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
    2023-10-31T01:19:37+00:00

    I’ve posted several times on this thread in response to the original poster and about my own dissatisfaction with the way Microsoft’s OneDrive is on by default in WIN11 and if you don’t understand it, it’s a nightmare to deal with and figure out, and WHO HAS THE TIME for such ANNOYANCES?

    I was still having issues when saving work in Excel docs and then not being able to open because the path was missing so I lost recent work. Yes Microsoft experts, I know it was my fault somehow for not understanding OneDrive and saving revised docs incorrectly! Well how about I DONT WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND ONEDRIVE RIGHT NOW! I just want my work to be left on my PC in the same format I last saved it in!

    Anyway, happy to say that I just found a very good source, “Ask Leo”, on YouTube with very easy to understand videos about OneDrive. This one in particular https://youtu.be/Gs5Ydv47-ck?si=SxwgpWO_eqRC6UYb called “How Do I Disable OneDrive in Office 365” shows exactly how to disable OneDrive in WIN11 by deinstalling it without losing your own documents, it just deinstalls the tools that link your PC to the OneDrive cloud & web site. He shows you step by step in plain speak. It also shows you how to go to Word, Options, Save and then DISABLE “AutoSave files stored in the Cloud by default in Word” along with other useful explanations for tweaks. I disabled the autosave by default function for both Word & Excel and turned on Save to Computer By Default and changed the default local file location.

    I have really appreciated moderator Craig’s responses to my questions & help here, however he mostly directs to Microsoft’s tutorials which aren’t the most user friendly. I now better understand Craig’s recommendations to save files to User path instead to a OneDrive path and after watching a couple Ask Leo videos I finally get this. 🙏🏻

    I’m so relieved right now! Hoping to be completely out of OneDrive hell very soon! BTW, I also temporarily turned off Windows automatic updates to put off any nasty surprises until I get everything moved to the correct pathway. Good luck everyone, hope this helps!

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  2. Craig Long 18,550 Reputation points
    2023-10-15T02:42:25+00:00

    Followed your instruction and files were copied from the cloud onto my hard drive.

    I am assuming that at this point the files will now Sync and also be Backed Up... Correct?

    YES

    I am also assuming that many people in this thread "only have the single files in the cloud and that's not a good thing", just as I just did.

    The OneDrive app doesn't remove files from your PC unless you use the "Free up space" or go to "Choose folders" and uncheck some of them. Folders you deselect will become cloud-only. "Choose folders" is at the Account tab > Choose folders. Don't uncheck any folders that you want to remain on your PC.

    If you get a new PC and don't sign into the OneDrive app then I can understand why you may not have copies of the cloud files on the PC.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-10-14T18:28:50+00:00
    • First, thanks for assisting the community -

    How is it that you consider OneDrive Cloud/OneDrive File to "Back up" data?

    If the "Live file" is in the cloud, where is the "Back up" (duplicate) of that "Live File" located, if not on the users hard drive?

    This screenshot below is from Microsoft.com and the website states that personal files are in one place.

    Image

    Backup refers to the duplication of files or databases to a secondary location for preservation in case of equipment failure or catastrophe.

    I'm trying to understand why you (and Microsoft) are using the term Back Up if it involves storing data in a secondary location, when Microsoft itself states data is stored only in one place.

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  4. Craig Long 18,550 Reputation points
    2023-10-14T17:46:08+00:00

    What’s the difference between OneDrive Cloud and OneDrive File?

    Nothing really. Go to onedrive.live.com and you will find the same files that are in your OneDrive folder.

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