unable to add work account to pc onedrive app

Question

My PC OneDrive work account stopped suddenly & failed to resync. Despite of multiple trials, it failed to launch. I tried by removing the account & readd it but failed. I tried by reinstalling the OneDrive app but failed also.

Answer 1

Hi Moatasem Ahmad Mahmood Alhasson,

I understand how frustrating it can be when your OneDrive work account suddenly stops syncing and cannot be added again despite several attempts. Below are some suggestions that may help improve the issue.

1/ Check for Windows updates

Make sure your system is fully up to date by

• Go to Settings > Windows Update
• Click Check for updates
• Install all available updates and restart the PC

2/ Reset OneDrive

Resetting OneDrive can resolve many sync or sign-in issues.

• Press Windows + R
• Run the following command:
  • %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe /reset
• After a minute, start OneDrive again and try signing in.
• You can also refer to this guide: Reset OneDrive

3/ Remove cached work account credentials

Corrupted credentials can prevent the account from being added again.

• Open Control Panel
• Go to Credential Manager
• Select Windows Credentials
• Remove entries related to:
  • OneDrive
  • MicrosoftOffice
  • ADAL
  • AzureAD
• Then restart the PC and try signing in again.

4/ Clear cached sync files

You can try clearing cached sync files following this Microsoft guide: Clear cached files

5/ Remove the old work account from Windows

Sometimes Windows keeps a cached work account that causes sign-in conflicts.

• Open Settings
• Go to Accounts > Access work or school
• If the account appears, select it and click Disconnect
• Restart the PC
• Before adding the account again in OneDrive, please try to clear the OneDrive sign-in configuration by
  • Press Windows + R
  • Run: %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\settings
  • Delete the file: PreSignInSettingsConfig.json

7/ Repair Microsoft Office

If OneDrive is integrated with Office apps, repairing Office may help.

Follow this guide: Repair an Office application

I hope the information above is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out.

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Answer 2

cannot modify the onedrive app. the option is faded.

cannot find OneDrive in the Registry

Answer 3

Follow these steps in order, checking after each major step whether the OneDrive for work or school account can be added and sync starts.

1. Repair Office / OneDrive for work or school

The OneDrive for work or school sync engine is part of Office. Repairing Office often fixes broken OneDrive components without a full reinstall.

• Run an Office repair using the steps in this article: Repair an Office application.
• When the repair completes, restart Windows.
• Start OneDrive and try adding the work account again.

If the work account still cannot be added or OneDrive will not launch, continue.

2. Fully uninstall and reinstall the OneDrive sync app

The exact steps depend on how OneDrive for work or school was installed.

2.1. If OneDrive came with Office (Click‑to‑Run install)

1. Uninstall Office completely using: Uninstall Office from a PC.
2. Restart the PC.
3. Reinstall Office (which reinstalls the OneDrive sync app) using: Download and install or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2019 on a PC or Mac.
4. After installation, launch OneDrive, sign in with the work account, and configure the sync folders again.

2.2. If OneDrive was installed via a separate MSI setup

1. Uninstall the OneDrive for work or school sync app from Control Panel using: Uninstall or remove apps and programs in Windows.
2. Download and reinstall the latest OneDrive sync app from: Download OneDrive.
3. Start OneDrive and add the work account again.

If reinstalling does not help and OneDrive still will not start or accept the work account, check for policy blocks.

3. Check if Group Policy is blocking OneDrive from starting

If OneDrive does not start, does nothing when launched, or never prompts for sign‑in, an organization policy may be preventing it from running.

1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive
2. Look for the value: DisableFileSyncNGSC = DWORD:1
3. For OneDrive for work or school to run, this value must either not exist or be set to 0.
4. If it is set to 1, this indicates a Group Policy Object (GPO) is disabling OneDrive for work or school.
5. Contact the organization’s IT administrator and request that this policy be removed or changed (the policy will otherwise re‑apply after restart or policy refresh and block OneDrive again).

Details of this behavior are in: OneDrive won't start.

4. Reset Internet Explorer settings (if sync still fails)

If OneDrive launches but the work account still cannot sync or re‑add, and other users in the organization can sync the same library, custom Internet Options on the PC may interfere with authentication.

1. Reset Internet Explorer to its default state as described in the OneDrive sync troubleshooting guidance.
2. Be aware: resetting Internet Explorer removes all previous customizations of Internet Options and cannot be undone.
3. After the reset, restart the PC and try adding the work account to OneDrive again.
4. If the issue still is not resolved

If repair, reinstall, policy checks, and Internet Explorer reset do not allow adding the work account or starting sync:

• Use the self‑help options on the Microsoft 365 Community website to look for similar OneDrive for work or school sync issues.
• Ask the Microsoft 365 admin to open a support incident with Microsoft Online Services support so that logs and tenant‑specific configuration can be reviewed.

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References:

• Troubleshooting OneDrive for work or school sync issues
• OneDrive won't start
• OneDrive sync app doesn't finish installing, or setup runs every time that you sign in to your Windows profile
• How to add or remove an account in Microsoft OneDrive