Windows 11 or Onedrive has moved all my files into Onedrive. What is going on?

Anonymous
2023-10-04T10:54:25+00:00

A couple of days back I found that somehow all my files and folders on my Win 11 PC under C:\users.. have suddenly been moved into my Onedrive.
I keep many files under local storage intentionally so that they DON'T get uploaded into Onedrive. Now I see all these files being uploaded into Onedrive, which I DON'T want.
I have been using Onedrive for over 2 years.
How did this happen? How do I reverse it?
Microsoft, you are too much!

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

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Craig Long 18,550 Reputation points
2023-10-13T02:51:52+00:00

"So here is my supposition: OneDrive, by default, at some update in the last few months, automatically turned on SYNC, and my Documents folder (and Pictures and Desktop) all got moved to OneDrive folders.

I since then, used the info here to turn off the sync of these folders. But that did not move them back, so they continued to live in OneDrive and continued to sync."

Yes. The OneDrive folder is always there even when you uninstall OneDrive. However, if OneDrive is uninstalled, then it no longer syncs to the online OneDrive.

"PS - I am assuming that if you turn sync on, it moves those folders from the username folder to the OneDrive folder."

Yes, that's right. There is no problem leaving them in the OneDrive folder unless they start syncing again.

"But if you turn sync off, it does nothing, as it does not move the folders back again. And the only thing that will sync in OneDrive, are the actual folders and files in the OneDrive folder structure. Hence why you have to manually move the folders back again."

Yes

To stop the "Sync and Backup" of your folders, go to Manage Backup in the OneDrive Settings. In Windows 11, you will find Manage Backup at OneDrive Settings > Sync and Backup tab > Manage Backup.

"C:>Users>username>ManilaFolders" is a good location on the C drive to hide data from OneDrive**.** An external drive and a separate data partition are great ways to avoid OneDrive.

Create and format a data partition

If sync turns on by itself or OneDrive reinstalls without asking, you may want to avoid the Documents folder and the other standard folders.

A YouTube video explaining more about this is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yXgyrsqraE

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-05-08T02:47:01+00:00

    Thanks @CraigLong I appreciate your ongoing support. Sorry, I couldn't sleep, so I paid $3 for 100Gb on OneDrive for a month - effectively the same strategy as you suggested. Interestingly, it shows up as a 365 subscription in my account! I managed to recover all my files including some in the OneDrive Recycle Bin. I have cancelled the extra capacity so it won't renew.

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  2. Craig Long 18,550 Reputation points
    2024-05-07T22:04:53+00:00

    Before I jump into 365, is that going to mess with my current Office 2016 installation?

    No. You don't need to install the Office portion of Microsoft 365. You will just get more cloud storage space. When you get the extra storage I believe you will be able to see your files at onedrive.com.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-05-07T15:02:38+00:00

    Thanks CraigLong. I have checked C:/Users... as suggested with no luck.

    Before I jump into 365, is that going to mess with my current Office 2016 installation? I don't want to make things worse if I can help it.

    As it happens, I have done a chkdsk on the old drive and it all works fine EXCEPT the user folder that I want to recover. It has disappeared off the old drive! Amazing, it looks like copying to the new PC has somehow corrupted the old drive.

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  4. Craig Long 18,550 Reputation points
    2024-05-06T23:29:58+00:00

    Yeah, that is my problem. I have 100Gb data and only 5Gb Onedrive. Where are all my files, all I have in Documents, Pictures etc are Onedrive shortcuts? I am also getting Onedrive Full notifications. Where is the other 95Gb of docs, pics etc that I copied from my previous machine?

    You can get a free trial of Microsoft 365 and then cancel it before you have to pay. Then go to Manage Backup in the OneDrive settings and toggle the sync on all the folders to ON. I believe that will restore your files. I believe your files are stuck in the OneDrive servers.

    Free one-month trial: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/try

    We can try something else if you don't want to do that. Did you look in the OneDrive folder at C:\Users\YourUsername\OneDrive?

    My OneDrive says it's full

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