confused by the onedrive desktop and my local physical desktop?

Hi Kalee,

Thanks for contacting us and sorry for the inconveniences,

I understand that you are confused by the OneDrive desktop and your local physical desktop. Let me try to explain the difference between them.

OneDrive is a cloud storage service that lets you access your files from anywhere and sync them across your devices. You can use OneDrive to backup your important files, share them with others, and collaborate on documents online. OneDrive also has a feature called "Files On-Demand" that allows you to see all your files in File Explorer without taking up space on your device. You can choose which files you want to download and make available offline, and which files you want to keep online only.

Your local physical desktop is the folder where you store the files and shortcuts that you see on your screen when you turn on your laptop. It is usually located at C:\Users\YourName\Desktop, where YourName is your user account name. Your local physical desktop is not synced with OneDrive by default, unless you choose to do so in the OneDrive settings.

In File Explorer, there are two desktops that you can see: OneDrive - Desktop and This PC - Desktop. The OneDrive - Desktop is the folder that is synced with your OneDrive account online. It contains the files and shortcuts that you have uploaded or created in OneDrive. The This PC - Desktop is the folder that is stored on your local drive. It contains the files and shortcuts that you have saved or created on your laptop.

If you like to save files on your laptop's desktop for quick access, you can use either of the desktop folders, depending on your preference. However, there are some advantages and disadvantages of each option:

• If you use the OneDrive - Desktop folder, you can access your files from any device that has OneDrive installed or from the web browser at OneDrive.com. You can also share your files with others easily and work on them together online. However, if you have a lot of files or a slow internet connection, it may take some time to sync them between your laptop and OneDrive. You may also need to check if you have enough storage space in your OneDrive account.
• If you use the This PC - Desktop folder, you can access your files faster and without relying on the internet connection. You can also save more space in your OneDrive account for other files. However, if you lose or damage your laptop, you may lose your files as well, unless you have a backup elsewhere. You may also need to manually copy or move your files if you want to access them from another device or share them with others.

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I hope this helps!

Regards, Sola

I did not see the desktop through this PC. I had to dig down through the c drive/users...

It is still very confusing. I do not want ANY of my personal folders stored in the cloud UNLESS I SEND THEM THERE. I do much photo work and my PC is trying to upsell me on more storage. DO NOT TRY TO SELL IT TO ME. I want to safely get my date onto my pc and NAS and get rid of these confusing cloud folders. There must me a way to do it without losing my data.

And so can anyone have access to your Desktop and ALL THE FILES ON YOUR COMPUTER once they hack into your computer. Gee, thanks Microsoft! Did we ask you to encroach on our privacy like this? NO!

Enable Bitlocker encryption and turn off the "Auto Unlock" feature so that authentication will be required to unlock the drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX8QC2pRuYM