Onedrive is horrible, invasive and impossible

Anonymous
2023-02-09T16:57:08+00:00

Without my knowledge or consent, when I plugged in my new Dell computer and signed in to my MS 365 account, all my files were put in a cloud including copies of driver's licenses, passports, and family medical records. I thought okay, I'll just take them out of the cloud, which as we now understand also deletes them from the desktop.

I have gone back and forth about a dozen times in emails with MS techs. Some of their advice caused all of my files to disappear from my computer. I asked repeatedly if there is a way to choose what to backup and got no answer from MS. I've had a tech at my home twice, and he finds there is no way to manually backup or choose what files to backup. We decided to quit onedrive. I now have duplicates of files and paths still pointing to onedrive, so I will have to get more help with this. Research that I have been working on for years has been convoluted and possibly lost due to multiple duplicates.

I've been working from home for over 30 years and have never had problems like this. I'm used to figuring out solutions, but this is beyond absurd. I simply bought a new computer to replace my 10-year-old machine and am now in this nightmare.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2023-11-01T06:34:15+00:00

Thanks for this, VJA142. I wish I had seen these before I turned on my new PC. After watching the video you suggested and Leo's The Problem with OneDrive Backup, I'm less confused and beginning to wrap my head around it. I don't use the "Documents" folder and have individual folders on my desktop where I save things, but I get the gist.

Good suggestion too about automatic updates. I have always paused updates for several weeks and do one computer at a time to manage the nasty surprises.

Hi Enerak, glad you found Leo’s YouTube videos Re OneDrive helpful, I know I sure did, the light finally came on for me. He also has a web page (ask Leo.com) where he posts articles with links to his videos. The replies to his OneDrive articles are like this forum, full of people (including some IT types) who are all experiencing issues with OneDrive.

What’s crazy is that we all PAID for this Microsoft software, with many of us having invested in new computer hardware, only to turn on our PC’s and have our digital lives literally scrambled and yanked inside out.

I’m glad we’ve had this forum to vent & share info!

Thanks, Vikki

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-10-22T16:15:10+00:00

    Did the same to me. Horrible program.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-10-21T09:25:57+00:00

    The problem is that Onedrive is not a cloud function but a sync. And these two are opposites. You need a cloud for safety, but a sync so that you can work on a file from multiple computers with multiple people. And that is not safe at all. In fact, even when you invite people to see a file on your Onedrive, they can change or delete that file. One mistake, one wrong action and all your files are lost. I want a cloud function, where nobody, and certainly not microsoft, can ever delete anything from my computer. My " master computer" should be holy, and the cloud just a copy. I should not even be able to change anything directly in the cloud at all, only through my computer. And the fact that Onedrive is dangerous and unreliable makes the need to store everything on an external drive even greater than without Onedrive. So, it's useless.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-10-18T06:02:00+00:00

    One Drive is a complete piece of **** program. Like the OP says, it automatically forces uploads to its cloud and then deletes files from your computer without asking. There's no way to control it. You can't tell it to not back up large files and if you do, it will move it to another folder. It deleted my entire desktop of files from my computer with no warning.

    This product is intentionally made to be ****.

    The storage on my computer is now completely screwed up, missing files, some in the cloud, some in multiple places some hard to find. Who designed this ****. Every time I try to make a change, something else gets messed up.

    onedrive is a complete stinking pile of garbage.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-10-17T17:11:23+00:00

    I posted details on One Drive and how amazing it is a while back, while I was using the free version of One Drive - There was no easy way or option to sign-out from the **** Product Microsoft ever made. There were other details as well, which support the topic of this message.

    I thought, may be I was dreaming that the subscription would be a little better. However, its the same invasive control freak behavior at display.

    It seems a design to me, to take control. May be the Architect. was a control freak. They wont allow you to sing out, will access your photos, documents without clear consent, you cannot uninstall the drive - as its part of the OS and many more...

    It's a SHAME, and not only Microsoft - Adobe , Google they are all doing it .. Subtly! If you have an iPhone, try and delete or remove Acrobat reader, it will delete all your pdf's as if Adobe owned it!!

    Anyways this is Microsoft forum, So, will stick to the Microsoft bashing!! Guys Dump this **** ONE DRIVE TO WHERE IT BELONG!!!!

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