OneDrive is so *%^$# confusing!

TomR1945 · Aug 31, 2023

Hello all.

I have been trying to move OneDrive out of C: because of limited space. I unlinked and restarted selecting D:\OneDrive as the new location. The app started and synced my files without difficulties. After checking everything, I have a few questions I am having trouble finding useful answers to.

1. Is it safe to delete the OneDrive folder in C:\users\name?
2. Why is there another onedrive(it is in lowercase) folder inside the newly relocated D:\OneDrive?
3. Is there a way to permanently remove the "Home" at the top of File Explorer; and with it, the redundant "Personal" copy of OneDrive(a shortcut I think)?
4 Has anyone found a "OneDrive For Dummies" that is easily understood?

Thank you for reading my post!

Tom R.

pparks1 · Aug 31, 2023

TomR1945 said:
Hello all.

I have been trying to move OneDrive out of C: because of limited space. I unlinked and restarted selecting D:\OneDrive as the new location. The app started and synced my files without difficulties. After checking everything, I have a few questions I am having trouble finding useful answers to.

1. Is it safe to delete the OneDrive folder in C:\users\name?
2. Why is there another onedrive(it is in lowercase) folder inside the newly relocated D:\OneDrive?
3. Is there a way to permanently remove the "Home" at the top of File Explorer; and with it, the redundant "Personal" copy of OneDrive(a shortcut I think)?
4 Has anyone found a "OneDrive For Dummies" that is easily understood?

Thank you for reading my post!

Tom R.

#1). I would rename the original folder, wait a week or so, and then you are probably save to delete it.

#2). When you created the OneDrive folder on D:\, you should have just said D:\. It will create a onedrive folder automatically. So, if you put in say D:\data, you would end up with D:\data\OneDrive.

#3). You could hit the collapse icon and then you couldn't see all of those duplicates

I've not seen a book for oneDrive. It wouldn't be very long if it did exist.

flashh4 · Aug 31, 2023

@TomR1945 ............ this is how i fixed all my problems with Onedrive !

Uninstall and Reinstall OneDrive in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to uninstall or reinstall OneDrive for only your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11. OneDrive is built-in to Windows 11 by default. With OneDrive, you can sync files and folders between your computer and the cloud, so you can get to your files from anywhere -...

www.elevenforum.com

But i didn't reinstall it !!

TomR1945 · Aug 31, 2023

Thank you for the suggestions, pparks1!

1. Great idea! I should have thought of it myself, but I didn't so thank you!!
2. I will move OneDrive to a different location and do as you suggest.
3. Don't see a "Collapse" icon. Wouldn't help as I would know it was still there.
4. Amazon has several ebooks, but nothing on my level of ignorance.

Tom R.

TomR1945 · Aug 31, 2023

flashh4 said:
But i didn't reinstall it !!

The ultimate solution to my problem!
Unfortunately not the answer I am looking for.

But I thank you for your reply.

Tom R.

pparks1 · Aug 31, 2023

flashh4 said:
@TomR1945 ............ this is how i fixed all my problems with Onedrive !

Uninstall and Reinstall OneDrive in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to uninstall or reinstall OneDrive for only your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11. OneDrive is built-in to Windows 11 by default. With OneDrive, you can sync files and folders between your computer and the cloud, so you can get to your files from anywhere -...

www.elevenforum.com

But i didn't reinstall it !!

that doesn't help anyone who actually would like to use OneDrive. I have used it for many years, and it has served me very well.

pparks1 · Aug 31, 2023

TomR1945 said:
Thank you for the suggestions, pparks1!

1. Great idea! I should have thought of it myself, but I didn't so thank you!!
2. I will move OneDrive to a different location and do as you suggest.
3. Don't see a "Collapse" icon. Wouldn't help as I would know it was still there.
4. Amazon has several ebooks, but nothing on my level of ignorance.

Tom R.

The collapse icon is the arrow next to home in explorer on the left. If you arrow is pointing like > , then you would only see Home and nothing flown out underneath it. Then you could just focus on the OneDrive link which will show underneath.

