How to back my data from OneDrive to Drive D again

Question

How to recover lost data from Drive D, because it was moved to OneDrive but is not there in OneDrive because it has not been synchronized.

Answer 1

The Windows Standard folders—Desktop, Documents, and Pictures—may be synced to OneDrive without your knowledge. Without a OneDrive subscription providing the necessary storage, you must be cautious about storing your data in these folders. Make sure the folders in Manage Backup are not toggled to ON, or simply avoid storing large amounts of data in them.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/back-up-your-folders-with-onedrive-d61a7930-a6fb-4b95-b28a-6552e77c3057

I'm not sure that is what has happened, however.

Answer 2

Hello @Subhan Affan,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

I truly appreciate the time you took to describe the issue. Based on what you shared, it seems that your files disappeared from local storage after you moved them to OneDrive. To better understand what happened and help you identify where the files might be, I would like to walk through a few checks with you.

• First, please check your computer’s Recycle Bin to see if the missing files are there.
• Then, please sign in to all OneDrive accounts that you have synced on this computer and check on the web if files appear in any of them.
• Please also confirm if the device you are using is a personal computer or a company‑managed device. If it’s a company device, is it managed by Intune or domain joined?
• Could you share more details about how you moved the files from your D drive to OneDrive? After moving them, did they appear in OneDrive without syncing? And when you turned on the OneDrive sync client, is that when you noticed the files were missing?
• Finally, please check the previous OneDrive sync location on your computer to see if there are any duplicate folders with the same OneDrive name.

These details are very important, as OneDrive can sometimes create multiple folders, especially if syncing was paused, interrupted, or signed in with different accounts. Understanding whether the device is managed or personal also helps me determine if there are policies that may affect file movement or sync behavior.

Once you have reviewed these points, please update me with your findings. I’m here to help you step by step until we can identify what happened to your files and assist you with the next steps.