Move Pictures folder back to default location Windows 11

Question

I just got a new desktop with Windows 11 which I am new to. In setting everything up, I opened OneDrive just to see the options and it immediately began copying all my folders/files to it which I did not want. I got it stopped but some of my files are in the local OneDrive on my computer. I was able to move my Desktop back to c:\users<username> with technical support but not Pictures, although I can still access them as they are locally stored. The path to them is c:\users<myusername>\OneDrive. I would like to get them back to C:\Users<myusername>. There is not a Pictures icon under my username, as it is now in OneDrive (shown as a mountain with a star in the sky). I want to move my pictures back to where they originally were. In another windows 11 forum the instructions are:

"Right click on the Pictures folder in the navigation pane of File Explorer where pictures are located,( which is now in OneDrive folder) and click on Properties>location tab to see the path. (which is now c:\users<myusername>OneDrive). Then click on the Restore Default button. If I get a pop up that says "the folder C:\users<username>Pictures does not exist would you like to create one"?, I am supposed to click yes, and then yes again to move all files. I am hesitant to do this without reassurance that it is the correct procedure. I would appreciate any help. Thanks.

Answer 1

Yes, you can move the pictures that are still in the OneDrive folder to your C:\users\your username\Pictures folder.

After that, you should be able to delete the other folders.

Answer 2

Beautiful!! That should do it. Restart the computer and check.

Answer 3

Yes, if you follow my instruction, it will work. Yes, you can feel free to share a screenshot after you finish the edit so I can double check for you.

Answer 4

Hello, this is Emily.

Please do not move any of the files or folders around. Instead, do the following instead.

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.

If you want to continue using OneDrive, you can restart the computer and stop here. Otherwise, continue steps 5 and 6 to get rid of OneDrive.

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.

Answer 5

My onedrive is turned off, so when I go to OneDrive settings the message just says "you don't have an account connected" and there is no Advanced button. the OneDrive icon in the task bar is grey and has a line through it indicating it is turned off. I do not want to turn it on again. The only 2 folders that got backed up before i got it stopped was documents and pictures. I was able to move the documents folder back to users>"myname" using the above procedure I mentioned but there was already a documents folder (icon looking like piece of paper with writing on it) in my Users>username folder. So the location is now correct in the properties tab (doing a right-click on the folder). There is not a pictures folder (icon looking like a mountain with a moon) in my users>username folder.