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

You've just saved my life. THANK YOU!

Hi Everyone!

I also received this error: "Upload failed: we're sorry someone updated the server copy " with those two seemingly innocuous messages "keep local copy" or "keep server copy."

I picked "keep local copy"...and lost 9 pages (aka 6 hours) worth of work. And of course, my homework is due tomorrow morning, 8 am. 

AHHHHH!!!!!

After much screaming, crying, and frantic googling, I managed to find the back up of the server version. Since I couldn't find any guidance on how to do this and only managed to stumble on it by accident and (of course) through my mad computer skills, I thought I might give a how-to-guide for everyone else who has this problem.

HOW TO RECOVER YOUR LOST SERVER FILE AFTER THE "UPLOAD FAILED" MESSAGE:

 1) Log into your "online" version of your sky drive: https://onedrive.live.com

 2) All of your files should appear. Find the appropriate file, and open it in the broswer.

 3) Once open, click "File" then "Info" then "Previous Versions" 

 4) For me at least, I was given the current version, and 6 older versions...one of which was the actual document I needed. 

 5) Click "Restore" (which I didn't dare do) or "Download" and then open and save your file.

Note: my Microsoft word is set to back up automatically every 10 minutes. I've never seen it do this. However, looking at the "older versions" on my web browser, it looks like it automatically backs up my word document every time I save. So hopefully, even if you don't have the autosave selected, your file will still be there. 

Thank goodness. Let me know if this helps everyone!

This issue is still occurring a year after the original post...has Microsoft identified the issue and taken responsibility to fix it?  Excel and Skydrive don't talk to each other - that is the problem. 

As per comments by others- we know how to use our computers. These 'quick fix' questions are just silly, leading to 'advice' that provides no real solution. And it can't - the issue is between Excel and Skydrive.

Your best advice to users is:

'Just wait it out folks, Skydrive will eventually wake up about 20 minutes later to allow Excel documents to upload and clear up the error messages. We appreciate your patience while we work to eradicate this frustrating issue with the next version of Office.'

Or use Drop Box...sorry but it's a good alternative. Maybe ask Drew and Arash for some pointers.

was told there was a conflict and asked if I wanted to keep my local copy or the server copy

in the Office Upload Center (OUC) you can – if necessary – view both copies first and then decide which one to keep:

Resolve conflicts in the Upload Center

much wasted time, confusion and irritation can be eliminated by a good understanding of how to work with the OUC

it is a sophisticated – yet straightforward – piece of software

and despite ramblings in various internet forums discussing ways to 'kill' the OUC

the reality is that it's the Office™ user's best friend

Microsoft Office Upload Center

note that often many issues vanish by selecting Delete cached files  (similar in principle to clearing a browser's cache)

Office Document Cache settings

for Microsoft® Office files (DOCX, XLSX ...) the Office Upload Center handles all data interaction – up and down – with the onedrive.com 'cloud' server

while the OneDrive sync client (software) handles all other file types (JPG, PDF, MP3 ...)

they work together:

Office and OneDrive  (formerly SkyDrive)

multiple unsaved versions ('conflicts') can be avoided by properly saving and closinga file when finished editing

from Microsoft:

Save a document

To save a document for the first time, do the following:

1. Click the File tab.
2. Click Save As.
3. Browse to the location where you’d like to save your document. 

 NOTE    To save the document on your computer, choose a folder under Computer or click Browse. To save your document online, choose a locationunder Places or Add a Location. When your files are online, you can share, give feedback and work together on them in real time.

4. Click Save.

 NOTE   Word automatically saves files in the .docx file format. To save your document in a format other than .docx, click the Save as type list, and then select the file format that you want.

To save your document as you continue to work on it, click Save in the Quick Access Toolbar or Ctrl+S.

Then

File>Close

or

File>Exit

end of story

• Does it happen with a specific document or is the same with all the documents?
  • I've only seen it with one document, but that's really all I'm working on right now. It's about 95,000 words and 407 KB.
• Perform a test with a new document and check if the issue persists.
  • I've tried this some and haven't had success reproing on demand. I cannot repro it on demand on my original document, either, though.
  • See my description below. What condition forces me to have to sign in again? Perhaps that is part of this and is a clue.

I've been using Dropbox for a while but with all the recent changes to OneDrive, I thought I'd try the new OneDrive and see if things are any better. Some things are. I work offline a lot while I commute, and I used to start getting huge pauses the longer I was offline, as if Word were timing out while trying to contact a server. I haven't had that problem recently, though it's too early to know for sure.

However, after working offline for several days, I finally connected my laptop to the Internet last night and synced my changes. It all seemed to go well. This morning, I again connected, and the Upload Center told me there was a problem syncing (I don't remember the exact message), and that I needed to sign back in. I clicked the sign in button--as I recall, I wasn't prompted for a Microsoft account or password, but I could be mistaken. After that, I was told there was a conflict and asked if I wanted to keep my local copy or the server copy. As has been every other time as far as I remember, the local copy no longer had my recent changes, as if I'd lost everything. I told it to keep the server copy. It synced and my changes were back.

So it wasn't catastrophic. I've gotten this message multiple times while on the train without internet. Those times are worse because I'm unable to work until I can sync the server copy to get my recent changes back.

I'll try a few more things and will report back if I have any success on a repro.