The Problem With OneDrive Backup

[@20111111jorg]

Your the first person to explain how OneDrive works in a way that's logical and understandable.

[@javierdelaolainez7685]

Confused is putting it lightly, furious is more suitable. For close to an hour I thought I had lost all my files. Thank you for your video.

[@nerfgodbigguy1405]

On my phone, I've backed up my photos , but i don't want to use onedrive as Its controlling my photos and i cant do anything (I'm kinda in the same predicament) . If if i disable it ,it removes my photos from my phone , I don't know how to stop it from doing this?

[@taimurkhalid1327]

exactly.!

[@emansgaming910]

@@nerfgodbigguy1405same thing but on my computer it has half of my saved games… dnt need dat crap on my phone

[@karate4348]

glad Leo has helped you too.

[@ElenaToronja]

Confused, exasperated, a horrible experience for me!

[@aieousavren]

I love how clear this guy is. The pace, the demonstrations, the emphasis he uses... it must be really helpful for people who are having trouble understanding this sort of thing! This video is surely a gem for the people who need it. Great job and thanks!

[@jbourque6494]

If only everyone posting help videos online could be as clear as you. I finally understand how OneDrive works. THANK YOU !

[@brucebuckeye]

This is such a bad idea on so many levels. To make matters worse there is no attempt to explain this concept to a user (except by Leo!) Thank you sir - this engineer finally has a grasp.

[@rog2224]

MS documentation is at best out of date, and at worst vague to the point of wrong in a lot of areas.

[@costascostas1760]

I do the same with my NAS. Best solution ever as I cab have my OS up and running very quickly and mirror everything across Mt laptop and desktop. But it's not a backup.

[@AlexMetslov]

My problem with the one drive, is that it is messing up user settings. It's a nightmare.

[@agenerichuman]

The whole point is to confuse people and make them think they need a subscription to use their computer.

[@susangabriel5579]

Thank you so much for explaining how One Drive works! I've been beside myself since I turned on backup thinking it was a good thing, and frantic after my business documents all disappeared! I didn't know what to do about it. I finally found them on One Drive, but when I worked on the documents on OneDrive (large Photoshop files or large MS Word docs), they were very slow and would stop frequently. So I started putting everything I was working on into the downloads folder for safekeeping. Yesterday I ordered a 5TB hard drive to handle my backups and I'm going to straighten out my files and turn off OneDrive forever. All it's done is take up precious time - and a lot of it - to manage my files. I am very disgusted with Microsoft for removing my files from my hard drive!! I thought they would be just backed up - not REMOVED!

[@drdave1947]

I didn't even turn Backup on and Microsoft did it clandestinely. Shame on them, now I have a lot of unnecessary work to do

[@charlesberton2581]

Uninstall the entire OneDrive app. That's what I just did today.

[@karate4348]

@@drdave1947 same here. new laptop, pre-colonised.

[@falconhunter770]

Finally I understand one drive after several years. Everything described happened to me, confusion and frustration everywhere. Ask Leo. Well done.

[@JeanBoot]

This is probably the best explanation I've ever seen on KZbin. You explained very clearly and precisely, and your speaking pace was slow enough to follow. Plus you showed on screen what is really happening and the consequence of actions Microsoft seem force you to take. Microsoft is not necessarily my friend. I thought I was loosing my mind looking for documents. Now I can create a plan to identify where my docs may exist. I'm afraid of finding out I may have lost documents by turning backup on, then turning it off. I recently had a problem with my hard drive, and the support staff told me they had never seen such a mess.

[@sgarcata]

hold my beer My computer's SSD is such a clusterf*k that I don't even know how to sort it out. I'm a volunteer with RC (Red Cross) which is married to Microsoft so OneDrive comes with. And since RC does NOT issue computers to its volunteers I have to use my own personal computers to do RC work. Now my personal documents are somehow mixed with RC documents. A rat's nest within another rat's nest within another rat's nest! RC has a CIO and I'm convinced his mission is to drive us all crazy.

[@drdave1947]

As I said above Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves.

[@krnlueck]

I agree 💯. I thought I had somehow screwed up all my file s.

[@ac5aa]

Thanks for this video, Leo. Another nasty thing with OneDrive is when you have two computers, doing two completely different kinds of work, and yet OneDrive only allows for one desktop folder. It creates a big mess in a big hurry with icons for programs that you don’t use on each of the computers and other useless annoyances.

[@jussiheino]

Nice point! IHO MS haven't understand it's own products since Windows XP. (as I commented another comment that had another nice point)

[@RonGraff-f7r]

Very good explanation! Yes, having multiple computers does create a big mess. But it can be fine if OneDrive is set up with multiple computers in mind. The trick is to have several folders (one for each PC) in the OneDrive folder on the each local PC. Then you can change the Documents shortcut to point to the new folder on the PC. If you like I can explain in more detail. I currently have 5 PCs using the same oneDrive account. Each PC will mirror to its own area on the cloud, but using file manager, you can get to any of the other areas for the other PCs. Also note that the desktop folders will all be merged unless not they are not segregated. Having a merged Desktop folder creates some 'interesting' results!

[@wolphin732]

If the links are on the common desktop for that system, (which is where most program links go), they are there for any who sign into that system, but don't live on their personal desktop (and won't be synced).

[@jetw9522]

Exactly! That messed up my files!

[@JanetDax]

One Drive is a mess for online gaming. One drive backs up your game files and uses bandwidth you want to available to the game. If you have a copy of the game on a laptop things can get confused. You should at least be able to block backup on the folders the game uses.

