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
    2023-11-01T03:49:34+00:00

    I turn the synch off and it automatically turns itself back on the next time I reboot my computer.

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  2. Craig Long 18,630 Reputation points
    2023-11-01T01:35:14+00:00

    If you keep the sync OFF as Leo suggests then you will have two Documents folders. One will be in the default C:\Users\username location and one will be in OneDrive. Use the one in the default location. If you remember to save in the default location then you won't need to uninstall OneDrive.

    Just keep the sync OFF at Manage backup. If you don't you will not be able to save in the default location.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-10-31T22:03:45+00:00

    This did not help me at all. Strangely, after theatening to sue Microsoft due to the OneDrive issues, magically, when I turned on my computer the next day, all my files were back. Got on today and all was still good.

    HOWEVER, after I went online to do some banking business, I went to file explorer and guess what! ALL my files were gone again. I can't help but think there is an evil Microsoft gremlin behind the wheel to hijack your files every time you get online.

    I even uninstalled the last update and paused them. Lo and behold, I go back only to find the last update somehow was BACK ON MY COMPUTER. Anyone wanting to get together to sue Microsoft over the OneDrive issues, I'm all in.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-10-31T19:04:10+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.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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