Windows 10: Overwrite big files in OneDrive without downloading them

Hi,


I have a bunch of big files (PSD files that I use in photoshop) that are synched up to OneDrive. I also have some of those files backed up on an external drive from where I used to edit them. Whenever I crate a new version of the a given file - with the same name - I want to update the copy in OneDrive using the OneDrive folder integrated to Explorer. As I set the files in OneDrive to On-Demand, they are usually not available on any of the local drives. Therefore, when I try to overwrite them with a modified one, the OneDrive application downloads them first, then asks whether I'd like to overwrite the files or not, after I click yes, the files are overwritten and uploaded to OneDrive. At the end I can set again the only On-Demand flag for the files.


My question is that, how can I overwrite my files on OneDrive without downloading them? I suppose the download is necessary to compare the to be copied with the already uploaded file in order to decided whether two is the same or not, and whether an overwrite is necessary.


Let me illustrate my problem with an example: I have a file named "photo.psd" on my OneDrive. The size of this file is relatively large (~1Gb). In my OneDrive folder I've set for this file the On-Demand attribute, therefore it's not available on my local disk. I have a copy of the same file on an external hard drive. After I edit the copy on the external drive I'd like to overwrite the original file. When I open two Explorer, one showing my OneDrive folder the other showing the copy on my external drive, and drag and drop the copy, then first the original photo.psd is downloaded then the window appears asking whether I'd like to overwrite a file and only after I click yes start the upload process. How can I avoid the unnecessary download, when I want only to overwrite the file?


Thanks,

Janos

:)

 

Windows 10 - OneDrive

Right click on the app and one of the properties has an option to not automatically start it. Uncheck, restart the computer, and it should stop. If you want to go another step further, find the OneDrive app in the start menu, right click on it and uninstall.

If that is still insufficient, there is a batch uninstaller for OneDrive available online. I can copy the code here if you need it.

 

OneDrive uploads a new file but then overwrites it with the previous version one minute later

Hi Greg,

Thanks for helping out so quickly. It's taken a couple of days to go through those steps because each time (first unlink-relink, then reinstalling OneDrive) has required it to compare 50k+ files to get back in sync.

Anyway, now completed and the same problem is still happening - it uploads the updated file, then a minute later downloads and overwrites with the previous version. I'm on the latest Windows release (I think - 1903) and OneDrive. Let me know if you need
any more info from me (eg screen recording) and I welcome your further thoughts.

Kind regards,

Zoltan

 

Copy file from download to documents does not prompt to overwrite file, instead creates file with "copy" in name

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



We understand that you don’t receive the overwrite file pop-up when you copy a file from one location to another, we will look into this for you. However, we would like to know if the issue occurs only with the folders that are synced to OneDrive.



As you have already tried to Restore File Explorer to defaults, I suggest you to uncheck the option folder merge conflicts option in File Explorer options and see if that makes any difference. Follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Press Windows key + E, to open
   File Explorer.
   
2. Now, click on View and click on
   Options.
   
3. Select View tab from the
   Folder Options window.
   
4. Under Advanced settings, scroll down and uncheck the option
   Hide folder merge conflicts.
   
5. Click on Apply and OK.
   

Please reply with the status of the issue, we will be glad to help you further.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator