Deleted OneDrive files still appear at Recent and Favorites (OneDrive and Office apps)

Hello @인수 강

First, I would like to summarize the main points of your case so I have a clear overview of the situation:

• Deleted Office files continue to appear in "Recent".
• Some deleted files remain in "Favorites" and cannot be removed.
• "Remove from list" does not persist, and the entries reappear.
• Opening the files shows a "file cannot be found" message.
• The behavior occurs across multiple devices and services, including Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, OneDrive, and Office.
• The issue has continued even after the files were deleted and the Recycle Bin was emptied.
• The issue affects both your personal Microsoft account and your school Microsoft 365 account.

To help me better understand where these entries are coming from, could you please check the following?

1/ Approximately how many old files are affected? Also, does this happen with recently deleted files as well, or only with files that were deleted a long time ago?

This helps determine whether the behavior is affecting all deleted files or only specific older entries.

2/ Do you see the same file names when you sign in with your personal Microsoft account and when you sign in with your school Microsoft 365 account?

This helps determine whether the entries are associated with a single account or are appearing across both accounts.

3/ In OneDrive on the web, do the files appear under both "Recent" and "Favorites", or only in one of these sections? This helps identify which list is retaining the file references.

4/ If you remove one of the entries and then refresh the page, how long does it take before the file appears again? This helps determine whether the list is being refreshed immediately or after account synchronization.

5/ If you sign in to OneDrive using a private/incognito browser window, do the same entries still appear?

This helps check whether the information is being retrieved from the account itself rather than from a browser cache.

_

Along the way, to help determine whether these entries are being recreated after a complete cleanup, I would like to suggest a full refresh of both the online and local Recent/Favorites data sources. The goal is to remove all existing references first, then check whether the same entries return afterward.

1/ Verify that the files are no longer present in OneDrive

Before clearing any lists, please confirm that the affected files cannot be found in OneDrive.

• Sign in to OneDrive on the web.
• Open "My files".
• Search for one of the affected file names.
• Check "Recycle Bin" as well.

-> The files should not exist anywhere in OneDrive (in personal account and school account also).

2/ Remove any remaining Favorites entries

This helps clear any saved file references that may still exist separately from the Recent list.

• In OneDrive on the web, open "Favorites".
• Locate any affected files.
• Remove them from "Favorites" if the option is available.
• Refresh the page.

-> The affected files should no longer appear in Favorites.

3/ Clear Windows Recent Items

This removes locally stored Recent shortcuts from File Explorer.

• Press Windows + R.
• Type: shell:recent
• Press Enter.
• Select all items in the folder and delete them.
• Restart Windows.

-> File Explorer starts with a fresh Recent Items list.

4/ Reset the OneDrive sync client

This refreshes the local OneDrive database and synchronization information.

• Press Windows + R.
• Type: %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe /reset
• Press Enter.
• Wait for OneDrive to restart automatically. If it does not, start OneDrive manually from the Start menu.

-> OneDrive rebuilds its local sync information.

*Note:

• If you see a "Windows cannot find..." message, copy and paste the text below instead, then press OK.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

• If you still see a "Windows cannot find..." message, copy and paste the text below instead, then press OK.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

• If none of these steps work, you do not have the OneDrive sync app installed

Reset OneDrive | Microsoft Support

5/ Sign out of all Office and OneDrive applications

This ensures that cached account information is refreshed.

• Sign out of OneDrive.
• Sign out of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office apps.
• Close all Office applications.
• Restart the device and sign back in.

(Please keep a note of your password to ensure you can log in successfully again.)

6/ Test in a private/incognito window

• Open a private/incognito browser window and sign in to OneDrive.
• Check "Recent" and "Favorites".

Purpose: To see whether the entries are coming from the account rather than the browser.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

Note: Please follow the steps in the forum documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.