[@tommoore5351]

Many thanks Leo. My wife accidentally turned on one drive back up on her PC without realising the implications. I was then ‘called in’ to fix it and had no idea what had gone on until I watched your very informative video. Thanks again.

[@1keithesq]

OMG Leo. I was totally lost. Best 22 minutes I've spent in the last year. You saved me. You made it so easy, even I understand what's occurring. Thank you, thank you THANK YOU!

[@anthonyminchinton3399]

YOU HAVE NO IDEA how useful this is. I work in an Apple Macintosh environment, but we do have one Windows PC. I watched your video at the end of a long hard day and appreciated your slow deliberate clear explanation - especially as I do not know Windows at all. You have just saved us losing a clients files.

[@karate4348]

I have an idea of how useful this is. The pain of the confusion and zeal of microsoft!

[@IonidisIX]

Well done Leo. You are probably the only one explaining this confusing and very invasive application so well on yt.

[@PureMagma]

15 years ago the "Cloud Storage" concept seemed so awesome. That almost instantly proved to be a bad idea. Cloud storage platforms are only great for uploading your naked pictures... which is why my OneDrive folder is empty. 😂💯🔥

[@kurtburkhardt5862]

Not being a computer expert, I didn't know how the One Drive hijacked my pictures and documents. I will figure how to shut this off. It has messed with my ability to store pictures or videos and has even locked out my e-mail account. F'n frustrating. I have tried to explain this to my wife and she doesn't have this problem as she uses Google and probably never turned on the cloud backup. Thanks for making this video and helping those of us who just want to store our files locally.

[@RaymondDalgleish-m4e]

There is little to add to what people have already said. You are a hero for providing such a clear explanation of this very confusing issue.

[@pbrock53]

OMG! That EXPLAINS IT!!! I was so confused with all the multiple seeming duplicate folders and even though I can see where they are by looking at the file properties, It seems like I'm still having problems locating the stupid files. I'm just going to turn it off and manage myself, which is what I've always done before anyway. This causes too much confusion. Thank you for your great explanation on how it works!!

[@kstaxman2]

Leo you're the king of explaining Microsoft items and apps. Thanks for all your hard work.

[@peterking2794]

Thank you for a clear and well presented video. I was told that my 5Gb limit had been reached, and I spent hours yesterday evening deleting photos one at a time (I don't know how to to delete them all at once) . And today they were all back! Now I've learnt to stop back up, I don't get nagged any more to buy storage. Cheers!

[@jeffreyrh]

THANK YOU!!!!! I turned off backup thinking I didn't need it and ALL my desktop icons were gone! This was so confusing, but you cleared it up. Thanks again!

[@karate4348]

Oh!

[@gerilennon6073]

Hallelujah Leo. You are my newest HERO. Confused? you betcha, but I will become a monk in silence and watch this video at least 3 more times and read the doc. WOW. You are the ONLY person so far to admit how confusing ONE DRIVE and One Drive Backup and all the rest of the nonsense is. Thank you, fine Sir!

[@jeanierussell201]

Me too! I’ve saved it so I can look at it again on my laptop. Excellent video.

[@tomtomaszczyk9073]

By the time i found this video i had sort of very painfully worked out what you explain, nevertheless it was very helpful to listen to you as you have explained the problem very well. Great work. Thank-you. You advice to use the system 'manually' is excellent.

[@epix8818]

Thanks Leo, so many videos out there about how amazing onedrive is and how easy it is to setup but you are the first one I have found who explains these pitfalls well and it takes away a lot of confusion! Even though I don’t like the way it is designed knowing how it works is essential if you want to make use of it. And why Microsoft doesn’t explain this better is very strange, the least they could do is give you warnings about the effects of turning the feature on or off so you can understand the consequences. Anyway, super helpful, thanks!

[@askleonotenboom]

Thanks. Personally I just think they made a super bad design decision and are now unwilling to back away from it. There are SO MANY better solutions. (For example Dropbox will let you do similar, and it's implemented sanely.)

[@capnsalty0200]

To make money of course.

[@iangmarshall]

Great article. So important. I confirm that One Drive is totally invasive : Desktop items also get shifted. I made the mistake of not being aware that O.D was doing what Leo explains. I reacted to a message from MS stating, 'One Drive almost full...react, upgrade'. So I had the instantaneous idea of clearing out O.D by suppressing a lot of items I believed I already had in my local/native/offline workspace. I didn't see the point of having doublons filling up my O.D. Next day I open up my PC and Waooow, my Desktop and all items I had placed there were gone. An empty Desktop. I spent days trying to fathom what had happened with massive research. I finally gathered that One Drive was the culprit. I also learned that removing O.D from the PC in an act of anger is only effective until the next MS update....it is smart enough (A.I driven) to detect and reinstall the darn thing. The only option we are left with is indeed deactivating sync. And constantly checking it is off. Then check what's in the O.D folder locally (in your PC). Leo forgot to inform us in this. Otherwise, bless him for his instructive and very weii edited videos

[@michaelr3578]

Because they are preliminarily creating the architecture to where your entire computer activity is controlled by a central source. They will be able to find out all your information, materials, etc, to create a snapshot of you, and if you are doing something that the central source disapproves, they will flag you for further action. It must be emphasized that there will be NO LIMIT as to how the central source responds to interact with you in line with their disapproval. Yes, you can imagine the worst if you like, because to be blunt: THAT IS THEIR GOAL.

