Windows 10: OneDrive Document Folder is in a file C:/ ..../Old Documents

On OneDrive my Documents folder has a file name named "C:\Users\.....\OneDrive\Old Documents". I also have another folder "C:\Users\drrly\OneDrive\Documents" but that is not the default Documents folder. To add further confusion there is a subfolder of the "C:\Users\.....\OneDrive\Old Documents" which is "C:\Users\.....\OneDrive\Old Documents\Old Documents" ! I think all of this confusion happened after a couple of Windows 11 re-installations.I would like to:1. Rename "C:\Users\.....\OneDrive\Old Documents" as "C:\Users\.....\OneDrive\Documents" and retain it as the default Documents

:)

 

whats difference between "This PC" Documents folder and c://.../documents ?

OneDrive takes over the default shell folders during the Windows 11 setup.

You can do one of the following:

1) Move your files from c:/users/me/documents to c:/users/me/onedrive/documents

-or-

2) Disable OneDrive sync for the Documents/Desktop/Pictures. To revert the shell folder locations to default, open OneDrive and do the following:

Important: Before proceeding, copy the files in those special folders to another folder or external drive. Please don’t copy them anywhere under Desktop/Documents/Pictures. This is because disabling OneDrive backup for a folder erases the local copies of the files. Copying them to a different location beforehand will ensure you don’t need to download them again from the OneDrive cloud.

1. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the Notification area and click Settings.
   
2. Select the Backup tab, and click Manage Backup
   
3. In the Manage folder backup dialog, click on the Stop backup link under the special folder (Desktop, Documents, or Pictures)
   
4. Click Stop backup in the confirmation dialog that appears.
   
5. Repeat the step for each shell folder you want to revert to the original location.
   

See also:

• Error “The folder can’t be moved here” Moving Documents/Pictures, Caused by OneDrive
  
• Libraries are placed in onedrive folder instead of local folder - Microsoft Community
  

 

My Documents Files - Deleted?

I have a PC where I have moved My Docs away from my C: to my E: so i can perhaps suggest a few things to check.

1. The documents and settings folder will still be present on your C: (although unused)
2. My Documents on my E: is shown as E:\Data (do you have a similar directory)
3. Is your missing data in this \Data folder if it exists?
4. If you click the My Documents shortcut does it take you to the default C:\doc and settings\blah blah, or does it take you to the \Data folder?

Ive had a similar issue with an application resetting the My Docs path back to its orig location and in essence orphaning the My Docs on my E:

 

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.