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We have enabled OneDrive to back-up & sync our doc, pictures & desktop folders so we can use them on 3 different devices.
In FileExplorer these folders are now moved to the new OneDrive folder (C:\Users.......\OneDrive\Documents\Documents)
The original local folders are empty or have disappeared (C:\Users.......\Documents)
Why is that happening? Is this normal?
I would prefer to have the originals still in my local documents etc folder.
Thank you.
Hi, I'm Rodrigo and I will help you.
Yes, this is normal, when the backup option is enabled on OneDrive, it changes the folder location to the OneDrive folder and move the files to the new location.
If you want to restore the default location for these folders, you need to disable the OneDrive backup feature and manually move the files from the OneDrive folder.
Thank you Rodrigo.
Just clarifying: Even though the files are now in the OneDrive folder they continue to remain locally on my computer too? ie are not only cloud based now? are therefore accessible offline on the original local device?
Thanks so much.
JP
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I have new computer and have the exact same problem - When I try to MOVE the files, they are COPIED instead of moved -- and I can't get it to stop syncing. Every time I try to use my local files, they disappear from the folder, and I must get them from the OneDrive folder. I've uninstalled and changed permissions to try and stop this from happening, but here I am 6 months later and it STILL PERSISTS
An agent assisted me with this remotely and we thought we fixed the problem - one day ago. This morning, the local files have disappeared. I do NOT want empty folders on my local computer. If it's going to sync, I want the default location to be my local folder for files
The first time this happened, in February, I tried to disable this and MOVE the files to my local drive. The process was frustrating and unsuccessful - I was unable to move the files and it kept syncing, eventually moving everything back to the online drive. I've tried disabling it and it keeps going back to default. Uninstalled and it finally stopped - by my files are still gone and folders are still empty.
I can't successfully move my files back to my local drive - THIS IS INSANE
When the OneDrive backup is enabled, by default the files are stored locally and in the cloud. To ensure the files are stored locally, they show the green check mark, if they show the cloud icon, they are store only in the cloud.
You can right-click a file (or select many files and right-click), and select "Always keep on this device" to keep a local copy of the files stored in the cloud, and the option "Free Up Space" deletes the local files and only keep the cloud copy.
When the download/sync was completed, there was a green check next to all of the files/folders. This morning, everything was gone - no check marks or any sign the folders ever had any files of them. Just empty folders - no status or anything. How do I stop this from happening????
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I have the problem also. The frustration is not being able to communicate with a person back and forth. The online chat helps but usually leave me with a to do list, that does not solve my problem. would dropping one drive and Microsoft 365 and just going with Microsoft home and office bring me back to one year ago where I could control what went to One Drive.
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