[@drdave1947]

yes by forcing unsuspecting people to buy Microsoft 365

[@eointhomas2914]

Thank you for this, I work as as an IT Engineer and I have seen these problems first hand

[@savvybuilds]

I spent an entire day trying to find my files after turning off one drive (which I didn't even know was running to begin with). This is the best a multi billion dollar company can do? Great video, thanks.

[@robertoneill8666]

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain how OneDrive actually functions. I have now sorted out my filing system properly based on your instructions. All is working well. Thanks😊😊😊

[@jasperburchfield2028]

Thank you for this info. On top of the problems you mentioned, if I accidentally delete a needed file from my OneDrive backup, it will be deleted instantly from the cloud, making their "backup" useless in that situation. They did not think this feature through at all.

[@askleonotenboom]

They did. If you go online to onedrive.com you'll see a Recycle Bin.

[@Videosonyourwebsite]

A masterful explanation. I turned on One Drive backup and was shocked to find what it does. I'm working thru it, but I appreciate your take on it. Now I know how to turn it off and move the files where I want.

[@davidchang6450]

Hey Leo, Your manner of explaining things is by far the clearest of any on the internet! Subscribed. Keep up the good work!

[@spundot7971]

Thanks Leo, this is helpful information for understanding and using OneDrive. I have used OneDrive for years, but not with Backup turned on. I prefer to work in my local Documents folder and move things to the OneDrive folder for manual upload/backup. To facilitate this, I made a custom right click "Send to" link. I have different OneDrive folders, so I simply made corresponding right click "Send To" links pointing to each of the OneDrive folders I want to use. When I finish work at the end of the day, I right click the file I want to back up, and "Send To" to the OneDrive folder I want to use. It uploads to the cloud in the same folder structure. This may not work for everyone, but I've used this method for so long that it's second nature to me to back up, manually, at the end of the day. Thanks for the video!

[@josmeeusen1136]

Hi, sorry finding this so late. And I want to say something for your information. The 'send to' action is completely useless. If you would lose your account you would lose that also. If you don't use sent to and your computer brakes down, just logon your account with whatever repair or new, all your files are there to copy them back eventually. Or start over from your other bu option. Back to normal, so just syncing, you missed up your file, go to OneDrive and get the version you like most copied to your drive and work from there again. They don't tell you, but never backup. Forget the word ever exist.(;wink;) OneDrive does it in ways you can't imagine. Happy syncing!

[@josmeeusen1136]

Not missed up>>>messed up😊

[@karate4348]

this could qualify you for genius status!

[@vjcina]

Leo, great explanation of a complex topic. I suspect if you have multiple computers logged into the same MS account and OneDrive Backup enabled on them things can get even more complex - but my head hurts trying to think about it.

[@jaygosch8705]

If you use multiple computers with OneDrive backup turned on, all files in documents, desktop, and pictures are replicated to ALL your PCs. In my case, I had it turned on on one computer at work, but my company IT turned it on for all computers one day. All 3 computers had a lot of different files on them and not a huge amount of free space. Suddenly, I got warnings about disk space and found that my C drive only had a few hundred megabytes left and it was dropping! I spent a couple hours scrambling to move files back to the c:\users\my.account\documents folder. I moved all my really old files back and only left my current work in the OneDrive folder for backup. That solved my space problem on my C drives on all 3 computers, but there still are issues. My company automatically creates a certain shortcut on everyone's desktop when you log on. It always has the same name. OneDrive doesn't see them as the same, so it creates the shortcuts with numbers added at the end every time I logon. If I don't cleanup, I end up with a hundred or more of these shortcuts on the desktop of all 3 computers. It makes it really difficult to find other shortcuts buried among all the duplicated company shortcuts.

[@joncorso6103]

Firstly, kudos for an extremely well done description of how exactly this all works. Even though I'm an old vet at this, never realized the backup option moved the files over. And it explains why my laptop defaults to cloud documents. I do disagree that it's broken. It operates as one would expect other than the non-moving of files back to where they came from once you shut off the backup. As a programmer, I understand just how onerous a task that would be, and full of pitfalls. I can see why they avoided it. I do agree they really should have put up some messages detailing on moving the files to the cloud folder, and explained that users might want to move files back to the local documents folder.

[@raylopez99]

It also helps to sell OneDrive storage space beyond the free 5 GB you're given. Good, good. Speaking as a MSFT shareholder ;)

[@phillipgamble849]

Thank you so much Leo, I thought I knew where I was up to, but after a minor problem with my PC, I reset the PC, safe in the knowledge my Manual Backup would be preserved, as would my Offline Backup, but the One Drive was a little hazy. Then I found the 1 TB HDD that I bought to speed up the PC, was so topped out with files from my One Drive, I had to really think, how did I de-link it before???? This description is very comprehensive. I work as a Technical Analyst Myself, so I know how tricky explaining complex tech can be and you have de-mystified it for me and (Probably millions ) of other people. I'll be subscribing to your site, in the hopes of some other golden nuggets of information 🙂

[@bllacksalt]

Thank you, Sir Leo, for taking the time to create this video and clarify the feature of OneDrive cloud storage. While I was already familiar with the information you shared, I appreciate your dedication to helping others understand the topic better. Keep up the great work!

