes that are built into Google Drive (e.g. Sheets and Docs) or on GDrive/Business suite accounts.

Answer 1

To select all files, use the hotkey Ctrl-A instead of your steps 1 and 2.

Free alternative: The method of cross-domain transfer with preserving file IDs using Google Shared Drives is well described here.

Summary:

1. Setup Google Shared Drive.
2. Neutralize files' ownership in the Shared Drive.
3. Assign new ownership.

If you do not have access to Google Workspace (former G Suite), you can take advantage of ready-made solutions available in the Google Workspace Marketplace and also available here as a web application.