OneDrive vs my Backup program - how to fix this mess

Question

I'll try to be brief:

1. I started OneDrive accidently last summer. It screwed up some paths for my Digital Audio Workstation, so I turned it off. So I thought.
2. Well, evidently it's still running. I recently purchased a backup program and pointed source at users....\OneDrive\Pictures etc and set the backup to run weekly. It backs up to an external HDD.
3. I have found that some of my original local files (such as in Pictures) are backing up properly, but I'm getting errors one some (randomly it seems) because the file isn't really a file, just a database marker. The actual file is on the OneDrive cloud. Sometimes it backups up a [filename]-copy, sometimes it just errors out. I have also learned that I CANNOT tell Windows Not to back uo Documents, Downloads, Desktop and Pictures. No choice. (Really, Microsoft ???)

How can I restore all the files from OneDrive that no longer exist locally, without going through them one by one (there's more than 2000)

And

Will I have access to OneDrive files if turn off One Drive, and unlink my PC?

If I uninstall OneDrive, will I still have access to the cloud files?

Thank you

Answer 1

In order for us to sort all of these out, it is necessary (just for now) to get OneDrive desktop app back up and running.

To do so, go to your Start menu and see if you already have the OneDrive app installed. If so, go ahead and run it, sign in. If you don't have it installed, you will need to download it, install it back and then set it up. You can download it from here: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/onedrive/download

Once you have the OneDrive app up and running again, please follow these steps closely:

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.
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.

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Once you have all of this sorted, you want to point your backup software's path to C:\users\your username\Documents, and same for Pictures, Desktop, etc. No need to nest them in Onedrive folder anymore.

Answer 2

To get local copies of all OneDrive files and stop OneDrive from interfering with backups, use these steps.

1. Ensure all OneDrive content is stored locally
   1. Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area.
   2. Select the OneDrive Help & Settings icon, then Settings.
   3. Go to the Sync and backup tab and make sure the folders you care about (Desktop, Documents, Pictures, etc.) are selected for syncing so they appear on the PC.
   4. In File Explorer, under your OneDrive folder, right‑click the top‑level OneDrive folder and choose the option to always keep files on this device (this forces download of all cloud‑only placeholders so they become real files). Your backup program will then see real files instead of cloud placeholders.
2. Turn off OneDrive folder backup (PC folder backup) OneDrive has a “PC folder backup” feature that redirects Desktop, Documents, Pictures, etc. into OneDrive.
   1. Open OneDrive Settings again.
   2. Go to Sync and backup > Manage backup.
   3. For each folder that shows as Backed up, toggle it off or select Stop backup (wording may vary) and confirm.
   4. When stopping backup, note:
      • Files already backed up stay in the OneDrive folder and may no longer appear in the original local folder.
      • To put them back into the local folders that Windows and your backup program use, manually move them from the OneDrive folder back to the local Desktop/Documents/Pictures folders.
   On macOS this is described explicitly, but the same behavior applies conceptually on Windows: when backup is stopped, files remain in OneDrive and must be moved back manually if they should live only on the local disk.
3. Restore/move all files from OneDrive back to local folders in bulk Once all OneDrive items are fully synced (no cloud‑only icons):
   1. In File Explorer, open the OneDrive folder.
   2. For each important folder (Desktop, Documents, Pictures, etc.) inside OneDrive, select all items (Ctrl+A) and drag or cut/paste them into the corresponding local folder under C:\Users\\<UserName>\\Desktop, Documents, Pictures, etc.
   3. After the move, verify that your backup program is pointed at the local user folders (e.g., C:\Users\\<UserName>\\Pictures) rather than ...\OneDrive\Pictures if you no longer want OneDrive in the path.
4. About access to files if OneDrive is turned off, unlinked, or uninstalled
   • Unlinking the PC or uninstalling the OneDrive sync app does not delete the cloud copies. Files remain available in OneDrive online and on any other device signed into the same account.
   • After unlinking/uninstalling, the local OneDrive folder stops syncing. Any files that were only in the cloud will no longer appear locally unless downloaded via a browser or by reinstalling/signing back into OneDrive.
   • To ensure continued access after turning OneDrive off on this PC, either:
     • Keep a full local copy (as in step 1) and then stop backup/move files out of OneDrive so they are purely local, or
     • Plan to access them via the OneDrive website or another device.
5. If Windows keeps re‑enabling backup of Desktop/Documents/Pictures If PC folder backup keeps turning itself back on, consider storing bulk data outside the standard user folders (for example, a separate data folder or partition) so OneDrive’s folder backup feature does not affect the paths used by the backup program or DAW.

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References:

• Back up your folders with OneDrive
• Where have my Desktop icons gone?
• OneDrive "Finish Back Up" message in OneDrive Menu will not go away - Microsoft Q&A