Windows 10: Deleting OneDrive nuked all PC files?!

I'm on Windows 10 Home, most recent releaseToday I finally got sick of looking at the odd grayed out file in explorer, leftover from when I used OneDrive on my PC. Attempts to delete them got some cloud connection error becuase OneDrive was signed out and inactive. The onedrive folder had a few unwanted files, so I decided to wipe out all the subfolders in the onedrive folder then uninstall the app and get this eyesore out of my file explorer. Now all the files on my PC that were saved locally are wiped out. Not a trace. When I go to any of the quick access panes in file explorer, despite clea

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Delete files from OneDrive

If I delete my files in OneDrive, will it automatically delete them from my PC? - Quora so,yes and no ... suggest read all the comments in link

 

OneDrive keeps uploading files I've deleted

Hello! AmericanGrimoire

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community

It's possible that OneDrive is still syncing the deleted files from your desktop to the cloud. Allow me to ask:

• Are you using OneDrive for Personal? or OneDrive for Business?
  
• Can you still see the deleted folder in Your request has been blocked. This could be due to several reasons. ? If you are I would suggest deleting it in the OneDrive.com since this is the cloud server of OneDrive.
  
• I would like to know what @domain and who is hosting your email account? example for @domains: Gmail.com, Yahoo.com, Outlook.com/Hotmail.com
  
  • May I know if the account is for Work/School use? or Personal (Hotmail/Outlook.com) use?
    

To stop this, you can try the following steps:



1. Pause OneDrive syncing: Right-click on the OneDrive icon in the system tray and select "Pause syncing". This will stop OneDrive from uploading any new files.



2. Clear OneDrive cache: Open the Run dialog box by pressing the Windows key + R, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset, and press Enter. This will clear the OneDrive cache and reset the app.



3. Unlink and relink OneDrive: Right-click on the OneDrive icon in the system tray and select "Settings". Go to the "Account" tab and click "Unlink this PC". Then, sign in to your Microsoft account and relink your PC to OneDrive. Unlink and re-link OneDrive - Microsoft Support

Note: No data will be lost by unlinking and re-linking your OneDrive, your local folders are just disconnected from the cloud for a short while. Any changes made while you're unlinked will be synced once re-linking is complete.



4. Exclude the folder from syncing: If the above steps don't work, you can exclude the folder from syncing by right-clicking on the OneDrive icon in the system tray, selecting "Settings", going to the "Account" tab, clicking "Choose folders", and unchecking the folder you don't want to sync.



I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank you,

Vince

Microsoft Community Moderator

 

How To Delete All OneDrive Files Without deleting Original Files on PC

I will to thank you all for the prompt and valuable help you have given me. This issue has now been solved. I have disabled OneDrive, restored my files to the original locations and deleted all OneDrive files online.

Palcouk Thank you for the warning about potential data loss. This encouraged me to make backups and proceed with caution.

LuizScruz The YouTube video and advice was very helpful.

CraigLong Yes turning off OneDrive Sync was the "key" to getting the libraries back to their original location

Ramesh Srinivasan Thank you for the good advice about making a backup and explaining the other important steps.

I have had OneDrive on my pc for many years without any problems. Then a few days ago I received a Windows message saying that to finish setting up windows, do you want to use OneDrive with the suggested default settings. I wish they hadn't done that. One doesn't learn how to swim by jumping in at the deep end. I was too hasty in clicking "OK" and that's when my nightmare began. I noticed that all my Viber images got deleted (fortunately I was able to restore them from a backup). Then I started seeing the cloud icons in my libraries suggesting that some of my files were on OneDrive and some on my PC. This got me totally confused. I did not want any of my sensitive files stored in the cloud. When I tried to delete files from the OneDrive Folder I got warning messages that my personal files would be permanently deleted; this caused more anxiety. It has taken me many hours getting things back to the way they were before.

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Thanks to help from the forum, I have solved the problem. As a summary, in case anyone else has a similar problem here were the steps I needed to take.

1- Open OneDrive settings by right clicking the OneDrive icon in the system tray and select the gear wheel. In the /settings tab/ uncheck the option "Files on demand, save space and download files as you use them". Click OK and wait until all files have been downloaded to the computer.

2- Copy all the contents of the OneDrive Folder (C:\Users\User Name\OneDrive) to an external backup drive.

3- In OneDrive Settings/Backup tab/Manage Backup/ Uncheck Desktop/Documents/Pictures etc.

4- Using copy and paste, manually copy all the files Desktop/Documents/Pictures etc. from the OneDrive folder (C:\Users\User Name\OneDrive) to the default location (C:\Users\User Name). Then delete the files in OneDrive to save space.

5- You may get a message asking if you wish to delete the files in OneDrive online. Click OK if you wish or manually sign in to OneDrive online and delete from there.

6- Optional: In OneDrive settings go to the account tab/Unlink this PC to disable OneDrive.

Kind regards

Chris