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. Craig Long 18,630 Reputation points
    2023-09-06T19:52:17+00:00

    This does not fix the issue of Microsoft storing user's sensitive information without their knowledge or consent, as default. I have the same problem and it seems like microsoft goes out of their way to make it obfuscate what is being stolen from users.

    The files on the C drive may get backed up to OneDrive without your knowledge. So an external or other than your C drive is best for privacy.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-09-05T21:03:05+00:00

    ITS A MONEY MAKING SCAM. SIMPLE AS THAT.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-08-16T19:17:09+00:00

    The "save screenshots" is turned off, but the folder still shows as \onedrive, so I'm not sure what else to do.

    I put a test folder in C:\Users and it doesn't seem to be syncing to onedrive, which could be a great solution. But it will take some time for me to figure this out. I'm wondering now whether I can make a second desktop and have it not sync.

    Thanks for your response.

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  4. Craig Long 18,630 Reputation points
    2023-08-15T20:21:50+00:00

    Go to the OneDrive settings > Sync and backup and turn off the "Save screenshots I capture to OneDrive".

    If you want to avoid OneDrive completely then you may want to create new folders at *C:\Users{yourUsername}*

    Folders you place in that location will not go to OneDrive. *C:\Users* will also work if you are the sole user of your computer.

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