[@RobertPerry-t6w]

This is a terrific explanation of OneDrive and OneDrive Backup! I seldom take the time to comment but I have been confused by this for a long time, and especially by Microsoft's insistence to turn Backup on, so that my newfound understanding deserves more than just a thumbs up. If you want to understand where your files are stored--and how they might "disappear" by accident--this video will probably answer your questions. It did for me. Thanks

[@phoenixrising4031]

Thank you soooo much for explaining this in such great detail and showing the outcomes of what happens when you do XYZ. I've been searching for months how to get this evasive feature of One Drive turned off with no solid solutions that stick. I did not purchase MS 365. I purchased Windows 11 Pro over a year ago. And at one point it pushed me into MS 365 and everything into cloud back in Nov 2022 during one of their lovely updates. Then my own programs on Windows 11 Pro stopped working, because MS 365 was forcing me to purchase a subscription to something I already own, to access my files now in the cloud. It's been a total nightmare. Thank you for the great work you do. Much appreciated.

[@jimbagley5387]

Finally, a clear explanation of what has been going on with my OneDrive. I had been trying to figure it out for a long time. Thank you.

[@TonyP9279]

What's really confusing is when many 3rd party applications' "Save As..." option default to the native Documents folder instead of the Onedrive folder. Later, you go looking for that file and can't find it.

[@AlanBarwick]

You can't really blame the 3rd party apps for working in a confusing way, when M$ OneDrive has already turned the file system into a confused hierarchy.

[@Gramini]

@@AlanBarwick The 3rd party app should query (there's a programming feature for that in the Win-API) where the actual location of "Documents" is, and not assume it's "[…]/$username/Documents". That also helps with manually set custom paths and localized names. Many/most apps don't do that, increasing the level of chaos that Windows/MS already caused. It's a total mess.

[@redf7209]

Seems to be a growing trend for apps and microsoft to offer 'save' options with no facility to specify where you want them or even tell you where the save will go to.

[@pzaikis]

There is a far much simpler solution that I recommend, which is to create your own version of the "local" documents folder for anything that you want to store offline. Then you can use the OneDrive Documents, Photos, and Desktop folders for syncing files into the cloud (and more importantly, multiple computers). Any large or private files should go into the local folder directory structure that you have organised yourself. Most applications will automatically put files and folders into your default "Documents" folder so it can get real messy pretty fast, so having a space that you organise yourself can keep things cleaner and well organised.

[@karate4348]

I did that , but still found it all very confusing. I'm going to change my c drive 'documents' to 'not microsoft-driven , not documents but something like them.

[@pzaikis]

@@karate4348calling it "Files" or "Filing Cabinate" can be good alternatives to documents, and "Media" can be used for less senstive files like music and videos. I prefer to create a tree structure and use my initials as the root in C: and then have folders for Media, Games, and Personal files.

[@johnt7665]

Very useful. Also may help to rename the 'native' Documents folder on your PC. Plus, before turning off backup, drag a copy of the Onedrive folder to your PC or external drive.

[@anandsharma7430]

I appreciate the fact that you speak so slowly that the most elderly / non-tech-savvy Windows users will be able to keep up. 👍 (Us youngsters / power users should watch at 1.5x)

[@MundaneGray]

I don't even use the Documents folder. I've never seen the value of piling all of the documents on my computer into a single Windows-created folder, regardless of their content or purpose. My document files are stored in folders created by me -- folders that are named and organized in way that makes sense to me. For example, my resume is stored in a subfolder of my Job Search folder.

[@shakti.rathore]

But then thats not the point. This is about how confusing their default setting is.

[@dkyrtata6688]

Like you, I don't use any Windows-created folders (other than Desktop folder, of course). All the more reason to just use my own folders.

[@soulsphere9242]

You can create your own folders under the documents folder, you don't have to dump everything in one folder. There is good reason to use the propper folder if your PC has multiple users with their own logins such as a work environment, as each user gets their own set of document, picture, etc folders that are specific to them. If it is a home PC with one user, then sure put documents wherever.

[@EternityBeginsNow2024]

Thank you a lot, Leo!! I realized too late that my new PC were storing files in the wrong place. You helped me get all those files back onto my local PC.

[@billfratzke6048]

Excellent explanation! As a long time user through many iterations of SkyDrive, One Drive, etc.., Microsoft's constant rebranding (before ultimately dropping) of products and functionality is a constant challenge. I have half a dozen personal accounts and several work accounts, and figuring out where to look for things is always a challenge. Forget about sharing them with team members when they are spread all over, There needs to be a way to consolidate them. These accounts were started at different times, different OS's and different iterations of OneDrive. You;ve given me a clue as to how to decipher them. Thanks so much!

[@RobertMuh-g9e]

I've been struggling with file locations, versions, and One Drive on several Windows machines at home. This clarified how it all works so now I can make a conscious decision on how to manage files and where to find them exactly. Thank you!

[@donbiagio1]

Hi Leo; This lesson on One Drive was absolutely one of your very best if not THE best. And I follow you every day. Thank you. Is there a chance that you may have another similar type presentation on how to completely eradicate OneDrive from a computer and make sure that ALL MY FILES are on my local machine (ready to back them up my way, of course) and delete them ALL from OneDrive? I look foreword to that and I thank you in advance. Sincerely Biagio Bisignano ❤️👍

[@nancyfay6842]

I would love to know that as well!

[@rontheoracle]

👍👍 Thank you for trying to untangle all this confusion with OneDrive. I thought that I must have gone crazy for not being able to understand clearly how OneDrive works. Turns out that your explanation has confirmed that I'm still sane for NOT understanding OneDrive.

[@nickmartinSFX]

What an excellent explanation and demo. I was confused with what's been going on with my files but now it's crystal clear, thanks a lot Leo ! Subbed

[@quicktastic]

It's good for people to get an understanding of what is going on. Since I frequently use my desktop and a laptop as well, I like OneDrive because it keeps some files that I use and update regularly on both computers in sync. I do not use the backup function as it gets too intrusive (as you explain) and if you know to use the OneDrive folder for things you want on the cloud, it is not necessary. For backup, I have a couple of SSD's that I plug in externally to backup large folders that I don't want at risk.

