Syncing two computers but I want one computer's settings to overwrite the other's

You are welcome. Looking more closely through...

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/devices/enterprise-state-roaming-windows-settings-reference

Windows 10 roaming settings reference

It says...

"

Windows Settings overview

The following settings groups are available for end-users to enable/disable settings sync on Windows 10 devices.

• Theme: desktop background, user tile, taskbar position, etc.
• Internet Explorer Settings: browsing history, typed URLs, favorites, etc.
• Passwords: Windows credential manager, including Wi-Fi profiles
• Language Preferences: spelling dictionary, system language settings
• Ease of Access: narrator, on-screen keyboard, magnifier
• Other Windows Settings: see Windows Settings details
• Microsoft Edge browser setting: Microsoft Edge favorites, reading list, and other settings

"

It looks like it is by design that the icons on the Desktop & in the Taskbar are not included in the syncing process. Just peripheral characteristics regarding those are included, like the background image of the Desktop & position of the Taskbar. And I guess that actually makes sense because both can be signed in at once & used separately.

Good luck, & keep us informed.

Junaid_A did the main work here, but this article should do the rest...

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4026102/windows-10-about-sync-settings

About sync settings on Windows 10 devices

If still the Desktop isn't syncing, look through "Right-click OneDrive, Settings" to see whether the Desktop is selected.

Hi Jane,

Apologies for the delayed response. Synchronization would actually take some time to complete. If it hasn't synced yet, I would suggest you to disable and re-nable Sync to see if it helps.

Let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Hi Junaid,

Thanks so much for your reply. I followed your steps but my new profile, which has sync settings turned on, doesn't seem to have all of my Windows settings. Here is a summary of what I did:

1. Logged in with existing PIN (thanks for the PIN explanation, that was super helpful), which signs me into a MS-linked admin account that isn't set to sync. This account is called "Jane".
2. Converted this to a local (admin) account.
3. Created a new, local account called "Jane Local Not MS" and set up a new PIN and password for that user.
4. Logged in as this new user (sign-in screen is now a default MS background and my taskbar and desktop has reverted to what I guess is the MS default) and clicked on "sign in with a MS account instead", signed in with my MS account's email address and password, and confirmed that "enable sync settings" is set to On.

So this didn't seem to change my taskbar or desktop to match that of my Surface Pro 4. So I tried restarting my old laptop and logging in again as the newly set-up Jane Clark and same thing, just the default look to everything. When I open File Explorer, I didn't see my OneDrive or Dropbox. I assume none of my Office (Word, Excel) preferences are there either. The only thing that seemed to be syncing correctly is Chrome!

I also tried changing the new account to be an admin account.

While I've been typing this (on my Surface) I have my old laptop open beside me and I noticed the onedrive icon has now appeared in the taskbar and I can see the Onedrive folder in Windows explorer too. Some syncing is happening because if I make a change in Explorer (e.g. show file extensions), I see that change happen on the other computer too. (Cool!). But my Quick Access menu is different on each computer, my desktop background hasn't synced to my old laptop and my taskbar appearance is different too. And even though my Onedrive Desktop folder is now on my old laptop (and I've downloaded the files so they aren't online-only), that hasn't made those files appear on my desktop or in the Desktop folder. I thought that Onedrive/Desktop was just a mirror of Desktop? 

Can I get my old laptop to look just like my Surface?

Also:

When I log into my new account on my old laptop I always get prompted to log into MS Teams. Why?

When I look in C:/Users on my old laptop, I see folders for "Jane" and "Jane Local Not MS". But when I start up my old laptop, I have account options "Jane" and "Jane Clark". "Jane Clark" seems to connect to the "Jane Local Not MS" user but I don't understand why the name is different.

Thanks loads in advance, I'm so grateful for your help - I'd be lost without it!!!

Hi Jane,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

To make sure that nothing from the old laptop is synced with the new Surface, I would suggest you to try the steps listed below:

• If you’re already signed into the old PC with your Microsoft account, convert it to a local account.

(Go to Settings > Accounts > Your Info and click on Sign in with a local account instead)

• Once you’re signed into the local account, create a new local user or administrator account and login to the new profile.
• On the new profile, go to Settings > Accounts > Your Infoand click on Sign in with a Microsoft account instead.
• Enable Sync settings for the contents from your New Surface backup to sync.

Refer to the answer given below for your related question.

A PIN is local to the device and it cannot be used on another device though the Microsoft account is synced. You need to setup a different PIN on the new Surface so that you can use PIN login. One important difference between a password and a Hello PIN is that the PIN is tied to the specific device on which it was set up. That PIN is useless to anyone without that specific hardware. Someone who steals your password can sign in to your account from anywhere, but if they steal your PIN, they'd have to steal your physical device too!

Additional Info:

Why a PIN is better than a password

Regards,