OneDrive corrupted files

Question

I already have contacted support via email and even have a case created, but after few replies I realized I shouldn't expect my issue to be resolved as the latest reply I received was pretty "standard" and dismissive: "...we would like to inform you that OneDrive doesn't corrupt the files, it is simply a storage allocated to you in the cloud, it does not have any mechanism that your corrupt or change the content of your files in any way, it simply uploads and keeps your data safe in the cloud...". I'm posting this question for awareness. Perhaps, it could help other people to avoid data loss like the one I have experienced. However, in case you have any thoughts on this or can offer a working solution or a workaround, your comments are highly appreciated!

TL; DR OneDrive or SharePoint may occasionally corrupt your files when you sync them locally. In certain cases, you won't be able to restore them even from the version history. I would not recommend relying on this service for storing important information.

So, my issue is following: one day all of a sudden a number of files stored in cloud and synced locally with OneDrive became "corrupted", e.g. respective applications (Excel, Acrobat Reader etc.) stopped opening them showing a message "The file can't be open ... bla-bla":

An attempt to open the remote (server) version of the same files in browser from the SharePoint web page lead me to the same result - "The file can't be opened..." kind of message:

Those files where uploaded to OneDrive quite a while ago and they were accessible before. So I decided to look into Version History hoping to restore a proper version from there. How surprised I got when I figured out that current (corrupted) version was the only one record in the history. Another weird discovery was the modified date of the file not matching the modified date of that history entry record:

When I looked at the locally synced file, I noticed, that its modified/created date wasn't changed, e.g. it was Feb 26, 2020 and not Nov 18, 2020:

I then decided to look inside the file and try to figure out what those apps meant when saying "corrupted". I found this:

This happened to me with the paid Office 365 Family subscription. But even if you're subscribed to Office 365 Business and you think you could "rest assured", you're wrong, unfortunately. I'm experiencing exactly the same issue with my Office 365 Business subscription too. But in this case I'm able to restore some of the files. Here I'm able to see the "corrupted" version and the previous one in the version history:

Note, that modified date/time and size match exactly in both versions. The only difference is "Modified By" field (real names are blurred intentionally, but they are different), e.g. those versions are kind of "authored" by different users. I was able to "fix" the file by restoring it to a lower version number. I'm afraid that in case of personal OneDrive storage, the uncorrupted version is lost or not displayed which makes file content lost forever.

I shared all of this with the support and still received a "... this can't be true ..." kind of message from them. So, as I said in the beginning, I'm not expecting any REAL help from them. But I would appreciate any thoughts or comments on this from Community as the situation itself is very frustrating.

Dear Office support! After reading this, do you still believe that "...OneDrive doesn't corrupt the file..."? You can repeat this as a mantra multiple times, but this won't change or hide the facts. Please face the truth: ONEDRIVE DOES CORRUPT FILES!

Answer 1

I've had something similar but different happen to the backup I keep in onedrive. Suddenly loads of folders appear empty that had many files in them before. 

The restore tool shows no changes having occurred to One Drive in 30 days, which is bull. There are no restore points in the tool so I can't go back to a version before it happened. 

The empty folders are all time stamped for Friday last at 8pm. I was in One Drive last week and all was fine. 

I've had at least 4 cases opened by Microsoft via email after over 3.5 hours on live chat tech support. They've opened cases for each email, and each time they reply to an email they fail to read the case history. I keep getting support to retrieve my files, which we established early on that they're gone. I've been asked for consent to look at my file history 3 times, and to check the recycle bin 6 times. 

They have not investigated what my case actually asks them to... What happened at Friday 8pm. They have not looked into why I have no restore information or change history listed in the restore tool.

They have told me 6 times they don't support data loss enquiries due to the number of variables that can cause data loss. I just want them to look at my history for 8pm Friday. Its not exactly days of work. 

And more importantly I want them to fix whatever bug I've found to stop the restore tool from working. 

I'm locked into Microsoft products now, but only as a back up... And the most important files are going to be on Google drive too (and our antique Nas).

Answer 2

Update from OneDrive Escalations team:

"Hello there, Thanks for your patience. We have checked your issue with the engineering team and they have confirmed that there was no problem at our end. Since there is no version history, it can not be recovered."

Come on, guys! Try harder! Are you unable to find an issue or unwilling to do it? How can there be no problem on your side, when modified date and last history entry’s date are not equal?!

OneDrive and SharePoint SUCK!!! Support is helpless and useless! Now I'm officially left alone with my problem.

Answer 3

Hi BrinySkate87799,

I go through your post carefully and I apologize for all the trouble it has caused and sorry about your time.

As per your description, first glad to know that you are able to "fix" the file by restoring feature to a lower version number from OneDrive for business version history feature.

Based on your error message, usually indicates the file is not compatible with the Excel version or the file has come corrupt or damaged.

As we know, you can view or restore previous versions of documents in OneDrive for Business or for OneDrive personal as well , as long as you haven't turned off document versioning

As in case of personal OneDrive storage, there is also we can Restore your OneDrive files if the flies are get corrupted.

I appreciate your patience and understanding.

Best Regards

Waqas Muhammad

Answer 4

Hi BrinySkate87799,

Feel free to post back if you need further assistance.

Best Regards,

Waqas Muhammad

Answer 5

If you did go through my post carefully you would have noticed that versioning does not help in case of OneDrive Personal, since the original version of the file does not show up in the version history. The article you have provided is useless as well. It suggests four options. Neither of them seem to work:

1. "Restore files or folders from the OneDrive recycle bin" - not the case since the files got corrupted, not deleted.
2. "Restore files from OneDrive version history" - no comment here, read my post again
3. "Use OneDrive Files Restore" - suggests to "...undo all the actions that occurred on both files and folders within the last 30 days...". First of all, I don't want to undo all the changes, I want to restore only certain files that got corrupted. If I undo all the changes, who knows what other data (e.g. files created AFTER the restore point) I might lose? I have hundreds of files in many folders and I don't keep track of all the changes I do daily. And why should I? I rely on Microsoft to do it for me and I pay money for this on a monthly basis.
4. "Restore files and folders from a cloud backup service" - "...If you subscribe to a third-party cloud backup service and you have a backup of your OneDrive files from before the incident occurred, you may be able to restore all your files at once...". Wait, WHAT?! Are you suggesting that I should use another cloud storage to back up files stored in your cloud storage - OneDrive?! Are you kidding me? Nevertheless, I DID RELY on Microsoft before this corruption happened to me but now I realize I shouldn't anymore.