[@SteveGeeBass]

Although I do have OneDrive (as part of Microsoft 365), I stopped using it's Backup a long time ago for the very reasons you've pointed out. I prefer to manually copy files, pics, etc., from my PC over to OneDrive as necessary. Google Drive works better for me as it works in conjunction with my native folders (Docs, Music, etc.).

[@jasoncummings7052]

Thank you Leo, you have done a fantastic job in explaining this confusing system. A client had O365 E3 and they wanted all laptop users to migrate to OneDrive and that's when I discovered what you just described. Imagine the confusion among users with the mirror option so the decision was to enable OneDrive Backup for the following reasons: 1. O365 E3 offered 1TB storage. 2. Maximum storage per laptop was 500GB. 3. It's enterprise data so there was no requirement to stop OneDrive backup. Thanks again.

[@kwikbit]

Well done for this. I have been confusing myself for a long time with how this all fits together. I still have some Apps which appear to be writing directly to my "native" (/documents) folder as they appear to have created folders in there which are (obviously) not getting backed up. Most day-to-day users are not going to be aware/bothered by any of this.... you'd think a company with the resources of Microsoft could actually do this more sensbily ! 🙄🤷‍♂

[@georg917]

I didn’t realise OneDrive backup did this - got it now, backup is off! Thanks Leo

[@stage6fan475]

I got switched to backup without realizing it would change anything and was confused as hell as to what happened. I have been doing computers professionally since Windows 3.1, and I can't remember having a more irritating experience than when I had to figure out what was going on. Searching for help was infuriating and I couldn't find anything among irrelevant search results. I had to figure all this out for myself and still am flabbergasted that anyone at Microsoft would think doing it this way was a good idea. Spending increasing proportion of my time on Linux now.

[@PatrickTice]

Thanks for the excellent explanation. I don't mind using OneDrive as a standalone cloud service, but I won't tolerate its aggressive and confusing file moving and syncing. It has wasted many hours of my time.

[@stevehawkins4145]

Very good video. I'm fairly competent at using OneDrive, though I have long been confused by the dual "Documents" folder situation. I haven't been able to figure out how my system ended up with duplicate folders. Thanks to your video, the light bulb has finally been turned on for me. I feel like I finally get it. Yeah!! I do have OneDrive backup turned on. The only anomaly for me is that when I open OneDrive settings and look at the setting for backup, it shows that I have zero bytes backed up to OneDrive. However, looking online at my OneDrive cloud, it says I have over 50GB stored there. Go figure. Yet another OneDrive mystery. At any rate, thanks for this video. I now have one less item to be confused about.

[@UlrichHoltzhausen]

I believe that 0 bytes refers to files on OneDrive but not stored locally. It is possible to do this by right-clicking a file and clicking "Free up space". The file is then deleted from your local drive but still on OneDrive.

[@generallyok590725]

Thank you Leo. It explains brilliantly why I lost my files when I started using OneDrive back up. THankfully I had a hard drive backup.

[@LoganStargazer]

There is a very simple way to get around all of this mess. 1) Create 2 folders in your user folder: Documents Storage Pictures Storage 2) Move the contents of Documents and Pictures to the storage folders. 3) Drag-and-drop shortcuts to the 2 storage folders into the proper "real" folders. Your files will be safe on your local drive and all that will be in Onedrive are 2 tiny shortcut files; one inside Pictues and one inside Documents. Problems solved. Cons: Now it takes 2 clicks to get to the files. You must remember to manually drag new stuff into the storage folders. Pros: Onedrive can't touch your important files anymore. Screw Onedrive!

[@cowboybob7093]

I'm not disagreeing about creating new folders that the OS doesn't expect, but I take it one step further away. I create a folder in root, completely out of %userprofile% - That becomes a branch for most files. In my case probably 98% of my work is saved there, and not in the profile. Maybe the most important reason is since most admin type folk have at least two accounts on a PC, an admin account and a regular account.- Because of file and folder rights, having a document branch out of the \users branch allows a document or file exchange between accounts that's not possible between profiles. When something goes wrong in a user's profile it can be documented and read by the admin account to fix. Lots of times only one profile is broken and the problem can't be recreated logged on as another user. Frankly I have several users for specific purposes and general troubleshooting. For instance I have an iPhone and it would drive me nuts to have iTunes become the default for some important file types and having to fix it after every update. Nevermind how iTunes updates the tags on songs without being asked. The %USERPROFILE% branch has important qualities, i.e. both the well thought out folder and file permissions and encryption come to mind, but those same qualities can interfere with operations and in the case of encryption can lead to data loss. A few drops of coffee hit the edge of my laptop's touch pad and killed the whole thing. The hard drive was fine. The files under \user were encrypted but getting the ones in the alternate location were easy to access. For someone reading this who doesn't know what %userprofile% is, open a CMD prompt and use the command `set %userprofile%` - the path to your profile will be displayed

[@LoganStargazer]

@@cowboybob7093 OK, that will work too and is a good idea. The goal is that there is nothing in Onedrive that you care about IE: only a few shortcuts. and Onedrive can hijack them if it wants to. If Onedrive goes kablooey, you haven't lost anything of value. Oh, about encryption. If you need to get at the files in a user profile, boot up a live LInux and log in as "root"*. To Linux, a Windows drive is just data; nothing more. I cant count how many times I have rescued files from a borked unbootable Windows drive that way. To Linux, it's all just data files. * I'd recommend FossaPup. Being a Puppy Linux, it boots up QUICKLY, resides 100% in RAM, and the default user is Root. To the Linux People: This is fine. Puppy is meant to be a personal Linux that you carry around and boot/run from a on a thumbdrive and is your private pet, so being "root" is just fine and SO much easier.

