Windows 10: Remove OneDrive without losing files

OneNote deletes files from your computer when you try to get rid of it.I added OneDrive sync to my Windows 11 PC, now I want to get rid of it. However, I don't seem to be able to do this without losing files from my computer.When I just did "Unlink this PC", some of my folders disappeared from my computer. Desktop files seem to remain, but My Pictures folder disappears. I relinked and the folders re-appeared. Edit: nope, desktop files also disappeared at some point.I then tried to first stop the backup, per this answer https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/removing-all-traces

:)

 

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

 

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.

 

Removing all traces of OneDrive without losing any files

Hello,

I work in locations where I can't access the internet often, so using OneDrive is practically impossible for me, so I am regularly unable to access files which automatically path themselves through OneDrive.

How do I completely remove OneDrive from my computer (including the OneDrive folder and any file paths) without losing any files? I've tried stopping file syncing, signing out, uninstalling OneDrive (which won't work for some reason?).

I even tried moving the files from the OneDrive/Documents folder manually but either the files delete entirely or they say 'destination and source locations are the same'.

I'm losing my mind going in circles trying to get rid of this problem, if anyone has a solution I'd greatly appreciate the help.