TomR1945 · Aug 31, 2023

The collapse icon is the arrow next to home in explorer on the left. If you arrow is pointing like > , then you would only see Home and nothing flown out underneath it. Then you could just focus on the OneDrive link which will show underneath.

pparks1 said:
View attachment 69536

OK, I see. The icon is there but there is nothing associated with it.
So, now I need to know if it is safe and possible to delete the "Tom - Personal folder.
And I would like to remove "Home" as well. Serves no purpose!

Tom R.

flashh4 · Aug 31, 2023

Why don't i follow PParks1 advice !

OneDrive does provide many conveniences for its users, but it also brings some inconveniences. Here is the list of OneDrive disadvantages:

Limited free cloud storage. OneDrive only offers 5GB of free cloud storage space; if you want more, you must pay. It offers various types of chargeable options.
Limited function. Compared with Google Drive and Dropbox, OneDrive has fewer features, such as third-party app integrations, and its limited file-sharing capabilities.
Weak data privacy. If you think highly of data privacy, OneDrive isn't a good choice because it is developed and managed by Microsoft. Even if your data is encrypted, Microsoft can get access to it.
Limited file sharing option. OneDrive doesn't allow data sharing between non-OneDrive users.
Limited file management feature. OneDrive lacks version control and file-locking features.
Special character limitations. If your file contains special characters, it can't be synced or backed up to the cloud.
Sync problem. The OneDrive may lose data during the synchronization and won't notice you when it happens.
File size limitation. You can't sync over 300,000 files at one time. If the synced file is more than 100,000, it warns of low performance.

So to each their own for using Onedrive !

pparks1 · Sep 1, 2023

flashh4 said:
Here is the list of OneDrive disadvantages:

Limited free cloud storage. OneDrive only offers 5GB of free cloud storage space; if you want more, you must pay. It offers various types of chargeable options.

I'm 100% fine with paying because;

I want Microsoft Office, so buying Office 365 Family makes sense. Gives 6 users access to all of office, (And we get Office for Mac as well as PC, and we have both Mac's and PC'.s) and gives each user 1TB of disk space. So, 6TB total. The price is $99.99 a year, but I get a work discount and thus get the family plan for $69.99 a year. Can you find a cloud provider that provides this much space for this low price? I'm pretty sure all of them are more expensive, I know that iCloud, Dropbox, and Google are more expensive for 1TB+...and they don't come with office. The way I look at it, I'm simply paying for OneDrive and get Office for free.

flashh4 said:
Weak data privacy. If you think highly of data privacy, OneDrive isn't a good choice because it is developed and managed by Microsoft. Even if your data is encrypted, Microsoft can get access to it.

Got facts to demonstrate the poor security of OneDrive over the years? This seems like a jab at Microsoft because they are Microsoft. I'm not sure how much better Google or Dropbox is at this game. Google and dropbox would also have your encrypted data too.

flashh4 said:
Limited file sharing option. OneDrive doesn't allow data sharing between non-OneDrive users.

Not true. You can share files and folders via a link that doesn't require any account to acces.

flashh4 said:
Limited file management feature. OneDrive lacks version control and file-locking features.

OneDrive has version control. Here is a spreadsheet that I modify often, I have previous versions I can go back to.

flashh4 said:
Special character limitations. If your file contains special characters, it can't be synced or backed up to the cloud.

The special characters that are not allowed in a file name/folder name are as follows, none of these impact me : " * : < > ? / \ |

flashh4 said:
Sync problem. The OneDrive may lose data during the synchronization and won't notice you when it happens.

I get prompts from OneDrive when it cannot sync a file to the cloud informing me that sync's didn't happen for some reason.

flashh4 said:
File size limitation. You can't sync over 300,000 files at one time. If the synced file is more than 100,000, it warns of low performance.

Luckily, i don't sync 300K files at a time to OneDrive. For me, it's a data file here or there, or pictures from my phone one after the other. So, this limitation isn't a big deal to me.

I was a dropbox user for years. But when it came time for me to get a copy of Microsoft Office for home use, looking around the Office 365 sub just made sense and I got a ton of OneDrive space. I cannot say that OneDrive is the absolute best application in the world for syncing from my machine to the cloud with the most features and functionality, but I have already paid for Office and get the space, so might as well use it. Honestly it has worked great for me.

And I don't store 100% of my files in OneDrive either. You aren't required to use it for super sensitive data. You can always store that elsewhere when security is a big concern.