[@henrybecker2842]

It should be mandatory for all users to watch this video when they get a windows computer. Thank you very much.

[@marklawes1859]

It is not really a backup just a copy. A real backup process, in old speak, doesn't delete the backup copy if you delete the original which means that you can go back to a previous backup and recover any accidentally deleted, or corrupted, file. Calling it backup is actually a bit misleading.

[@timdotexe]

I was going to comment similar. A synchronization is not a backup. Not in onedrive and not in Dropbox. Sure it has a retention period baked in, but that is not true backup.

[@billymckelvy4758]

Thanks for a great video. I could not figure out why onedrive kept kidnapping my files. While OneDrive saved me from a hard disc crash once, I like the idea of a backup. But I also want to first store my files on my local machine. Definitely Big Brother stuff!

[@mikescott58]

Another issue I have seen with OD is the classic Microsoft issue of path length limitation, which is an issue for people who love long filenames and deep nested subdirectories. Also, I believe large files will not always sync up to the cloud. So it's possible that not everything is getting synced (watch for the subtle red "X" in the system tray or in file explorer.

[@Number6_]

Yes, large video files not efficient use of storage for marketing purposes.

[@biggles258]

Beautifully explained, Leo. I'd figured most of it out myself during a fun evening after I'd turned on OneDrive's backup feature and then couldn't open my Outlook because it couldn't find my Outlok.pst file. You gusessed it. The Outlook folder is embedded within the Documents folder which OneDribe backup had moved. You'd think Microfoft's OnedDrive would tell Microsoft's Outlook where it had moved the folder, but no...

[@davinp]

As you can see OneDrive moved your file from the local documents folder to the onedrive folder. People might be confused om where all their documents went that were in their local documents folder

[@1asdfasdfasdf]

Unfortunately I learned this lesson the hard way. It's incredibly intrusive. Thank you Leo.

[@N....]

Even more confusing: the Documents folder is a Known Folder, meaning that users can freely change its location and apps that are written properly will still find it because Windows knows where it is. However, when OneDrive backup is enabled, weird and confusing things can happen if you try to take advantage of this feature by moving the Documents folder out of the OneDrive folder. You have to explicitly get OneDrive to relinquish it before you can use the feature as intended. I'm not sure why Microsoft made OneDrive work this way instead of just relying on the existing Known Folder moving functionality that Windows has supported for years. You can move Known Folders freely in and out of other cloud sync client folders like Google Drive and DropBox, but OneDrive has this confusing procedure you have to follow.

[@jussiheino]

Nice point! IHO MS haven't understand it's own products since Windows XP.

[@dupajasio4801]

25 years in IT and still learned something. In another video you mentioned M$ will delete your files if you're over quota. At work I do enable OneDrive for users. As a backup and as easy way to replace user's PC. Mind you I can reset user's password. As you said in that other video O365 comes with 5TB space, but I need to verify that. Scary sh.t.

[@b9bot148]

OneDrive takes over and takes your stuff anyways. You can’t manually do things.

[@ianwalker1182]

I moved my Documents, and some other system folders into OneDrive years ago, and do the same with each new PC, this means there is no second "Documents" folder. The advantage is I have copies of documents on which ever PC (desktop, laptop, tablet) I use, providing they have Internet connections to upload and download between sessions. I am considering adding a local NAS sync to the desktop.

[@dont.tread187]

So Microsoft basically steals up to 5gb of your files/data, and then tries to ransom it back to you for a monthly fee. Sounds like malware to me.

[@mendiphydro]

Thanks Leo. You just saved me a day of waiting for my files to upload because I thought I’d lost them. Ended up buying more storage on one drive so I didn’t lose anything. Learnt a lot. Thank you.😊

[@carisi2k11]

Onedrive backup isn't a backup. It just wants to move all your stuff on to the cloud. It is extremely poor process.

[@NoEgg4u]

Leo, very good explanation. I will never use OneDrive, or any 3rd party data storage service, because they can (and very likely do) scan and / or index your uploaded files and build a profile on you. I do not share my files with complete strangers -- and the personnel at Microsoft are complete strangers. If I should ever become a person of interest, I lay 100 to 1 odds that Microsoft (and all the other 3rd party data storage services) will have all of my uploaded data, even data I deleted years ago. Whatever anyone uploads will forever remain on their servers. The only two exceptions where I might use a 3rd party data storage service are: 1) If I were to encrypt my files, locally, before uploading them. 2) If I want to have convenient access to those files, across different devices, and those files have no privacy or security tie. Your video made it clear on what takes place, and is very helpful.

[@NazmusLabs]

Files on your OneDrive are very unlikely to be spied on by Microsoft and used to profile you. That is because OneDrive is a PAID service. You purchase office subscription, which gives you 1TB of storage. Typically, if the product is free, YOU are the product and your data is collected. So if you use Outlook or Gmail for free, your files are likely to be spied on because the advertising supports those services On the other hand, because YOU bear the costs for OneDrive, files stored there are not used for advertising or profiling you. Large enterprises pay for OneDrive storage. They would never do this if Microsoft were spying on their trade secrets. May Allah (S.W.T.) guide you to Islam and bestow upon you His Blessings; Ameen.

