Windows 10: Old/Removed Files reappearing into OneDrive

About a month ago old jpgs and pdfs, that I transferred to a different folder, have reappeared into my folders in one drive. To give more info. I save images and pdf's and transfer them to the photo teams folders at work. I came to work and saw that thousands of old photos and documents, that I had saved and transferred, had returned back into my OneDrive. I decided to delete the folders they were returning to and create new ones. Now about a month or so later it is happening again! As I am working I noticed "new" documents appearing in my OneDrive. I look at them and notice it's items that I

:)

 

Old text messages keep reappearing after deletion and removal of device backups from OneDrive

I had a Lumia Icon on Verizon for 2 years, and switched to the Lumia 950xl on AT&T a few months ago. Initially, a bunch of old text messages, long deleted, reappeared. I researched how to remove them and delete the backed up devices from OneDrive. However,
twice now, those same old messages have randomly reappeared on my phone. Clearly they are still backed up and living SOMEWHERE, despite having deleted the device backups. I would normally just ignore them and move on, but many of the messages are from my ex
during a very hard time in my life, and having them reappear on my phone out of the blue, multiple times, is emotionally taxing.

I've changed carriers and phones since these texts were sent, so my only guess is that the messages are still saved on OneDrive somewhere. Any ideas about where they are and how I can delete them for good? Simply removing the devices from the backup list
did not work.

 

Old user account with Microsoft account reappeared on the computer

Hi Graham,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



It is very unusual that the old profile has reappeared on the computer.



Ideally, the old profile will only reappear if System Restore has been performed on the computer. We would like to if you are aware of any changes made to the computer.



As you have mentioned that your Microsoft account is linked to your old profile, I would suggest you to convert the Microsoft account to a local account by following the steps mentioned below:

1. Login to the old account.
   
2. Press Windows Logo key + I, to open
   Settings.
   
3. Click on Accounts and select
   Your info from the left pane.
   
4. Click on Sign in with a local account instead.
   
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
   

After converting the account to a local account, if you wish to delete the account, refer the steps mentioned below:

1. Login to the newly created account.
   
2. Press Windows Logo key + R, to open
   Run dialog box.
   
3. Type control and click on
   OK.
   
4. Select Large icons from the drop down for
   View by.
   
5. Now, click on User Accounts.
   
6. Click on Manage another account and select the user account that you want to remove.
   
7. Click on Delete the account and select
   Keep Files (if you want to keep the files of the user account) else select Delete
   to remove the account.
   

After deleting the old user account, to convert the new user account to a Microsoft account, go to
Settings (Windows Logo key + I) >> Accounts >>
Your info >> click on Sign in with a Microsoft account and follow the on-screen instructions.



I hope the information provided by me is helpful for you.



Let us know if you need any further assistance, we will be glad to help you further.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

Why were SMART Files Removed from OneDrive in Windows 10?

Technical Level : Basic

Summary

This article details why SMART files, also known as placeholder files, were removed from OneDrive in Windows 10.

Details

OneDrive has gone through many changes in Windows 10, most notably the removal of SMART files (placeholder files) from OneDrive. They still exist in Windows 8.1, however they were removed, hopefully temporarily, from OneDrive in Windows 10 because of the
fragmented sync engines between OneDrive on Windows 7/Mac, OneDrive on Windows 8.1, and OneDrive for Business. The following article details what changes the OneDrive team made and why they made them:

Taking the Next Step in
OneDrive

From a development point of view, it's a much better approach to consolidate their codebase, but from a user point of view, it's very frustrating.

Like many of us, if you want that feature back, please vote for it here on the OneDrive UserVoice page:

OneDrive UserVoice: "Sync online only" for Ondrive

Getting Started with OneDrive and Choosing Folders

To get started with OneDrive in Windows 10, please review these pages to familiarize yourself with the tools new processes:

• Find your files - Windows Help
• Syncing and Saving - Windows 10

Since you cannot choose which files are Available Online-only and Available Offline, you can choose the folders you want to sync. Review these two pages:

• Keeping Fewer OneDrive Files on your PC
• How to see all of your OneDrive files in File Explorer