Problem with OneDrive


ordnance1

New member
Local time
9:54 AM
Posts
13
OS
Windows 11
I have a folder that has been shared with me. I have edit rights. I go to Shared and Shared with me, select the folder then click on Add Shortcut to My Files. Instead of adding the folder to my Windows File Explorer it adds it to my OneDrive My Files. This is on a MS Surface running Windows 11.

Any thought on what the issue might be?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Yes, it is an irksome thing that Windows 11 now sets the location of user folders to Onedrive by default instead of locating these user folders on your local hard drive.
You can prove this is so by going to file explorer, right click on one of your personal folders (ex:documents or desktop), select properties. Observe the location.
To get this folders to be saved on your computer takes a little work.

1. Unlink PC from Onedrive In task tray, click Onedrive icon. Click gear icon to get into Onedrive Settings. Under Account tab, select "Unlink this PC"

NOTE 1: If you do not want to use Onedrive at all and do not want to be nagged with popups about setting up onedrive also under Settings tab - Uncheck start Onedrive automatically.
ATTENTION Note 2: If after you get your folders moved back to you hard drive
you can go back into onedrive settings, check this box again, go to the sync tab and choose what folders you want to sync to onedrive.

You first need to decide if you want your user files saved in their default location on C: drive OR if you want them saved to another location such as a second storage drive in your computer. If you choose the default location use the following steps. (If you choose to move your personal files to another location see instruction at end of this post.)

TO CHANGE LOCATION OF PERSONAL FOLDERS BACK TO DEFAULT LOCATION ON C: DRIVE

2. Browse to your user account C:\users\yourusername. Make sure there are folders there named

Desktop

Documents

Downloads

Music

Pictures

Videos

If these folders do not exist, you will need to create them.

Then use the following tutorials to move your files to their default location on your C: drive. In each of these tutorials I suggest you use Brink's Option 3 (.bat file method) to accomplish the task.







---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOW TO CHANGE LOCATION OF PERSONAL FOLDER TO A NEW STORAGE LOCATION SUCH AS A SECONDARY DRIVE
  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Click on This PC from the left pane.
  3. Navigate to your storage drive
  4. Create new folders named Documents, Desktop, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos
Browse back to your user folder C:\users\yourusername

Right-click the folder you want to move and select the Properties options.

Click the Location tab.

Click the Move button and select the newly created folder under the target drive.

Click the Select Folder button. In the explorer window that pops up, browse to the drive where you created the folders and select the newly created equivalent folder to the folder you are moving. Click Select Folder, Click Move. OK or Apply and you'll see a prompt asking whether you want to move files from the existing folder to the new location. In general, you should say yes

Repeat this process for any other folders you want to move to your secondary drive.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
I agree with everything glasskuter has written but would like to add:-

Then double-check by running RegEdit [C:\Windows\regedit.exe] & making sure that no references to OneDrive remain in any of the folder paths shown in these Keys
{You can just paste these Key addresses into RegEdit's address bar to get straight to them.
First - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
Then - HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders


All the best,
Denis
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
I have a related but slightly different OneDrive issue. On setting up my new computer (last week) I copied all my data files (hundreds of them!) to the new computer using a USB flashdrive which was the old computer's backup. I did not put them in OneDrive; I put them on the C: drive, and that's where they are. (I don't want to use OneDrive, because I don't trust "the cloud".) But one folder that I copied consists of shortcuts to all my files, and Windows 11 has changed all the shortcuts so they now point to my OneDrive, which is empty. So now the shortcuts don't work!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
@Dragon Drop Maybe someone else knows of a way to do it in bulk, but the only way I would know how to fix that would be to manually change the target path of each shortcut OR delete the bad shortcuts and create a new ones. To manually change the path right click on shortcut, select properties, alter the target, OK
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Yes, it is an irksome thing that Windows 11 now sets the location of user folders to Onedrive by default instead of locating these user folders on your local hard drive.
You can prove this is so by going to file explorer, right click on one of your personal folders (ex:documents or desktop), select properties. Observe the location.
And of course, if you are a OneDrive user as I am, this isn't irksome at all. Quite the opposite, it's exactly the behavior you want! :wink:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 15 9510 OLED
    CPU
    11th Gen i9 -11900H
    Memory
    32 GB 3200 MHz DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3050Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" OLED Infinity Edge Touch
    Screen Resolution
    16:10 Aspect Ratio (3456 x 2160)
    Hard Drives
    1 Terabyte M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
    2 Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB Type-C™)
    1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB Type-C™)
    SD Card Reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC)
    Internet Speed
    900 Mbps Netgear Orbi + 2 Satellites
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge (Chromium) + Bing
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
    Other Info
    Microsoft 365 subscription
    Microsoft OneDrive 1TB Cloud
    Microsoft Outlook
    Microsoft OneNote
    Microsoft PowerToys
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    Microsoft Visual Studio Code
    Macrium Reflect
    Dell Support Assist
    Dell Command | Update
    LastPass Password Manager
    Amazon Kindle
    Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation
    Lightroom/Photoshop subscription
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Tablet
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    i5
    Memory
    8 GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD
    Internet Speed
    900 Mbps Netgear Orbi + 2 Satellites
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge (Chromium) + Bing
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
    Other Info
    Microsoft 365 subscription (Office)
    Microsoft OneDrive 1TB Cloud
    Microsoft Outlook
    Microsoft OneNote
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    Amazon Kindle
    Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation
    Lightroom/Photoshop subscription
After I make sure all my files are where I want them, how do I remove the OneDrive folder from my "user" folder? It will delete but pops right back in two seconds? Any ideas?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    dell xps 8950