[@NoEgg4u]

@@NazmusLabs Just because you pay Microsoft for the storage, does not mean that Microsoft decides to not cash in all the more via profiling. As to large enterprises paying for storage: Large companies have had major data breaches. They have had user information, including passwords, published on the dark web. If passwords are properly stored, it is impossible for anyone to reveal them. Even the employees of the company cannot reveal the passwords, when they are stored properly. Ergo, the size of the company does not dictate the competence of their information technology staff. Also, any company that uploads their trade secrets to a cloud service will likely do so only after encrypting it; making it useless to anyone without the decryption keys. If you upload anything to complete strangers that can wreck your life, you are highly irresponsible.

[@mrj3217]

AVOID ONEDRIVE at all cost

[@geraldmingus2632]

I've been reading Leo's articles for many years. His explanations are always clear, easily understood.

[@TheRealLaughingGravy]

Sorry, but I don't see the confusion. OneDrive backup works as I'd expect it to. I find it extremely useful, especially when switching from my desktop computer to my laptop. They're essentially the same environment. - Since the "native" Documents folder is no longer pointed to by the shortcut when OneDrive backup is enabled, it's effectively hidden, which is good. It's no longer being used. I'd find shortcuts to two different Documents folders very confusing. - If I turn OneDrive Backup off, I certainly would NOT want it moving files around - off means OFF. I would expect it to do nothing further with my files. It's my job to do that. I don't want software I'm no longer using making assumptions about how I now want my files organized. - As with any backup solution, it's the user's responsibility to make sure there's enough backup space available. If you need more than 5GB backup space but don't want to pay Microsoft for more (you can get 100GB for $1.99 a month) don't use OneDrive backup. It's not a _classic_ backup solution, however, and I'm surprised this was not mentioned - it doesn't create a permanent archive of your documents. As you update your files locally, they're updated immediately in the cloud. If you need to get a copy of a file as it existed last week or last year, you're out of luck. If this is the kind of backup you need, look elsewhere for a solution.

[@johnhaddock373]

I came across this "useful feature" when I bought a new Win10 laptop a couple of years ago. I created a shortcut called "Documents on PC" to stop me getting confused! Thanks Leo for the very clear explanation.

[@sabdurrauf10]

You truly clarified this for me. I am now going to see if I can find my original desktop on my PC because all I can see is One Drive Desktop now!!!!

[@graham3777]

Excellent explanation, wish I'd seen it earlier. I have spent a huge amount of time trying to untangle the mess that onedrive made of my new laptop.

[@jcddcjjcdnz]

The issue of Backup turning on and starting immediately when you open settings/backup has been vastly improved in Window 11 recently so that it never goes on but itself and explains exactly what is happening when you go into the Backup settings. Great explanation, best I have seen. Thanks.

[@fitzmic]

Thank you so much for the clear and concise explanation. I didn't understand the backup concept in OneDrive. I thought I lost all my files. There is another bug with this system - if you use the local version of Outlook, when OneDrive moves everything, Outlook will quit working. It can't access the .pst files from a 'networked' location. It took me hours to get my files back and understand how it works in order for everything to work properly again. I wish I had seen your videos first, but they still helped clarify and now I have a solid procedure in place as to what I do locally and what I do on OneDrive.

[@kevinmcfarlane2752]

One reason why you didn’t understand the backup concept is that OneDrive backup is not a backup. It’s a move up! 😊 I do backup to OneDrive myself but under my control. I have a couple of programs that I schedule with Task Scheduler. One of those programs is a now discontinued Microsoft program, SyncToy. But it does its job, and better than OneDrive backup.

[@leethallee6718]

@@kevinmcfarlane2752 I totally agree Synctoy is an absolute better way to backup with the mirror/add… options

[@Kirbsters48]

Thanks for putting this out. Everytime I install Windows the 1st thing I do is Disable One Drive, then I uninstall it, then I delete it's folder off my system. I like to be in control and not have my stuff out in the cloud !

[@thelash54]

Thanks so much Leo. Been totally confused over this mainly because at work, all our computers appear to have one drive backup on by default, and default saves in all our MS Office programes have been to the one drive folder. Now I finally have some idea what is going on and can check it out with our IT guy. Primo

[@jacksonbooth2462]

Excellent video Leo! You are so right on all of your comments especially how confusing this One Drive nonsense is. I’ve been working with computers for over 40 years, thus have a lot of experience in the field, and this new automatic Microsoft set-up had me chasing my tail wondering just where the hell my files really are - especially when I started exploring Windows 11. I finally figured it out, and only wish I had seen your video earlier. You did a magnificent job. Now, don’t be surprised if someday there is a class action lawsuit against Microsoft for doping users into unwittingly having their documents in the cloud for any hacker to access. Too bad we can’t impeach Bill Gates for high crimes and misdemeanors. Thanks again.

[@NotEvents]

You would not believe how hard I connect with this video you have made ! I HATE _trying_ to explain the multiple Documents folders to Customers, especially those who don't know much about how folders and subfolders work. I also learned something new, I didn't know that the Shortcut to the "original/native" Documents folder could be restored by turning off OneDrive Backup for the Documents folder. So in future, I know to turn off the OneDrive backup, before I uninstall it.

[@nancyfay6842]

Wouldn't it have to be installed in order to turn the backup off? I'm interested because I'll be setting up a new computer soon & want to make sure it's off.

[@NotEvents]

@@nancyfay6842 Yes, OneDrive would have to be installed in order to turn Backup off. I think OneDrive is already installed with a Clean Install of Windows 11, but I don't think Backup is immediately on. Microsoft will present you with trick (in my opinion) questions to entice you to switch Backup on.

