If you don't pay careful attention when setting up a new Windows PC, you could find many of your data files suddenly relocated to the cloud. That might be a good thing, or it might be a mess. And, of course, Microsoft is frustratingly unhelpful when it comes to explaining how this feature works.
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Should this happen to you, please follow the one simple rule Douglas Adams set down so many years ago: Don't panic. Before you do anything, it helps to understand exactly what's going on.
This is what a fresh user profile looks like in Windows 11. Notice the wording under all those standard folders: "Stored locally".
The label under each of those known folders tells you they're stored locally. All well and good, right?
Well, yes, until OneDrive decides to get involved.
If you click the "Back up now" button, some of your files move to the OneDrive folder and begin syncing to the cloud.
If you do not want this feature enabled, you need to click the very small blue link that reads "Only save files to this PC." During my testing, I found some configurations in which simply clicking the OneDrive icon in File Explorer turns on this feature, with no confirmation required and no warning. In recent versions of Windows 11, opening one of the known folders in File Explorer displays a prominent "Start backup" button like the one shown here.
Clicking this button opens the OneDrive Folder Backup dialog box, with all three folders selected.
And there are other places in Windows where you might be asked ask you if you want to back up your files. In most cases, it's not clear that this feature moves your files to the cloud instead of simply creating a backup copy.
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All of these options use a distinctly nontraditional definition of the word backup. Most people think of "backing up" as a way of making a copy of your files in a safe place, while leaving the original files untouched. As you'll see, that is not how this feature works. As I mentioned earlier, this can create a mess, especially if you don't understand what's going on.
First, Windows creates Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders in the OneDrive folder in your user profile. Next, it resets the location of the known folders to point to those newly created OneDrive versions. Finally, it syncs the OneDrive folder in your user profile with the OneDrive files in the cloud, using your Microsoft account.Your files that were in C:\Users\Your_profile_name\Documents are now in C:\Users\Your_profile_name\OneDrive\Documents. The Desktop and Pictures folders have also been relocated.
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And you might never notice. If you only use the shortcuts in the Windows 11 navigation bar, you'll automatically open and save files from the new locations. It's magic!
Or is it?
If you don't pay close attention, Windows will automatically set up your profile to sync these folders to OneDrive.
When you do that, unfortunately, OneDrive doesn't move your files back to the local folder, where you expect them to be. Instead, it adds a shortcut to your local folder, pointing to the synced OneDrive folder containing those files.
When you turn off folder backup, your files are still in two places and you need to move them manually.
If you want to move them back to your local storage and out of the cloud, use that shortcut to open the OneDrive folder, press Ctrl+A to select every file, then press Ctrl+X to cut those files; then return to your local folder and press Ctrl+V to move the files.
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The final option is a hybrid approach that allows you to take advantage of the 5 GB of free OneDrive cloud storage that Microsoft offers. You can keep backing up you local known folders to OneDrive, but create archive folders for older files you want to back up separately. Just make sure the total storage space for your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders stays under 5 GB. And, of course, make sure you have good backups for those archive folders.
I agree that Microsoft has done a terrible job of documenting how OneDrive works. That's a shame because it's an extremely reliable service and it represents a great way to keep local files backed up. Maybe someone on the OneDrive team will read this post and realize they need to rethink this feature so others aren't bedeviled by it.
This article was originally published on June 14, 2022, and last updated on September 25, 2024.