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Remove all traces of OneDrive from my Computer

Anonymous
2023-05-23T18:46:18+00:00

I do not want OneDrive operating on my computer. I have uninstalled it via the "Add Remove Programs" window. It no longer appears in my tray icon and no OneDrive process is running in Task Manager.

However, all of my files continue to default save in a "OneDrive" folder (e.g. C:\Users<myusername>\OneDrive\Desktop or C:\Users<myusername>\OneDrive\Documents). If I manually type the Desktop folder address to remove the "\OneDrive" from the file directory name (e.g. type in C:\Users<myusername>\Desktop), it automatically redirects me to C:\Users<myusername>\OneDrive\Desktop. There are default two Documents folders (one in C:\Users<myusername>\OneDrive\Documents and one C:\Users<myusername>\Documents), which gets extremely confusing because some files get saved in one and some in the other.

Also, when I save files from Microsoft Office, the files attempt to communicate with the internet when saving via OneDrive (even though it's uninstalled from my computer). It also is confusing be

How do I rid my computer of OneDrive completely?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-05-24T08:02:35+00:00

    If you have uninstalled OneDrive from your computer and your Desktop folder is still being redirected to the OneDrive folder, you can try resetting the location of your Desktop folder to its default location. Here’s how you can do this:

    Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Users<myusername>. Right-click on the Desktop folder and select Properties. In the Properties window, go to the Location tab. Click on the Restore Default button, then click on OK. If you’re prompted to move all of the files from the old location to the new location, click on Yes. After resetting the location of your Desktop folder, it should no longer be redirected to the OneDrive folder. You can then move any files you want from the OneDrive Desktop folder to your local Desktop folder.

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-11-12T08:16:53+00:00

    Please note removing OneDrive completely is a bad idea. OneDrive is part of Windows and it may come back with a vengeance, messing up your computer. You have been warned.

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-05-23T19:28:25+00:00

    Hi

    I'm AnnaThomas and I'd happily help you with your question. In this Forum, we are Microsoft consumers just like yourself.

    If you want to completely remove OneDrive from your computer, you can try the following steps:

    Unlink OneDrive: If you haven’t already, make sure to unlink your OneDrive account from your computer. To do this, right-click on the OneDrive icon in the system tray and select Settings. In the Account tab, click on Unlink this PC and follow the prompts.

    Move your files: Move any files that are currently stored in the OneDrive folder to a different location on your computer.

    Delete the OneDrive folder: After moving your files, you can delete the OneDrive folder from your computer. To do this, open File Explorer and navigate to the OneDrive folder (usually located in C:\Users<yourusername>\OneDrive). Right-click on the OneDrive folder and select Delete.

    Change default save locations: To prevent your files from being saved to the OneDrive folder by default, you can change the default save locations for your files. To do this, open the Settings app and go to System > Storage > Change where new content is saved. From here, you can select a new location for each type of file.

    Disable OneDrive in Office: If you are using Microsoft Office, you can disable OneDrive integration to prevent it from attempting to communicate with the internet when saving files. To do this, open an Office application (such as Word) and go to File > Options > Save. Uncheck the box that says Save to Computer by default and uncheck the box that says Show additional places for saving, even if sign-in may be required.

    I hope these steps help you completely remove OneDrive from your computer.

    Best Regards,

    AnnaThomas

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-11-15T18:40:17+00:00

    Ron,

    Thank you for your update regarding the consequences of uninstalling OneDrive. During my search for how to uninstall OneDrive I have noticed there are many who wish to not have it. It messed me up to the point I am seriously considering moving over to getting a Mac.

    For Windows 10, launching OneDrive was an option. I just wish it were the same for Windows 11.

    Give me simplicity.

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  3. Stefan Blom 340.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-05-24T08:44:01+00:00

    You can uninstall OneDrive, but I suspect that doing this basically removes the most recent version of the app. Behind the scenes, you still have active "parts" of OneDrive, because it is integrated with the operating system.

    Before you uninstalled the app, did you turn off the synchronization settings? You may still be able to access those settings, if you manually start (the older version of) the app.

    To prevent Office applications from trying to save new files to OneDrive, start Word and click File > Options > Save. Select the "Save to Computer by default" option. Specify a "Default local file location" if necessary.

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