How Do I Get Windows 11 to Stop Saving Everything To OneDrive Folder Location?

This does not solve the problem if the Sync filled the storage up to 15GB on OneDrive and how Windows 11 Explorer does not show the files from 'MY PICTURES' and 'MY DOCUMENTS' anymore.

I can no longer find on my PC all MY PICTURES files .

And I see the folders in OneDrive, but they are all empty when I click to open them.

Did that update and automatic sync to OneDrive remove all the files from my PC? or did it just change the path to get to them ?

I have looked for over 1 hour for the files and I am freaking out right now because I cannot find them anywhere on my pc.

I disconnected the Sync to OneDrive but the files are nowhere to be found.

And the stupid new Explorer view now shows duplicates of the folders that are all empty....

IF SOMEONE FROM MICROSOFT READS THIS, you have succeeded in convincing a Windows user of 25 yrs to buy an Apple computer the next time. This is it . I have never hated Microsoft and cursed them as much as after this windows 11 update. Don't your programmers realize how much time and money you have lost your customers with this !

I am not a tech person and I cannot risk trying one of these 'work around' solutions and hope not to lose my work!

I need a SAFE WAY back to how my computer and windows was before that studid update PLEASE.

Thank you for taking time to reply.

Uninstalling OneDrive, as I learned myself, does not remove the default function to save there.

I hope someone at Microsoft will read this is see how we know they are scamming us. The Windows 11 rollout, move to 365, denial of support,, and seemingly unchangeable default saving to OneDrive is unconscionable.

I promise to share the methodology here when I learn it. In the meantime, let's all keep saving to specific folders in the ://C drive.

I noticed that my Documents and Desktop were being backed up to OneDrive. When I backed up my phone, I realized that 35 GB worth of backup was being uploaded to OneDrive in the background. I end up deleting OneDrive from my laptop and deleted the OneDrive folder and realized my Whole Desktop was gone.

Later i found out that everything on my laptop was in the OneDrive folder all my files were not in "C:\Users\myname\Desktop" but in "C:\Users\myname\ONEDRIVE\Desktop"

because of this dmn OneDrive all my files are now gone.

Thanks a MILLION for that . I had the exact same issue. I have no wish to have 'one drive' on my computer in any way at all. And I fought and fought to remove the damn thing. It always re-populated my Desktop folder to the One Drive folder. Grrrr.... My sincere appreciations for you posting this.

Thanks for the fix! I've been racking my head for several days over OneDrive directed folders reappearing in Windows 11 on two Dell replacement laptops. FINALLY GONE and files are saved in the right places without being redirected to duplicated folders in OneDrive.