FreeBooter · Sep 1, 2023

I have a batch script which can be used for managing OneDrive maybe it will be helpful to you.

Stigg · Sep 1, 2023

I'm a OneDrive fan, but it isn't straight forward when you want to change folders to sync.

This is a good tutorial for syncing any folder to OneDrive.

Sync Any Folder to OneDrive in Windows 10

How to Sync Any Folder to OneDrive in Windows 10

www.tenforums.com

TomR1945 · Sep 1, 2023

pparks1 said:
I'm 100% fine with paying because;

I want Microsoft Office, so buying Office 365 Family makes sense. Gives 6 users access to all of office, (And we get Office for Mac as well as PC, and we have both Mac's and PC'.s) and gives each user 1TB of disk space. So, 6TB total. The price is $99.99 a year, but I get a work discount and thus get the family plan for $69.99 a year. Can you find a cloud provider that provides this much space for this low price? I'm pretty sure all of them are more expensive, I know that iCloud, Dropbox, and Google are more expensive for 1TB+...and they don't come with office. The way I look at it, I'm simply paying for OneDrive and get Office for free.

Got facts to demonstrate the poor security of OneDrive over the years? This seems like a jab at Microsoft because they are Microsoft. I'm not sure how much better Google or Dropbox is at this game. Google and dropbox would also have your encrypted data too.

Not true. You can share files and folders via a link that doesn't require any account to acces.

OneDrive has version control. Here is a spreadsheet that I modify often, I have previous versions I can go back to.
View attachment 69546

The special characters that are not allowed in a file name/folder name are as follows, none of these impact me : " * : < > ? / \ |

I get prompts from OneDrive when it cannot sync a file to the cloud informing me that sync's didn't happen for some reason.

Luckily, i don't sync 300K files at a time to OneDrive. For me, it's a data file here or there, or pictures from my phone one after the other. So, this limitation isn't a big deal to me.

I was a dropbox user for years. But when it came time for me to get a copy of Microsoft Office for home use, looking around the Office 365 sub just made sense and I got a ton of OneDrive space. I cannot say that OneDrive is the absolute best application in the world for syncing from my machine to the cloud with the most features and functionality, but I have already paid for Office and get the space, so might as well use it. Honestly it has worked great for me.

And I don't store 100% of my files in OneDrive either. You aren't required to use it for super sensitive data. You can always store that elsewhere when security is a big concern.

I must agree with pparks1. Not on the technical issues but on the usefulness. I have used Dropbox, iCloud, Google's cloud service, and a few others. I like OneDrive even with all the issues. I use it as a complete backup for my data drive. I also use Microsoft Office 365. I have 2 TB storage and a little over 1 TB used.

With everyone's help, and the app suggestions, I was able to get OneDrive on D: and removed from C:.

I really appreciate everyone's help. As usual, elevenforun members came through and solved my problems!

Tom R.

flashh4 · Sep 1, 2023

@pparks, What's the deal with the constant OneDrive flame !?!?!? Hope your meds kick in soon !

Either use it or uninstall it! What's the big deal???

Scannerman · Sep 1, 2023

I use Windows Office 365 also and I like it. I've used it for a couple decades now. I'm not crazy about one drive. It can be annoying — especially after you use up the 1TB you get with Office. I shut it off after Win 11 filled it up but I did notice via Task Scheduler that it's still running in the background. I'm not going to mess with that in case there's something I need to pull from One Drive at some point. As long as I don't get anymore annoying push notices and it doesn't interfere with my other apps I'm okay with this. The last thing I want to do is trust Microsoft as being my sole source of backup material. In fact, I consider them a last resort. Still, it's good to have options. Ideally, I like to have three independant backups of each OS on my PC. So far, after "turning off" One Drive, it does not seem to have interfered with anything on Drive "C" so I'll leave it be for now. Of course, turning it off doesn't really mean I turned it off which is commonly the case with many Windows features.

Dru2 · Sep 1, 2023

flashh4 said:
Why don't i follow PParks1 advice !

OneDrive does provide many conveniences for its users, but it also brings some inconveniences. Here is the list of OneDrive disadvantages:

Limited free cloud storage. OneDrive only offers 5GB of free cloud storage space; if you want more, you must pay. It offers various types of chargeable options.

