one drive not connecting

Gordon Carey 0 Reputation points
2026-09-11T11:12:07.3433333+00:00

signing in goes round and round open folder and the other icons at bottom view online and recycle bin all gray

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | Other | Windows
0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest

  1. AI answer

    2026-09-11T11:12:22.23+00:00

    A gray OneDrive icon with a line through it means OneDrive is not signed in, or setup has not completed. The spinning sign-in behavior and grayed-out options such as Open folder, View online, and Recycle bin fit that state.

    Try these steps in order:

    1. Select the gray OneDrive icon.
    2. On the Set up OneDrive screen, enter the account email address and password again.
    3. If the app says OneDrive is not connected, restart OneDrive:
      • Open Start and search for OneDrive.
      • Launch the OneDrive desktop app again.
    4. Make sure the latest version of OneDrive is installed. If needed, install it from Download.
    5. Verify the account credentials by signing in to the Microsoft Account dashboard. If the password is not accepted, use the sign-in helper.
    6. If sign-in still loops, check whether a firewall, VPN, or the internet provider is blocking OneDrive. A quick test is to connect through a mobile hotspot instead of the current network.
    7. If this is a work or school account and the sign-in page shows errors like:
      • Selected user account does not exist in tenant 'Microsoft Services'
      • cannot access the application '00000003-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000' then a personal Microsoft account is being used for a work or school OneDrive site. Sign in with the work or school Entra ID instead.
    8. If using the correct work or school account and it still fails, reset the password or contact the organization’s IT admin.

    If OneDrive opens but files later show “OneDrive cannot connect to Windows”, update Windows, install the latest OneDrive version, and restart the PC.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

  2. Jhun Buala 5,535 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-11T12:13:19.34+00:00

    Hi Gordon,

    Since OneDrive keeps looping during sign-in and the options are grayed out, let's reset the OneDrive app first.

    1. Quit OneDrive. Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon near the clock and select Quit OneDrive.
    2. Reset OneDrive. Press Windows + R, paste this command, and press Enter: %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe /reset
    3. Start OneDrive again. Wait a few minutes. If it doesn't start automatically, press Windows + R and enter: %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe
    4. Sign in again. Try signing in and check if Open folder, View online, and Recycle bin are no longer grayed out.

    If the sign-in still goes around in circles, the next step would be to check the Windows/Microsoft account sign-in credentials rather than resetting OneDrive again.

    Regards,
    Jhun

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.