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How do I get rid of the brown file boxes on the bottom corner of my files in OneDrive?

Jordan Kraft 0 Reputation points
2026-04-27T13:23:11.5133333+00:00

Recently, most of my files in OneDrive have a brown file box in the bottom left corner. I cannot open any of these files and I cannot use them. How do I get ride of the brown box and access these files? How do I prevent this from happening again?

Thanks!

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows
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  1. DaveM121 876.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-04-27T14:01:26.2566667+00:00

    The brown file box overlay on the OneDrive files indicate you have set OneDrive settings to 'Files on Demand', that setting causes the files to be uploaded to OneDrive online and removed from your PC to save space and the brown box indicates OneDrive is currently not syncing correctly.

    Open OneDrive settings, then stop OneDrive syncing, wait for a few seconds, then start OneDrive syncing again and wait for that process to complete.

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  3. Q&A Assist
    2026-04-27T13:23:22.2233333+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    The brown box overlay on Desktop/OneDrive icons is caused by an issue with Windows Explorer, not by the files themselves. Restarting Windows Explorer clears the brown boxes and lets the icons display normally.

    Follow these steps to restart Windows Explorer:

    1. Press Windows key + E to open File Explorer.
    2. Press CTRL + ALT + DEL and select Task Manager.
    3. In Task Manager, select More details to show all apps and processes.
    4. On the Processes tab, under Apps, right‑click Windows Explorer.
    5. Select Restart.

    This should remove the brown boxes from the file icons. The issue is a shell/Explorer glitch, so preventing it is mainly a matter of keeping Windows updated; if it reappears, repeat the same restart steps.

    References:

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