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how to disable one drive completely in windows 11 2025h2 arms

Balvant Rajani 20 Reputation points
2025-12-31T17:01:01.5733333+00:00

I am running Windows 11 arms as VM on MBPro 2025 M5. I want to disable one drive and keep all my documents locally. What do I have to do? Thanks in advance for your help.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage
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  1. AI answer

    2025-12-31T17:01:11.23+00:00

    To disable OneDrive completely on Windows 11, you can follow these steps:

    1. Unlink OneDrive:
      • Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the taskbar.
      • Select Settings.
      • Go to the Account tab and click on Unlink this PC.
    2. Disable OneDrive from Startup:
      • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
      • Go to the Startup tab.
      • Find Microsoft OneDrive, right-click it, and select Disable.
    3. Uninstall OneDrive:
      • Open Settings by pressing Windows + I.
      • Go to Apps > Apps & features.
      • Scroll down to find Microsoft OneDrive, click on it, and select Uninstall.
    4. Prevent OneDrive from Reinstalling:
      • Open Group Policy Editor by typing gpedit.msc in the Run dialog (press Windows + R).
      • Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > OneDrive.
      • Double-click on Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage and set it to Enabled.
    5. Registry Edit (if necessary):
      • Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
      • Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive.
      • Right-click in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it DisableFileSyncNGSC, and set its value to 1.

    By following these steps, you can disable OneDrive and keep all your documents stored locally on your Windows 11 system.

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  2. EmilyS726 232.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-12-31T19:20:35.76+00:00

    In order for us to sort all of these out, it is necessary (just for now) to get OneDrive desktop app back up and running.

    To do so, go to your Start menu and see if you already have the OneDrive app installed. If so, go ahead and run it, sign in. If you don't have it installed, you will need to download it, install it back and then set it up. You can download it from here: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/onedrive/download

    Once you have the OneDrive app up and running again, please follow these steps closely:

    1. Right click on the OneDrive cloud icon on the lower right on your taskbar to go to Settings.
    2. On the "Sync and Backup" tab, click on "Advanced Settings" to expand that section. Then under File On-Demand, click on "Download all files".
    3. Give it plenty of time to allow the files to be downloaded from the online cloud. On your computer's file explorer, you can observe the OneDrive folder and its folders/files inside. You want all of the green checkmark icon to turn solid green with a white checkmark. Depends on how many files you have, this process can take a while, so please be patient.
    4. Once all of the folders and files turn into the solid green icon with white checkmark, you can go back to OneDrive Settings. Very important - click on "Manage Backup" button, then turn off all folders listed there.
    5. After you turn off the folders sync in Step 4, now go to Account tab, click on "Unlink this PC"
    6. Go to your Windows Settings > Apps, find OneDrive and uninstall it.

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