Upload failed: Server FIle Updated. We're sorry, someone updated the server copy and it's note possible to upload your changes now

Anonymous
2013-07-25T05:35:15+00:00

Windows 8 Pro, Office/Excel, have file in Skydrive folder, open in Excel.  I am the only user on my account and only one PC is up and running.  I save a copy of the file in Excel.  I then get a message that Skydrive file needs attention:

"Upload failed: Server File Updated.  We're sorry, someone updated the server copy and it's note possible to upload your changes now."

Now I am the "someone" who updated the file and then it gives me the choice to keep my local copy or get the outdated server copy.  I usually select keep my local copy as it has the changes I have recently made (and tried to save).  If I select Server Copy, it is missing the last changes I made. 

What is up with this???  I have a local copy, I make a change and save it, why does not Skydrive upload those changes to my account???

Again, I am the only authorized user on my account, I am the only one logged in to Skydrive, I have only the one PC up and running and I have the one copy of the file I am editing and saving copies.  This all used to work fine, but the last week or two it has started doing this.

I have the PC set up to sync to Windows Time Server and that seems to be working, so I don't think it is a time issue.

And if I make changes, save the file, get the error, select Keep Local Copy then click Save again, I think the updates are uploaded fine, no error message after the 2nd save.  Just annoying and time consuming to have to save twice, waiting for the error message and clicking on the keep local copy option.

I initially had this issue in June, first reported in this thread:

then it seemed to resolve itself only to recently return, and is worse since the last Office update that occurred a day or two ago.  It first reappeared when I would make a copy of a local file, then open that file in Excel.  The original file is in my Skydrive folder, it is writeable.  When I then rename and open the copy, I am told the file is not writeable and I have to click the "Edit Workbook" button.  Then when I try and same the file, I get the above "Upload failed:..." message.  Then if I select "Keep my Version" I can then save the file.  Other than updating Office the other day and having an automatic update on Win8 there have been no changes, same original file I am copying.  I submitted copies of the sample file and screenshots in the thread above, so the moderator there should have those copies.  I was instructed to start a thread here to get more help on this issue.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-09-24T14:18:26+00:00

    I know this will not help all, but may help a few.  If you are using the Office 365 subscription, upgrading to 2016 has seemed to help me.  I have noticed that my documents that sync offline via OneDrive seem to take a little longer, but I am not getting the "Upload fail:..." message anymore.  I would recommend taking advantage of the FREE upgrade to 2016 Office Suite for those with subscription based products.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-09-24T10:54:52+00:00

    Josh, this is straight-up badass! On these fora, the posters with Microsoft credentials rarely, if ever, post meaningful solutions. They generally respond by assigning onerous and knowingly unnecessary and distractive tasks to those experiencing problems with Microsoft software--deflecting attention away from the obvious reality that these flaws are generally inherent to the software, and hence of Microsoft's own creation, and that Microsoft has no solution.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-09-22T15:01:52+00:00

    I'm still experiencing this issue on a daily basis.  I have one PC with one user (me) and one file that I update during the day.  I'll have to save multiple times (up to 7) selecting "overwrite" or "keep my version" until I get a clean save.    I've tried both the Microsoft and external time servers thinking that might be an issue, but no change.   

    I've tried all the suggestions in this thread, but no change in the issue.    Perhaps Microsoft can add a "single user" option to bypass those annoying messages about someone else having updated the server copy.  It is only me updating the file and if there is indeed someone else updating it, I would like to find out who.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-09-22T13:39:07+00:00

    I find it curious and more than a little frustrating that I am having the problem documented in this thread as of September of 2015, more than TWO YEARS after the initial post. Yet no Microsoft employee has posted more than the list of boiler-plate questions and suggestions for resolving the problem -- questions, I might add, that are largely irrelevant and suggestions that have been shown to be ineffective at resolving the problem.

    The one bit of information that I can add to the thread not previously mentioned is that I am having the problem only with very large PowerPoint files, ones with embedded high-quality videos of 20 minutes or more. I suspect that there is some sync process that is taking more time to do than is expected, and that this process is stepping on the versioning tracking mechanism in some way.

    I might be able to avoid the problem by removing the video, working on the rest of the presentation until it is essentially complete, and then embedding the video as the very last step in preparing the PowerPoint slideshow. But it is annoying at the least to have to alter my workflow to adapt to a technical glitch in the OneDrive sync process. If the underlying issue could be resolved, that would be great.

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  5. Anonymous
    2015-06-03T03:14:11+00:00

    Just thought I would add two cents.  I have been having this problem since I started using One Drive about 3 months ago.  I am running One Drive on two laptops (Win 7), and IPAD, and a desktop (Win 7 Pro).  I get the obligatory message on the laptops and the IPAD (Office 2013), but not on the desktop (Office 2010).  I get the message as soon as I try to open the file, so no changes have been made to the local file.  I just choose the "Keep Server Copy", so I am always working with the most recent file.  Also, this only happens with Office files.  PDF, QBW, QDF files work with no issues.

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