How do I make sure I can keep my files that are on a old laptop from an old OneDrive

Question

Two years ago I ended secondary school and my then school deleted my microsoft account (unnotified) a couple before the school. This means I had no oppurtunity to store all the files I had worked on. Today I opened my old laptop and discovered and that all my files were still on there. All my folders and structure remain but I havent dared to try opening them.

How do I proceed and make sure to get them saved. My initial plan was to copy all the files to a USB and transfer them to my current laptop. When I tried that it said that I don't have access to the OneDrive anymore. Is there still hope in saving them or should I give up.

Answer 1

Hi @M-5412,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum and for taking the time to explain your situation in detail.

I completely understand why you’re being especially cautious here. To clarify, if the files are genuinely still stored locally on that old laptop, then yes, you can absolutely save them. The important first step is to confirm whether those files are truly local files or if they are OneDrive “online‑only” placeholders.

Based on what you described (where the “folders and structure remain,” but copying to a USB results in a message saying you don’t have access to OneDrive), it’s quite possible that Windows is still displaying the OneDrive folder structure even though not all files are actually downloaded to the device.

To help move forward, here are a few things you can check:

1/ Check whether the files are “online‑only” or available locally:

If OneDrive Files On‑Demand was enabled, File Explorer can display your entire OneDrive library even when the files are not physically stored on the device. Online‑only files do not take up local disk space and require OneDrive access to open or download.

In File Explorer, OneDrive files usually display status icons (for example, a cloud icon for online‑only files).

If you notice that many items are marked as online‑only, attempting to open or copy them may try to download them from the cloud, which would fail if the school account has already been deleted.

2/ Try copying only files that are confirmed local:

If a file is available locally (meaning it is not online‑only), you should be able to copy it to another location, such as a folder on C:\ outside of OneDrive, and then copy it to a USB drive just like any normal Windows file. (This follows standard Windows file copy behavior.)

Since this was a school or work account that was deleted two years ago, you likely won’t be able to sign in to that OneDrive anymore. In addition, for work or school OneDrive accounts, deleted data is not retained indefinitely. As Microsoft explains, recycle bin retention for work/school accounts is typically up to 93 days unless the organization has configured otherwise. Therefore, after two years, recovery directly from OneDrive is generally unlikely unless the school still has administrative retention or backup policies in place.

Here are a few helpful practices to preserve whatever data you can:

• Avoid using the “Free up space” option on any of those folders or files on the old laptop, as this can convert locally stored files into online‑only items. The Files On‑Demand feature explains how files can exist as online‑only versus always available. You can review more details here: Save disk space with OneDrive Files On-Demand for Windows.
• Focus on recovering anything that is already available offline or stored directly on the device, rather than items marked as online‑only.
• Once the files are safely copied to another location, you can then upload them to your current storage, such as your current OneDrive. Microsoft provides guidance on this process here: Copy, transfer or import files to your personal OneDrive. If these files are especially important and you believe some of them may still exist online, your only remaining option would be to contact the school’s IT administrator to ask whether they can restore or access the deleted account or data, provided their retention policies allow it. Unfortunately, community forum moderators like us are not able to restore or access organization‑managed education tenants or accounts.

I hope this information is helpful. I’m glad to be able to assist and sincerely hope the tips shared above prove useful. Please feel free to reach out again if you need any further help.

Thank you for your kindness and for contributing to the forum.

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Answer 2

To ensure you can save your files from your old laptop, you can follow these steps:

1. Access Your Files: Since your files are still on the old laptop, you should be able to access them directly from the file explorer without needing to connect to OneDrive. Navigate to the folders where your files are stored.
2. Copy to USB: Connect a USB drive to your old laptop. You can then copy the files and folders directly from your laptop to the USB drive. If you encounter any access issues, ensure that you are logged in with an account that has the necessary permissions to access those files.
3. Transfer to New Laptop: Once the files are copied to the USB drive, safely eject the drive and connect it to your new laptop. You can then transfer the files from the USB drive to your new laptop.
4. Backup: After transferring, consider backing up your files to a cloud service or another external drive to prevent future data loss.

If you encounter any issues while copying files, such as permission errors, you may need to check the file properties or consult with someone who can help you with file permissions on the old laptop.

If you cannot access the files due to restrictions related to your old Microsoft account, you might still be able to access the files locally on your laptop without needing to connect to OneDrive.

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References:

• How do I transfer information from my old PC to a new without using the cloud? - Microsoft Q&A