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
I have a related but slightly different OneDrive issue. On setting up my new computer (last week) I copied all my data files (hundreds of them!) to the new computer using a USB flashdrive which was the old computer's backup. I did not put them in OneDrive; I put them on the C: drive, and that's where they are. (I don't want to use OneDrive, because I don't trust "the cloud".) But one folder that I copied consists of shortcuts to all my files, and Windows 11 has changed all the shortcuts so they now point to my OneDrive, which is empty. So now the shortcuts don't work!
What do you not trust about the Cloud? Onedrive is supported and maintained by one of the world's largest companies with full backup infrastructures.

Even your home pc will not be as well protected as onedrive servers.

Of course, the conspiracy theory brigade will always claim "They are out to get you." LOL.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
What do you not trust about the Cloud?
There are other reasons one may not choose to use Onedrive, none which have anything at all to do with trust.
We live in rural areas and do not have instant internet like a lot of people. We have slow and/or undependable internet service. There would times we could not access our data.
Some internet providers allow only so much bandwidth a month. If one goes over his allowance, he pays out the gazoo for it.
We have more data than we do onedrive storage. We're not all 365 users with all that storage unless we pay for it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Thanks for the reply. I tried the second .reg fix suggested by glasskuter. However, the folder is still there in my "Users" folder, it will delete but it pops right back in there. It really doesn't bother anything. I'll keep my eye on it and make sure files are not being moved there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    dell xps 8950
the folder is still there in my "Users" folder, it will delete but it pops right back in there.
Then this indicates that onedrive is not completely disabled. Did you go through the entire procedure for disabling onedrive and moving your folders.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Specifically, which procedure are you referring to? I have tried so many things, I can't recall what I have done. I finally have my files where I want them now and I just have other things to do.
Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    dell xps 8950
After I make sure all my files are where I want them, how do I remove the OneDrive folder from my "user" folder? It will delete but pops right back in two seconds? Any idea to
From my experience you may need to move/save your files specifically to "This PC - Windows (C:) - Users - Username - Document" This location does not sync with OneDrive unless you configure it to. I know mine doesn't. I created a file and selected to save to This PC but it didn't save to This PC - Windows (C:) - Users - Username - Document. It only saves to Home - Documents which in my case is mapped to OneDrive. Maybe remap your Documents under Home to your local folder under the C drive. If you have Pictures, Videos and music I believe you need to map each folder individually to save on your local machine. Delete the OneDrive folder from your C drive. You can also log into your machine as local and not with a Microsoft account.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win11 22623.891
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel R Core TM i7 - 1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel R Iris R Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek R Audio, Intel Smart Sound
    Hard Drives
    C
    Browser
    Google
    Antivirus
    Windows Security/Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Downloaded MSEdgeRedirect
I thought that I performed every procedure described above but I can't be sure what I have or have not done. I am going to conduct a few tests to see where my system really stands. It has certainly been annoying. To the best of knowledge, this all reared it's ugly head within the past several months. More than likely with some up date to Win11. I have never used OneDrive and I have it unlinked on this machine. What I did find is that after opening Word2013/Excel2013 , the SaveAs option still offers to save a file to the OneDrive path. The recent files still point to the OneDrive path but I was able to find the same files in the c:>users:>myname:>Documents folder. So apparently I had moved/copied things between these folders before.
What a mess. I spend more time fooling with this than I do on productive things....
I sure appreciate all the suggestions here.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    dell xps 8950
There are other reasons one may not choose to use Onedrive, none which have anything at all to do with trust.
We live in rural areas and do not have instant internet like a lot of people. We have slow and/or undependable internet service. There would times we could not access our data.
Some internet providers allow only so much bandwidth a month. If one goes over his allowance, he pays out the gazoo for it.
We have more data than we do onedrive storage. We're not all 365 users with all that storage unless we pay for it.
Sure but the OP specifically stated as follows:

Quote: I don't want to use OneDrive, because I don't trust "the cloud"
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0

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