OneDrive deleted local files and started syncing old files !

Anonymous
2020-04-03T18:14:49+00:00

Hi,

OneDrive has suddenly deleted files in local folders that was not synced with OneDrive.

I installed OneDrive a while ago on my work computer and copied a lot of different files including Visual Studio projects to the OneDriver folder.

Later found out that OneDrive was causing problems for the Visual Studio projects and even though I had marked all folders to also be kept locally it wasn't working correctly.

So I moved all of the Visual Studio projects and several other folders back to the original location to make sure I had them locally.

Time goes by, and today when I turn on my computer I notice a lot of old files have been synced to my Desktop which is synced using OneDrive.

Then I also realize that the files that I moved out of the OneDrive synced folders have suddenly appeared again and old versions from back when I initially copied the folders are being synced again.

When I look at the local folder that is NOT synced with OneDrive, many of the files are gone - just like that - GONE.

There is no way to get the files back and all my recent work is lost.

I have looked in the online Recycle Bin and the Second stage recycle bin and none of the files are there (since they were never in OneDrive but only locally).

It seems like OneDrive has reverted the old actions of when I moved the files to the local folder and now old versions from back then are being synced.

This is completely unacceptable.

I have lost all my recent work.

How do I get my local files that has now been deleted by OneDrive but which was not synced with OneDrive back?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-01-31T20:21:18+00:00

    I had the same issue. There was a syncing issue, I resolved it, then every file on my Desktop vanished. It looks like Microsoft is giving me the "user error" brush off. I did manage to find a few files in the C:\Users\profile name\OneDrive folder so thanks for that. How Microsoft can write programs that wipe your local C: drive without warning in an unrecoverable fashion. Here's a thought, if you're going to do stupid stuff like that, how about just sending it all to the recycling bin so that it is recoverable if it wasn't intentional? As with everything, Microsoft knows better. I'm sure my business didn't need all of those contracts and data that you just deleted. Oh, and of course the syncing wasn't working correctly either so the only backups that I truly have are the ones that I had made to other drives. You wonder where this gets to the point of being a class action sort of issue. The program is obviously defective and they advertise it as a set it and forget it type of service.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-01-30T03:26:51+00:00

    I have had the exact same issue and now am worrying and am not sure I will able to re-write my essay/re-do my assignments on-time! This is unacceptable!

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-10-23T22:17:18+00:00

    This just happened to me

    I had disconnected from my the company one drive I have been using to work from home and when my personal one drive synced it has overwritten all the files in my documents folder

    I lost 100gb of photos and a full weekend's work

    Shoddy product

    And no I did not delete them myself

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-09-04T20:44:18+00:00

    What is going on at Microsoft these days?
    OneDrive just automatically set itself up to backup Desktop, Documents, and Pictures and when I asked it to stop backing up it deleted the entire pictures directory and only stopped from deleting my Desktop and Documents because I killed the OneDrive Task.
    W T F mate?
    You had one thing to do OneDrive.
    You were doing it. This is F'ed up beyond belief and I believe you should be liable for all the data we have lost in this manner.
    Get your **** together.
    Put it in a backpack or something.
    Sell it it Wesellshit.
    Just get it together.
    All of it.
    All your ****.
    Get your **** together microsoft.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-08-11T12:27:41+00:00

    I found a solution.

    1. Disable One Drive.
    2. Unlink your computer from One Drive.
    3. Uninstall One Drive.
    4. Check after every update to make sure it's not automatically reactivated.
    5. If reactivated go back to step 1.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-off-disable-or-uninstall-onedrive-f32a17ce-3336-40fe-9c38-6efb09f944b0

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