Nightmare after Windows 11 update

Last night - 2025/05/13 - my Windows 11 PC was running fine, except that a file backup I ran using EaseUs Todo backup failed to complete.
Then, this morning, when I booted up (from power off) my PC, there was some setting up to do. I figured that a major update had been installed while my PC was running for the backup.
After the setup, I was unable to log into my computer using facial recognition - using a Logitech Brio webcam. It had been working fine before the update.
So I tried to update the drivers for the camera, but was informed that the latest driver was already installed, but I chose to check Windows updates anyway.

When I checked for updates, there were updates to be downloaded and installed. I chose to install all updates.
After the system rebooted, it froze at 38%, then that blasted message "Something didn't go right, but don't worry..." The update was rolled back and I was able to log back into my computer - but not using facial recognition. The camera's red light never comes on.
I updated the Logitech app, but it could not find the camera.
At this point, I am certain that there was no hardware change with the camera. I did not touch any of the cables.

Then the real nightmare began:
I was unable to find my Documents folder on my local drive. Then I found it under Onedrive.
It appears that Microsoft moved my documents to Onedrive without my permission or knowledge.

One thing you should know: I converted Windows 11's partition from MBR to GPT so that I could install the 24H2 update. Prior to that, I was running 23H2.
I have had the same problem with Windows updates before - immediately after converting to GPT partition.

I did an in-place reinstall of Windows 11. That seemed to fix a couple of minor problems, and allowed the updates to install - until last night.

I am at my wits end, very frustrated.
My next move will be to do a clean reinstall of the latest version of Windows 11 - which I will download and install on a USB flash drive to install directly from bootup.

I did read that the latest update broke some webcams, but about moving my documents folder to Onedrive without my consent? I haven't been using Onedrive, and honestly don't want to ever use an online data storage solution. I don't need it; I am a personal user and have plenty of local off-line storage I can connect when I want to do a backup.

I suppose that there is a statement in the EULA that gives Microsoft permission to back up your files to Onedrive, but doing it without permission or even my knowledge is something else.
I want to completely turn off Onedrive, but I am sure it will be restored during the next update, so I am simply going to rename my documents folder to something Windows does not recognize, so it won't try to back up the files to Onedrive - that is, unless it goes into the folders and finds all of the .docx files in there, and assumes that these folders are my documents.

On the bright side, I have a Lenovo laptop that seems to be running fine.

My system specs:

Device name Asus-Win11
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core Processor 3.60 GHz on ASUS Tuf Gaming X570 Plus WiFi
Installed RAM 32.0 GB
Device ID C36DE4CD-5B08-4909-9D9F-92D392A875CD
Product ID 00330-80000-00000-AA419
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Pen and touch Touch support with 2 touch points


Edition Windows 11 Pro
Version 24H2
Installed on ‎2025-‎04-‎28
OS build 26100.3775
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.66.0


Thanks for your help
Ultrarunner22

you can use a rufus made USB boot drive to upgrade the system from safe mode.
it maybe worth considering before a clean install is attempted.

best of luck, Steve ..

Thanks Steve;
I guess I am kind of in panic mode right now, so not thinking too well. When I did the in-place re-install, I don't think I booted into safe mode.
When I make my USB boot drive, should I use the Windows .iso file or the setup.exe files? Last time I used setup on an NTFS formatted USB thumbdrive.

It's very annoying that Microsoft breaks things when they push their updates. If there is a way to prevent feature updates but accept security updates, I will be doing that in the future.
Specifically, moving my Documents folder to Onedrive. These files weren't actually moved to the cloud; they were in the Onedrive folder in my User folder.

yes, use the Windows 24H2 ISO and then use rufus to burn the ISO to the USB drive.
rufus will do all thats needed automatically, just let rufus handle the burn.
safe mode supports USB so you just need to go to the setup.exe file on the USB drive.

when starting in safe mode do so without a network connection. ie. no internet.
updates can be done afterwards. you may have to wait for the network checks to time out.
then its just a matter of following the yellow brick road for the system to upgrade.

as always please make sure your data is backed up before upgrading.
best of luck, Steve ..

Can you revert to one of your EaseUs Todo backups, change the long-on to a normal password then try an update again?
In future you disable windows updates and only enable them after you have taken a backup image.

A tip: I try not doing computer things like backups or program installs during Patch Tuesday or couple three days later, avoids potential conflicts.

Ultrarunner22 said:

I want to completely turn off Onedrive, but I am sure it will be restored during the next update, so I am simply going to rename my documents folder to something Windows does not recognize, so it won't try to back up the files to Onedrive -

Click to expand...

