This browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
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?
A Microsoft file hosting and synchronization service.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Sorry to hear you’ve also had OneDrive problems. I’ve been there too. It’s not trustworthy. My solution was to disconnect and uninstall it from multiple computers. I use other cloud services instead.
OneDrive certainly can and does delete files and folders on your local PC all by itself, even though they are not supposed to be synced. This has happened to me twice today, and I am now sure it is OneDrive doing it and not my PC simply deleting stuff spontaneously. If I'm to be able to do any work without the danger of it being wiped out I will have to keep OneDrive permanently disconnected from my PC. Appalling.
I keep copying over my backed up files from an external hard drive onto my freshly cleaned up C:/, then the moment I link OneDrive it ignores my settings about which folders to sync (just one, which I don't have locally) and starts deleting my local folders (which are very large and very important to me...!) in a bid to replace them with older folders with the same name that it has online. To be clear: this has happened twice today, even though I twice made sure all options for OneDrive back-up were deselected (to no avail - I could see the round little arrows indicating that the folders were being uploaded to OneDrive), and even though before the two wipe outs I made sure I had selected only a single folder for syncing/making available offline, a folder which only exists on OneDrive. Basically OneDrive will ignore your settings and do what it wants to your PC, emptying your folders willy-nilly, and Microsoft will tell you that you are imagining it.
It's actually the second time that I have had a massive loss of data due to OneDrive going insane; this time I was better prepared than last time, when it wiped out all of my local files in not one but two laptops and replaced them with the (much older, much smaller) set of folders and files I had saved in it. I sought Microsoft's help at that time - that was 2017 I think - and they were absolutely useless. It appears the problem continues and Microsoft neither understands it nor is able to fix it.
Sorry this is continuing to happen to people. I spoke with a manager above the technical help people and explained how simple this would be to fix. It's messed up that Onedrive can delete your C: and empty your trash. He sounded interested and concerned but apparently Microsoft isn't. I guess fixing the problem might cost them $100k of their billions in the bank so they aren't interested.
I've disconnected Onedrive and use it as an upload only as a pure cloud backup. The service will not work as advertised where everyone can access it without risk of it wiping you out. If you allow Onedrive to sync to your computer, you are 100% at risk for losing your data and there is nothing you can do about it. Be warned!
OH MY GOD!!!!
I could not believe they had this problem 2 years ago and microsoft still have not fixed this problem!
It is now 2022 and this just happened to me!
This is really pissing me off! Shame on you microsoft!
Please delete you product if you guys have no intention of fixing the bugs!
UNBELIEVEABLE!!!! Words cannot describe how pissed off I am right now!
I have moved to Google Drive as well and it works great.
Unfortunately I am forced to use OneDrive for work and just had another issue with a lot of old files got synced again and I now have hundreds of old files mixed in between new files. It is a huge mess.