Office 365 and OneDrive

It's MS.

It is MS Windows.

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They can call it Baked Alaska if they want to. But that doesn't make it one.

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Or in other words, I simply do not agree with their characterization of OneDrive Sync as being a "backup".

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Look through the forum index page. In the last day or two there are several people complaining about files "lost" from OneDrive in various circumstances. That is not a very good "backup" if the files can evaporate.

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I'll say it again. If you copy files to OneDrive that are not "Sync'd, then yes, that is a valid part of a backup strategy. Those files are both a second copy and an off-site copy. A vital part of a good backup strategy.

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How to Back Up Your Computer: 3-2-1

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/guides/how-to-back-up-your-computer/

By Thorin KlosowskiUpdated September 29, 2021

.  *  What makes a good backup?

.  *  The tools you need to back up your computer

.  *  Back up your computer to the cloud with Backblaze

.  *  Create local Windows backups with File History

.  *  Create local Mac backups with Time Machine

.  *  How to restore your files from backups

Experts recommend the 3-2-1 rule for backup:

.  *  three copies of your data

.  *  two local (on different devices)

.  *  one off-site.

For most people, this means the original data on your computer, a backup on an external hard drive, and another on a cloud backup service.

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Here is another article with a sensible variation, 3-2-1-1

https://blog.storagecraft.com/its-time-to-move-past-traditional-3-2-1-backups/ 

But you could make the “2” step one of the 2 “local” drives could be a WORM (Write Once, Read many) drive, ie DVD-R drive.
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OneDrive is not a backup, it’s a cloud location of your data.

The default installation of Office 365 and its OneDrive component uploads all the contents of the PC  \My Documents\ folders to OneDrive, (syncs) and there will be a OneDrive folder in File Explorer containing all the OneDrive content. And in Word etc the default Save location is set to OneDrive.

And if you have purchased 365 since it includes OneDrive with 1tb you are not saving anything by use GoogleDrive

If you can't backup to OneDrive, why does it exist in the settings?:

I realize that I am not using Google Drive any longer - vis a vis: "I dropped it". I don't think you understand my question either. Are you saying that I cannot eliminate One Drive from my Office 365 and still have OneDrive backup selected folders?

I believe you don't want OneDrive backing up your Documents, Desktop, and/or Pictures folders. When you back up these folders you must back up all files in them. Perhaps backing up only the OneDrive folder would be best.

Here's how to turn off the OneDrive PC Folder Backup for the Documents, Desktop, and/or Pictures folders. Then you will have only the OneDrive folder actively syncing to OneDrive. See the video here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/back-up-your-documents-pictures-and-desktop-folders-with-onedrive

I realize that I am not using Google Drive any longer - vis a vis: "I dropped it". I don't think you understand my question either. Are you saying that I cannot eliminate One Drive from my Office 365 and still have OneDrive backup selected folders?