What are these brown box icons in left bottom corner of my files??

Anonymous
2022-03-07T21:29:56+00:00

Does anyone know where these small brown box icons came from and what they mean?? I suddenly have these little brown icons (looks like a small file box) on most of my files, Word, pdf, photos, etc. I've googled the daylights out of this and apparently lots of folks have the same question but no one has an answer. I hasn't affected my ability to open files but it's really annoying! (see pic below) Does it have something to do with my upgrade to Windows 11?

Thanks!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2022-04-23T00:35:08+00:00

Had this exact same issue today. The resolution was quick no reinstall. I'm on Win11, so perhaps that was a plus in this scenario. Here's the fix that worked for me:

  1. Open windows explorer <windows-key + e>
  2. If you're using OneDrive you should see something like "OneDrive - Personal" within the left-hand pane. If so, Right-Click to access the context-menu.
  3. You should see the menu-item: "Always keep on this device", select this.
  4. Recheck your desktop; no more brown boxes, yay!

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-09-20T17:41:55+00:00

    Refreshing desktop worked for me. Checking OneDrive menu didn't have any effect.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-10-09T14:49:17+00:00

    This caused my computer to start syncing. I stopped it in the middle and now it is flashing little brown boxes and green arrows and dots.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-10-21T01:08:16+00:00

    TY that was so odd. I moved my Steam library and this randomly happens.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-10-29T05:33:37+00:00

    While there seem to be many suggestions in the comments, the true meaning behind the box is that the documents that are being used in your OneDrive arent being restored. This small brown box signifies that you have been automatically logged out of your OneDrive app.
    To resolve this, go to the search bar and search one drive, it will open not only your folder but also the app in itself - this will begin the process of syncing your files once again and within a few minutes it will disappear(depending on the no. of files and its size)

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