PROPER sequence of events to get rid of ONEDRIVE

1. You first have to turn off backup folder syncing. This tutorial tells you how and also how to get your files onto your local drive.
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/turn-on-or-off-onedrive-folder-backup-syncing-across-windows-11-devices.4321/

NOTE: ONLY IF FOLDERS DO NOT MOVE TO DEFAULT LOCATION IN STEP 1 ABOVE DO THIS

If this happens, then you could try option three in the tutorials below to restore the default folder location and move your files manually from Onedrive into the folders..

• Move or Restore Default Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 11
• Move or Restore Default Location of Documents Folder in Windows 11 Tutorial
• Move or Restore Default Location of Pictures Folder in Windows 11
• Move or Restore Default Location of Videos Folder in Windows 11

2. Then you have to unlink account & PC from onedrive.
Unlink Account and PC from OneDrive in Windows 11

Once you do this the files you have in onedrive will remain there until you login to Onedrive on the Web and delete them.
Microsoft OneDrive

3. You can then either uninstall Onedrive or disable it. I prefer to disable it. Open Task Manager>Startup Apps
Find Onedrive in the list and, right click on it, select disable. This prevents Onedrive from auto-starting.

4. If you want to uninstall it instead, the best way is to use Revo Uninstaller Freeware Portable. You’ll find Onedrive under the Windows Apps section. Be sure to scan for and delete any leftover files and registry entries Revo finds. Download Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Free and Full Download

5. You can also use option 1 in this tutorial to uninstall it. It will leave a few registry entries behind though. Uninstall and Reinstall OneDrive in Windows 11

Thanks guys;
I am feeling better now that I have done my shopping and eaten lunch.
Interesting note: I left my computer running but logged out while I was out. When I came back to it, I wiggled the mouse, and the red led on the camera turned on, and I was logged in using facial recognition. Magic?

While I was in panic mode, I simply copied the documents folder from the Onedrive folder in File Explorer to my D: drive where it belongs.
Turns out that the Documents folder was still on my local system, in my user folder under Onedrive.
That said, if I hadn't been in Windows File Explorer, I don't think I would have been able to open any of my documents in MS 365 Word, but I never got that far.
Patch Tuesday? I never knew there was such a thing. I never paid much attention to Windows Updates unless something went wrong.
I do keep regular backups, but will take a snapshot before allowing any Windows Updates.
I paused updates for 7 days for now.

I think I did turn off syncing with onedrive. I right-clicked the onedrive icon in the taskbar, and selected turn off syncing, then quit onedrive.
After that, I uninstalled onedrive. Maybe not the best method, but I was really pissed.
I really hate that you can set up YOUR computer the way YOU like it, have everything working, only to be broken by an automatic Windows update.
I am just a personal user; imagine the nightmares that corporate users have? I guess that's why they have an IT department that handles such things.

I'm going to go through the links provided by glasscuter. Then I am going to do a full file and then a partition backup.
I'll also download and burn the iso file in case I need to reinstall Windows.

I checked the Event Viewer, but there was only one error in the Windows Update Client folder.

Log Name: Microsoft-Windows-WindowsUpdateClient/Operational
Source: Microsoft-Windows-WindowsUpdateClient
Date: 2025-05-13 22:07:25
Event ID: 25
Task Category: Windows Update Agent
Level: Error
Keywords: Failure,Check for Updates
User: SYSTEM
Computer: Asus-Win11
Description:
Windows Update failed to check for updates with error 0x80244022.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-WindowsUpdateClient" Guid="{945a8954-c147-4acd-923f-40c45405a658}" />
<EventID>25</EventID>
<Version>1</Version>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>1</Task>
<Opcode>11</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x4000000000000022</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2025-05-14T02:07:25.0861473Z" />
<EventRecordID>972</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="19956" ThreadID="16696" />
<Channel>Microsoft-Windows-WindowsUpdateClient/Operational</Channel>
<Computer>Asus-Win11</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="errorCode">0x80244022</Data>
<Data Name="serviceGuid">{855e8a7c-ecb4-4ca3-b045-1dfa50104289}</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

Thanks for your help!

Ultrarunner22 said:

to open any of my documents in MS 365 Word

Click to expand...

The apps in Ofc365 automatically save to Onedrive. If you do not want that, you have to change the default save location. Auto-save will work for files stored in the cloud. For locally saved files auto-save will not work.
Open word doc>select file>select options in left column>select save>tick box "save to computer by default" OK.

Do the same thing in Excel if you use Excel.

glasskuter said:

The apps in Ofc365 automatically save to Onedrive. If you do not want that, you have to change the default save location. Auto-save will work for files stored in the cloud. For locally saved files auto-save will not work.
Open word doc>select file>select options in left column>select save>tick box "save to computer by default" OK.

