How do I remove onedrive without losing my files?

Question

How do I remove onedrive without losing my files?

Vickie Johnson 0

My computer is literally eaten up by this software. I would like to remove it and delete OneDrive altogether. I have an external hard drive! This is criminal what Microsoft is doing.

How long will this be allowed to continue? I am about to go to the federal government and see what I can do about it, because I write and I feel like this is a violation of my privacy.

I think everyone else should raise a big stink about this at the same time. If we all pull together, something should get done! I don't care if I have to go to President Trump himself!

Moved from <Microsoft Edge | Other | Windows 11>

Vickie Johnson 0 Reputation points

2025-12-06T18:55:35.82+00:00

Can these instructions be printed out? I don't see an option to print.

2 answers

Your answer

Vickie Johnson 0 Reputation points

2025-12-06T18:55:35.82+00:00

Can these instructions be printed out? I don't see an option to print.

Answer 1

Lychee-Ng 26,530 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Vickie Johnson,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

I understand how frustrating this can feel when storage space is tight and you want full control over your files. You can totally remove OneDrive without losing your files, as long as you take the right steps.

1 - Backup your files

Open your OneDrive folder (usually it's in C:\Users\<YourName>\OneDrive).
Copy everything to another location — anywhere on your PC that's not OneDrive
Or you can save them to an external hard drive or USB (if it has enough space)

2 - Unlink OneDrive from your account

Right-click the OneDrive (cloud icon) in the taskbar > open Settings (gear icon)
Go to the Account tab > click Unlink this PC > Unlink account
Only choose Delete files from this PC if you're 100% sure you have backups
This stops OneDrive syncing without deleting local files.

3 - Uninstall OneDrive

Open Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps
Find OneDrive > click three-dot > choose Uninstall

Your files are safe as long as you copy them from the OneDrive folder to another location before uninstalling it. Removing OneDrive does not delete files stored locally on your PC, but it will stop syncing with the cloud.

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Lychee-Ng 26,530 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-09T08:05:08.0966667+00:00

Hi Vickie Johnson! Just wondering if the issue is resolved? If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know!
Crystal Mueller 0 Reputation points

2026-07-30T21:27:02.19+00:00

This did not work. I have my own cloud backup/storage and it isn't compatible with OneDrive and no matter how many times I try to delete One Drive it messes things up. When I unlinked the account the computer would no longer open and went into a loop trying to reset my PIN. OP's frustration of it being forced on users is extremely valid.
Lychee-Ng 26,530 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-30T23:42:48.61+00:00
Hi Crystal Mueller, this thread (and solution above) was posted from December last year, and since then many changes have been made to OneDrive, and Windows as a whole. The suggestions discussed there may no longer fully compatible with the system newest development anymore.

That said, what you're describing does not sound like a typical OneDrive issue. Unlinking or even uninstalling OneDrive should not affect your Windows Hello PIN or any of your abilities to sign in. Because of that, I suspect there may be a broader system issue involved rather than OneDrive itself.

If you're using another cloud backup or synchronization application, temporarily disable or remove it and try to uninstall OneDrive again to see if it helps. Or better, I would strongly recommend creating a new thread instead of replying to a discussion that's more than half a year old:

There have been some users' reports on Windows Hello issues, which are similar to what you're encountering. OneDrive might just be a coincidence.

Include Your Windows version and build number, the exact PIN-related behaviors, what happens when you uninstall or unlink OneDrive, and so on.

That will give your issue much better visibility and allow people to provide advice based on the current version of Windows and OneDrive.

Also, since Microsoft Q&A is just a community forum, though we as fellow users actually get where you're coming from, contributors here unfortunately cannot directly provide suggestions or intervene in Microsoft products. For that, the most appropriate avenue is the official Microsoft Feedback Hub (press Win + F).

Answer 2

To remove OneDrive without losing your files, you can follow these steps:

Unlink OneDrive: Before uninstalling, make sure to unlink your OneDrive account. Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray, select Settings, go to the Account tab, and click Unlink this PC.
Move Files: Ensure that any files you want to keep are saved to your external hard drive or another location on your computer. You can copy or move your files from the OneDrive folder to your desired location.
Uninstall OneDrive: You can uninstall OneDrive by using the following methods:
- Windows 10/11: Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features, find Microsoft OneDrive, and click Uninstall.
- Command Line: Alternatively, you can run the command OneDriveSetup.exe /uninstall in the command prompt to uninstall OneDrive.
Delete Shortcuts: After uninstalling, you may also want to delete any shortcuts related to OneDrive that may still exist on your system.

By following these steps, you can successfully remove OneDrive without losing your files.

References:

How to block OneDrive.exe from being advertised after you install Office 2016