OneDrive messed up two PC's

I have my main PC, a Windows 11 desktop, and a Windows 11 laptop.

I recently decided to turn on Microsoft OneDrive cloud backup for my desktop. Everything seemed to be okay, until I turned on my laptop. Apparently, OneDrive attempted to sync my laptop with my desktop, something I definitely do not want. It installed desktop icon shortcuts on my laptop to programs that aren't even installed on the laptop. In fact, it filled the desktop with useless icons. I had to manually move everything around where I wanted it.

Then, I find that my desktop is attempting to mimic the laptop, removing all my neatly arranged icons and spreading them randomly across the desktop.

Syncing my desktop to the cloud is fine, but I DO NOT WANT any of these settings to be duplicated on the desktop. Being able to access files from any device in OneDrive is fine, but the two computers do not share any programs, and I don't want them to look alike. The exception is the bookmarks in Microsoft Edge being synchronized, that's fine.

Can someone guide me through the proper OneDrive settings to accomplish this?

Hi, welcome.

You’re using the same Microsoft Account for the Desktop & Laptop?

Microsoft OneDrive syncs per Account not per device. I don’t believe you can specify or isolate one device from another with OneDrive when using one Microsoft Account. Probably not without some kind of manipulation. Someone else will direct you if there is a way. Possibly glasskuter or Gary

Turn off syncing/backup for the desktop.

In the tutorial do Option 2 steps 5a and 5b for the Desktop folder. You will see this. You should do this on both computers. Turn off the second computer while working on the first.


Then go down to step G. You will see this
G) When you stop backing up a folder, the files that were already backed up by OneDrive (cloud) stay in your account's OneDrive folder on your PC, and will no longer appear in the folders in your account's profile folder.

In the folder that you stopped backing up, you’ll see an icon titled Where are my files that’s a shortcut to your folders in OneDrive. To access your files, click/tap on the shortcut to open the folder in OneDrive.

If you want those files back in your device folder and not in OneDrive, move them manually from the OneDrive folder back to your device folder.
Note that any new files you add to that folder on your device won't be backed up by OneDrive after you stop the backup.

To move the files, click/tap on the Where are my files shortcut to open the folder in OneDrive, then select the files that you want to move to your device folder, and drag and drop them to that location.
NOTE: Since you are dealing with 2 computers I suggest on the first computer your COPY the files so they will remain in ondrive . Then on the second computer you MOVE them.

Trying to turn off which folders to sync. They are all greyed out and I can't turn them off.

EDIT: I got the Sync Desktop option turned off. Now all my desktop icons have disappeared.

It won't let you make any changes unless you are signed on and OneDrive is running. Meantime it's destroying my desktop.

I've used OneDrive for over 15 years on multiple computers. Understand that anything that is in the OneDrive folder is kept in real-time sync across all computers.

Any file or folder that you don't want kept in sync must not be kept in the OneDrive folder. The desktop is simply a folder.

First of all, be sure that you turn OFF the Microsoft backup "feature" on all computers as that simply copies your local folders over to the OneDrive folder. I absolutely do NOT want that and neither do you.

I've never kept icons on my desktop, so I've never had a desktop icon sync problem, but if I did, I would move the desktop folder on each computer from the OneDrive folder back to the local folder.

c:/users/gary/onedrive/desktop
to
c:/users/gary/deskttop

That way each computer would be in total control of its own desktop, and you wouldn't be mixing desktop icons on computers.

KenR70 said:

Trying to turn off which folders to sync. They are all greyed out and I can't turn them off.

Click to expand...

It tries to resist when trying to un-sync desktop. It took me several months to finally disable that.
Make sure to use Windows Settings to change folders, not OneDrive settings, they are ignored.

You need to watch this excellent video to understand what's happening and how to fix it.

Leo's video is a good one and he explains it as well as it can be explained.....for anyone who knows an inkling about Onedrive in the first place.
Sadly, not 1 in 100 have that inkling so IMO the other 99 can view the video 10 times and still come away from it more confused than ever.
Everything he says in the video is exactly what Brink's tutorial says to do.

My thanks to Gary, glasskuter, and all who responded.

I did watch the video linked in post #8, and followed it. I turned off desktop syncing, and manually moved all my desktop icons back to where I wanted them. However, a couple of the moved icons still retain the white circle with the green check mark. Hopefully, I'm about done with this mess.

When Microsoft complicated everything with their "feature backup" they caused a lot of headaches. What Microsoft did was not very well thought out.