[@Timat-s4n]

Good to see other techs discussing this very confusing and probably unethical implementation of a potentially useful utility. Don't really understand why Microsoft couldn't do this in a much more straightforward manner. Thanks for the video, will also check out your Dropbox video.

[@mofolk8896]

Thank you for explaining this invasive mess-maker. I had already spent some hours looking for my “missing” files, then mapping each C:/ folder and contents to find my stuff, and moving my kidnapped files from Onedrivemecrazy to my local folder. I’m glad I watched this video- now I know to turn off the backup. 👍🏻

[@quilter1959]

thank you so much for this video. The exact thing happened to me. I "lost" all my files. Then when I tried to put them back on my computer they got all screwed up. Luckily I had backed up most things to my external hard drive. I had to re-format my brand new laptop. The I-T guy at my job helped me "uninstall" OneDrive. I was so upset I could not sleep for a week. Your description was spot on and makes me realize I wasn't crazy!!

[@ElenaToronja]

Thank you Leo. I thought I was going crazy! But you have saved my sanity by your explanation of what is happening to my files!

[@condoblueskies]

Thanks Leo, you have finally given me the awswer to where 4000 of my photos went after I changed the back up settings in my Samsung Gallery aka (OneDrive). I didn't know there was a difference between backup and mirror and I found out the hard way. You're very kind to at least explain what has happened and I thank you.

[@graytonw5238]

Some time ago I did some experimentation that basically reproduced these steps in order to figure out how OneDrive worked. Once I got the gist of it, I turned off backup, moved my files out of the local OneDrive folder into my Sync local folder, and I only use OneDrive for the few files I need for my customers who want it. Sync is a bit slower due to encryption, but the zero-based knowledge Sync uses is worth it to me. The result is a more secure and private version of OneDrive without the hassle of AutoSave in OneDrive. AutoSave is one of the worst features ever.

[@juliaevans9521]

I thought you were going to say that the contents of your Documents folder would be deleted on turning off OneDrive Bsckup ! Glad that isn't the case!!

[@stevepaterson2]

Thanks for the easy-to-understand explanation Leo. I've just purchased a new laptop, turned on OneDrive backup then spent an hour trying to work out what the heck was going on. I got there in the end but your explanation has confirmed my understanding. I'm even more tempted to turn automatic backup off and do it manually, partly because MS will inevitably make future changes and cause further confusion. I'll just manage my native and OneDrive documents folder personally and know what's going on. Thanks again!

[@alexduina3726]

i like you other video where you showed how to switch OFF OneDrive... which is what I did! i will then use another, easier/clearer way to backup my computer. Thank you for the great info, @Leo!

[@TroyHomenchuk]

Thank you for explaining this! I fell into issues and didn't realize at all what was going on. Will never use backups again.

[@askleonotenboom]

PLEASE DO back up. Just avoid **OneDrive**'s backup.

[@mikefulbright4593]

What a fantastic video to explain why I've been going out of my mind - trying to transfer files from an old PC (Windows10) over to another PC Windows11) via a LAN connection. I've been watching freshly moved files from Documents to Documents disappear and reappear on the new machine in the Local OneDrive folder. I have wasted a full day fiddling with this. This video provided the answers as to what the #$%@ is going on. Bravo Leo! Amazingly helpful!!! QUESTION: If I turn off OneDrive Backup, can I count on it Staying Turned OFF? Will Microsoft turn it On with a subsequent 'Update'? For the first time in my life, I'm considering a drastic move to iOS. Crazy. BTW, I believe it was confusing for Microsoft to use the word itself; 'OneDrive', in the local path. The word, 'Drive' makes one think of a physical hard drive out in cloudspace - not a local path thing. This whole mess has been a constant source of vertigo. Again, thanks for helping us understand what's happening.

[@Maltojo]

I clicked on this video because I always backup my PC. Mostly to one hard disk. However you are talking about Microsoft One Drive, which I have always avoided because I do want my personal files to be floating around in the cloud. I just did a re-install of windows on my laptop and One Drive started popping up all over again. So glad I watched this!! You explained it very well. I understand it perfectly!. I am now a subscriber to your channel. I can't wait to go through all of your previous videos and also see what you have coming! Thanks Leo!

[@PhilipHawthorne]

Leo thank you so much for a very clear explanation of this very confusing 'feature' of OneDrive. I never turned on OneDrive backup, thank goodness, so I have been managing my files and cloud storage myself.

[@tfa8]

Thanks for explaining this questioning Microsoft behaviour en-detail here! Another thing to highlight (that the Microsoft intern who wrote the MsgBx lines got completely wrong): a proper backup is NOT a place where you store your mirrored data and then work with your data there, it's actually the opposite. You don't work with your backup data at all but keep it in a secure, untouched state. Something Microsoft completely misrepresents with their confusing dialogue text in this OneDrive push...

[@philmarsh7723]

One of my main beefs with Windows is its obfuscation of folder names. Two different folders have the same paths. Delightful!

[@infotime]

Agreed! And good luck trying to figure out where you are when you click on a folder named Documents.

[@tedwalford7615]

Yes, I was very confused. Especially since OneDrive and OneDrive backup was running since I first brought up this PC, and nothing in that first startup explained what would be going on and what the different doc folders were all about. And I had watched four other YT videos about OneDrive but was still confused. Only after watching your/this video could I understand. I don't like how it works, but at least I understand what's going on. Thank you!