Limited function. Compared with Google Drive and Dropbox, OneDrive has fewer features, such as third-party app integrations, and its limited file-sharing capabilities.

Weak data privacy. If you think highly of data privacy, OneDrive isn't a good choice because it is developed and managed by Microsoft. Even if your data is encrypted, Microsoft can get access to it.

Limited file sharing option. OneDrive doesn't allow data sharing between non-OneDrive users.

Limited file management feature. OneDrive lacks version control and file-locking features.

Special character limitations. If your file contains special characters, it can't be synced or backed up to the cloud.

Sync problem. The OneDrive may lose data during the synchronization and won't notice you when it happens.

File size limitation. You can't sync over 300,000 files at one time. If the synced file is more than 100,000, it warns of low performance.

So to each their own for using Onedrive !

Yeah, cause they're supposed to give you unlimited free storage
I can't say... I've had Google Drop box for years, yet only use OneDrive
Proof? Link? Not some yahoo saying his sister's dog owner heard his hairdresser's friend at the smokehouse said OneDrive wasn't secure.
Ugh... first you decry weak security, now you complain it won't allow for unauthorized users
Special characters - Uh, isn't that the same for Microsoft's Explorer anyway???
I, and many others have been using OneDrive since was SkyDrive and NEVER EVER had sync issues.... unless there was a problem with the account itself. Just as they would happen with ANY sync program if there was an issue with the account.
300,000 files just a number so relevancy is important here as 300,000 could = 300 meg, 300 gig, or 300 terabytes.

Example - the whole of my OS drive is 371,000 files, yet that only equates to 128gig! Max file upload to OneDrive is 250gig.

Restrictions and limitations in OneDrive and SharePoint - Microsoft Support.

This just sounds like another excuse to bash OneDrive to me. Yes, it isn't perfect. Neither is Windows, or any service. Period.

SmokeMe · Sep 1, 2023

Thanks 4 all the tips guys.
Last night I got a notice that I was running out of space on my OneDrive so I decided to (remove files & ) UnSinc the Win11 Test laptop..
To my surprise it also removed all my .jpg images from a folder on the desktop... bummer.
Fortunately I had already copied them all to the Main Rig Test folder. The last ones didn't make it though for some reason?

LG gram Laptop MS Test_ 0aaaUnSinc To OneDrive_ 2DONEb.jpg

pparks1 · Sep 1, 2023

flashh4 said:
@pparks, What's the deal with the constant OneDrive flame !?!?!? Hope your meds kick in soon !

Either use it or uninstall it! What's the big deal???

I wasn't flaming you. You just brought out some statements that you considered to be disadvantages to the service which I commented on because many of them were either misunderstood or factually incorrect.

The OP here wanted to know how to make OneDrive work better for him and I gave him some advice. You came along and just essentially said....."I have a solution...don't use it, it's garbage" I would view that more as the flame rather than anything I said.

Good news, OP is happy and it's working as he would like. I'm happy as it works well for me.

pparks1 · Sep 1, 2023

SmokeMe said:
Thanks 4 all the tips guys.
Last night I got a notice that I was running out of space on my OneDrive so I decided to (remove files & ) UnSinc the Win11 Test laptop..
To my surprise it also removed all my .jpg images from a folder on the desktop... bummer.
Fortunately I had already copied them all to the Main Rig Test folder. The last ones didn't make it though for some reason?
View attachment 69609

The files would still be available in OneDrive in the cloud, and if deleted from there would be in the reycle bin in the cloud. You shouldn't have lost anything. You just lost access via the OneDrive app on your local computer.

Scannerman · Sep 1, 2023

pparks1 said:
I wasn't flaming you. You just brought out some statements that you considered to be disadvantages to the service which I commented on because many of them were either misunderstood or factually incorrect.

The OP here wanted to know how to make OneDrive work better for him and I gave him some advice. You came along and just essentially said....."I have a solution...don't use it, it's garbage" I would view that more as the flame rather than anything I said.

Good news, OP is happy and it's working as he would like. I'm happy as it works well for me.

I was thinking maybe flashh4 was experiencing a case of mistaken identity.

Perhaps flashh has better meds?