Onenote refresh

Question

Uninstall and reinstall onenote, files missing. would like to start fresh.

Answer 1

To start fresh with OneNote on Windows, uninstall it and then reinstall the desktop app.

1. Uninstall OneNote (if installed as part of Office):
   • Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps (or Control Panel > Programs and Features).
   • Find Microsoft 365/Office and choose Modify or Uninstall depending on how you want to remove OneNote.
   • If OneNote is a separate entry, select it and choose Uninstall.
2. Reinstall the OneNote desktop app:
   • Go to the OneNote download page and Download OneNote: Download OneNote.
   • After the download finishes, double-click the downloaded file to start Setup.
   • The installer automatically detects whether the system is 32-bit or 64-bit and matches the OneNote installation to the existing Microsoft 365 or Office 2019 installation.
3. Licensing and starting clean:
   • After installation, OneNote automatically associates with the currently activated Microsoft 365 or Office 2019 license on the PC.
   • If OneNote was installed before Microsoft 365/Office activation, it may show a “Home and Student” license, but once Office is activated and OneNote restarted, it has full licensed capabilities.

If the goal is a completely clean start (no old notebooks or settings), also remove or rename local notebook files and ensure everything important is synced/backed up before uninstalling, as removing local data can permanently delete unsynced notes.

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References:

• Install or reinstall OneNote for Windows

Answer 2

Hello Wayne Johnston,

I see that you want to Uninstall and reinstall OneNote. Here is my suggestion for you:

Option 1: Start completely fresh (no recovery)

Use this only if you do not want any old notes back.

1. Close OneNote
2. Uninstall all OneNote apps
   • Settings > Apps > Installed apps
   • Remove OneNote and OneNote for Windows 10 (if present)
   • Restart Windows
3. Delete local OneNote cache folders, Windows 11: %userprofile%\Documents\OneNote Notebooks %AppData%\Microsoft\OneNote
4. Restart Windows
5. Install OneNote (desktop) from Microsoft Store or Microsoft 365 installer
6. Open OneNote > Sign in
7. Create a new notebook

Result: Blank OneNote, no old data.

For more information: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/install-or-reinstall-onenote-for-windows-c08068d8-b517-4464-9ff2-132cb9c45c08

Option 2: Verify nothing is left in the cloud (important)

Do this once before starting fresh.

1. Go to OneDrive web https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/onedrive/online-cloud-storage
2. Sign in with every Microsoft account you may have used
3. Check for:
   • Any notebook folders
   • .one files
4. If no notebooks exist > data is already gone

Option 3: Last‑chance local recovery (optional)

Only works if backups still exist locally.

1. Open OneNote
2. File > Info > Open Backups
3. Look for .one section files
4. Open > Move or Copy > keep or discard
5. If nothing appears > no recoverable local data exists

For more information: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/restore-missing-content-after-migrating-from-onenote-for-windows-10-to-onenote-on-windows-0388684e-3169-4313-9ad8-d6d805c120b9

Please note:

• Uninstalling OneNote removes the local cache
• Cloud notebooks only return by re‑opening them from OneDrive
• If they do not exist on OneDrive, they are not recoverable

I hope this will help with your situation. Please feel free to reach back if you have further update or more questions.

Best Regards,

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