Windows 10: How do I restore all my files and folders to their original locations from a onedrive back up?

I have tried all sorts and looked at loads of threads on the Microsoft website and on reddit, but I am still struggling. How do I restore all my files to their original locations from onedrive? Is this even possible or do I have to manually download the back up from the onedrive website or app and then do all the moving of files and folders myself? Currently downloading a zip file from the onedrive website and that is taking forever, and when I tried to do it through the app loads of stuff didn't download. Any help would be much appreciated.

:)

 

How to restore original Documents folder (not Onedrive's) if I had not enough space in onedrive?

It sounds like your Documents folder may have been synced to OneDrive at some point, and now your computer is configured to use the OneDrive version of the folder instead of the local version.

To restore the original Documents folder on your computer, you will need to unsync or unlink the Documents folder from OneDrive. Here are the steps to do this:

1. Open the OneDrive settings by right-clicking on the OneDrive icon in the system tray and selecting "Settings".
   
2. Go to the "Account" tab and click on "Unlink this PC".
   
3. Confirm that you want to unlink the PC from OneDrive.
   
4. After unlinking, OneDrive will ask you if you want to keep a copy of the files on your PC or remove them. Choose to keep a copy of the files on your PC.
   
5. OneDrive will then start to remove the sync relationship with your Documents folder. This may take some time depending on how many files you have in the folder and your internet connection speed.
   

Once the sync relationship has been removed, you should be able to access the local version of the Documents folder on your computer. You can then configure your computer to use the local version of the folder instead of the OneDrive version by following these steps:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the OneDrive folder on your computer.
   
2. Right-click on the Documents folder and select "Properties".
   
3. In the "Location" tab, click on the "Move" button.
   
4. Choose a location for the local version of your Documents folder (e.g. C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents).
   
5. Click on "Apply" and confirm that you want to move the files from the old location to the new location.
   
6. After the files have been moved, your computer should start using the local version of the Documents folder instead of the OneDrive version.
   

I hope this helps you restore your Documents folder to its original state!

Do let me know if you need further assistance.

 

restoring a deleted file or folder to a different location

I've been caught numerous times by "implied" questions. No more.

If you're lucky then the folder is still available in the Recycle Bin. You can restore it from there, but only to the original location. You should now do this:

1. If the original folder still exists in Windows Explorer, rename it, e.g. by adding the suffix .org.
2. Right-click the deleted folder in the Recycle Bin, then left-click "Restore".
3. Consider implementing a robust backup scheme. Lots of people defer this step until they suffer a major catastrophe. We see their posts regularly in this forum.

 

OneDrive interfered with Carbonite restore

Hello, Joseph Kahle

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I understand that OneDrive’s automatic syncing has caused some inconvenience by moving your restored files to a different folder hierarchy. Let’s address your concerns step by step:

Disabling OneDrive Sync:

1. To prevent OneDrive from automatically syncing your files, you can unlink your PC from OneDrive. This will stop the syncing process without losing any files or data.
   
2. If you want to disable OneDrive completely, you can uninstall it or hide it from File Explorer.
   

How to unlink, disable, or uninstall OneDrive - Microsoft Support

Restoring Files to Original Location:

1. To move your files back to their original location, you can manually drag and drop them from the OneDrive folder to the desired location in File Explorer. You can also set up the folders OneDrive should back up: How to back up your folders with OneDrive - Microsoft Support
   
2. For the Quick Access tabs like “Documents,” you can right-click on the folder, select ‘Properties’, go to the ‘Location’ tab, and then click on ‘Restore Default’ to move it back to the original location.
   

After making these changes, you might need to restart your PC for all changes to take effect fully. If you encounter any permission issues while moving files, ensure you are logged in as an administrator or have the necessary permissions to make these changes.

For future reference, when setting up a new Windows installation, you can choose to skip the Microsoft account login, so that OneDrive won't sync your files automatically. Here are the steps:

Bought a new computer but can't use it due to not having an MS - Microsoft Community

Yuhao Li

Microsoft Community Technical Support