Do the same thing in Excel if you use Excel.

Click to expand...

OneDrive as been banned from my computer, so no problem.

Since I already uninstalled Onedrive, I am reinstalling MS 365 so that I can access Onedrive again, and do things properly.
I may still be able to keep it, but won't sync anything unless I plan to use it from another computer. That said, I use Scrivener 3.x for Windows as my main writing app, and it doesn't work will with Onedrive; works better with Dropbox, but I gave up on it as well, after it became unreliable. I think that Dropbox wants everyone to convert to a paid subscription, and I'm not going to do that, since I already pay for MS 365 and get Onedrive with it.
I'm happy that the Windows update didn't mess with my Scrivener files, but it went so far as to change the shortcuts to a couple of .bat files I have to open multiple .pdf files in Acrobat Reader. It caused the shortcut to point to the Onedrive folder in my user folder.

Maybe I need to read the windows EULA to know whether what MS does is even legal!

gunrunnerjohn said:

OneDrive as been banned from my computer, so no problem.

Click to expand...

Same here.

i also have onedrive removed from my system.
i treat onedrive more like dropbox, if and when i need it. which isn't often.

i assume the upgrade went all right.
best of luck, Steve ..

I've used OneDrive for the past 16 years and it's an integral part of my backup strategy. I have 1 Terabyte of cloud OneDrive included in my Microsoft 365 subscription.

If I need a large backup drive, I will buy a NAS. I would much rather have all my data at home.

I'm really liking the Revo Uninstaller. Do you think it's worth buying the Pro version?
It's a much safer method of removing leftover program bits than the registry editor.

TraderGary said:

I've used OneDrive for the past 16 years and it's an integral part of my backup strategy. I have 1 Terabyte of cloud OneDrive included in my Microsoft 365 subscription.

Click to expand...

I refuse to get sucked into subscription software unless there's no other option. The stuff I do with Office applications is more than sufficiently served with Office 2010, so I continue to use that. My data is backed up locally in several layers, and critical data is on MEGA, I have a 50GB account there. That is sufficient for my needs.

Ultrarunner22 said:

If I need a large backup drive, I will buy a NAS. I would much rather have all my data at home.

Click to expand...

Ditto. I have a NAS in the basement that I've put in a makeshift cinderblock enclosure. That should protect it from most things falling on it or fire. Since I have sprinklers as well as a central alarm, the risk of a major fire is pretty remote. Floods are a non-issue where my house is. I also have two 4TB USB SSD drives that I alternate every week for a complete backup and then take off-line. Finally, I have automated backups to the NAS and two separate physical SSD drives in my computer that run on a daily or weekly schedule, depending on the data source.

I like the NAS concept. I have never had any luck with Windows networking, and sometimes want to share files between my desktop and my laptop.
I had been using Dropbox, but when it became unreliable, I stopped using it.
For now, I have reverted to the 'sneaker net' using a thumb drive. It's not very convenient though. I think a NAS would work nicely.
I have an old computer that I have Ubuntu installed on. Perhaps I can convert that box into a NAS, with some added storage.
The only problem with that box is that it will consume a lot more power than a NAS, and I am kind of an environmentalist, so I try to keep power consumption to a minimum.

I guess I'll stick with the free version of Revo Uninstaller, since it's not something I need every day.
I do keep a sub to MS 365, but when they upped the price from $69 to $99 and added AI, I chose to stick with the Classic version for $69. I don't need AI in MS Office. I don't know what the AI does, but I have been coding (or scripting) macros for a long time without any help.

Ultrarunner22 said:

I like the NAS concept. I have never had any luck with Windows networking, and sometimes want to share files between my desktop and my laptop.
I had been using Dropbox, but when it became unreliable, I stopped using it.
For now, I have reverted to the 'sneaker net' using a thumb drive. It's not very convenient though. I think a NAS would work nicely.
I have an old computer that I have Ubuntu installed on. Perhaps I can convert that box into a NAS, with some added storage.
The only problem with that box is that it will consume a lot more power than a NAS, and I am kind of an environmentalist, so I try to keep power consumption to a minimum.

Click to expand...

You can pick up a lower end 2-bay Synology NAS for less than $200 without the drives, just pick the drives the size you like and you're off to the races. A few months ago I bought two 8.5TB drives for my NAS for around $250 to upgrade from the 3TB drives it had been running for a few years. So, for about $400 you have a NAS with 8TB of mirrored data. Add an external USB drive to the NAS and you have a separate backup in NTFS format that you can disconnect and read anywhere.