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. Craig Long 18,550 Reputation points
    2024-03-24T02:25:21+00:00

    Thank you all for your experiences and sharing of your solutions.

    If I may simplify what you are telling us; I have to create folders on my PC and create local folders to place my files back into.

    I should then either:

    1. rename the folders in OneDrive so that they do not by default assume the right to take all my documents to the Microsoft Cloud,
    2. have local document folders that I will save named the same as OneDrive that I use for sharing only,
    3. Bottom-line: make sure documents I don't want on MS OneDrive Cloud to be without my knowledge transfer during an "update" of my system to OneDrive?

    Will that work?

    Microsoft suggests you toggle the sync OFF at OneDrive Settings > Sync and backup > Manage backup. Then move your files back to their default locations. For example, C:\Users\username\OneDrive\Documents can be moved back to the default location C:\Users\username\Documents, etc**.**

    But if sync enables itself causing the same issue again, my suggestion is to create new manila folders at *C:\Users\username* and give them a unique name. You can use names such as "My Documents" or "Private Documents", etc. instead of just "Documents". For example, a folder with the name "My Documents" in the location C:\Users\username\MyDocuments cannot sync to OneDrive.

    1. All files within the OneDrive folder sync to the online OneDrive. There is no way to prevent a file within the OneDrive folder from syncing to OneDrive.
    2. If you are going to share files you should keep them in OneDrive. Or you can move them into OneDrive when you want to share them.
    3. Not sure what you are asking here.

    My suggestions in this thread are mainly for those who want to avoid OneDrive completely. Many users posting in this forum are members of the OneDrive Haters Club. šŸ˜šŸ˜„ We want to keep them happy using Windows OS.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-03-08T02:35:18+00:00

    I really like OneDrive, but I had certain pictures saved to a file Pictures under OneDrive. I used this file as my screen saver so I could see the pictures like a slide show. When the Outlook and/or MS changes were made recently, it appears all the pictures on my computer were put into this file. I do not want all of these pictures in that file. My screen saver are all children's photos. I now have all sorts of pictures in that file. Why were they transferred into it, and how do I get them out so I can have my slide show as it was initially set up?

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  3. Craig Long 18,550 Reputation points
    2024-02-11T05:32:42+00:00

    I understand One Drive as a backup for my files in case I have a hard disk problem or whatever. I can appreciate that, but why completely remove them from my computer completely? I want to save my files on my computer locally, and as I said, know that One Drive is my back-up. If I download my removed files from One Drive, will One Drive not just remove them again like they previously have? I'm no computer expert, but I can't even find any of these folders, empty or not, on my C drive anymore.

    I don't know why OneDrive removed your files. If you are on the free plan you need to take precautions and not sync large amounts of data from your computer to the cloud. OneDrive syncing only applies to the Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, and the OneDrive folder. So with the syncing of those folders turned OFF at Manage backup you need not worry about automated OneDrive backups.

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  4. Craig Long 18,550 Reputation points
    2024-01-25T01:04:07+00:00

    No, you can leave your files in the OneDrive folder but you will have two of every file if you only copy the OneDrive files to another folder.

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