How to remove an unused OneDrive folder in File Explorer?

Question

Hi,

I have two OneDrive folders showing in File Explorer—one for my personal account and one for my former work account. I’ve already left the company, but the work OneDrive folder is still visible in File Explorer.

I can’t access any of the files in that folder, and the work OneDrive icon does not appear in the system tray (bottom-right corner of the screen), so I’m unable to manage or unlink it from there.

Could someone help me remove the old work OneDrive folder from File Explorer?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

To remove the OneDrive folder, you need to carefully edit the registry.

Click your Start Button, type regedit and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.

Click View and make sure 'Address Bar' is turned on.

Paste this into the Address Bar at the top and hit Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

In the left pane, expand the NameSpace key (folder)

There should be a number of sub-folders of NameSpace with alpha-numeric names, click each one.

When you find the folder that contains a value named OneDrive - CompanyName

Right click the folder that contains that data and choose to backup that folder (key) to a registry file.

Then, right click and delete that folder and to apply the changes, restart your PC.

Please be very careful editing the registry to ensure you only remove the folder (key) that references the work OneDrive folder.

Answer 2

Thanks, Dave — your suggestion worked perfectly and successfully removed the unused OneDrive folder. Fantastic!

Before following your advice, I tried uninstalling the OneDrive app to see if that would remove the unused folder. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. However, after applying your steps, the folder is now gone.

That said, a new issue has come up. My personal OneDrive folder has reappeared in File Explorer, but the OneDrive icon is no longer visible in the system tray. I’ve read that Windows 11 includes OneDrive by default, so reinstalling it might not be necessary — is that true?

Also, where can I configure OneDrive settings now that the system tray icon is missing? In the past, I used that icon to manage sync settings and folders.

Lastly, I’ve noticed some files in my personal OneDrive are missing in File Explorer — even though they appear on another PC that also uses OneDrive.

Do you have any suggestions for resolving this?

Thanks again!

Answer 3

To remove an unused OneDrive folder from File Explorer, you can unlink the OneDrive account associated with that folder. Since you mentioned that the OneDrive icon does not appear in the system tray, you can try the following steps:

1. Open the Registry Editor:
   • Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog.
   • Type regedit and press Enter.
2. Navigate to the OneDrive Registry Key:
   • Locate the following path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive.
3. Delete the OneDrive Key:
   • Right-click on the OneDrive key and select Delete. This will remove the OneDrive folder from your system.
4. Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer.
5. Re-link your OneDrive account (if needed):
   • After restarting, you can set up your personal OneDrive account again by going to the OneDrive website and selecting Sync.

Make sure to back up your registry before making any changes to avoid potential issues.

If you prefer not to modify the registry, you may also consider reinstalling the OneDrive application, which can help in removing the old folder from File Explorer.

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References:

• OneDrive local folder name isn't updated after changing the organization name
• The OneDrive sync status icon incorrectly shows "syncing" in File Explorer
• OneDrive for Business can't sync after tenant migration