OneDrive in File Explorer doesn't open any files

Question

I have OneDrive and it is working perfectly well in the cloud and all my information is stored there. It also works perfectly well on my phone and on the app and all my folders are there. I do not want this to change. However, on my laptop, the OneDrive file explorer drive folder is there, but there is nothing in it. Similalry, the toolbar OneDrive icon is there, but there is nothing in it. I have however, located my OneDrive elsewhere within different folders. My questions therefore is this, how do I repoint the file explorer OneDrive folder and also the OneDrive icon in my taskbar, so that they look in the OneDrive folder that I have located elsewhere on my laptop folders?

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[Tag moved from: Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | Other | Other]

Answer 1

Hello Chris

From what you described, your OneDrive files are still available online and on your phone, but the OneDrive folder shown on your laptop is empty or not matching the folder where you found your files locally.

how do I repoint the file explorer OneDrive folder and also the OneDrive icon in my taskbar, so that they look in the OneDrive folder that I have located elsewhere on my laptop folders?

You cannot directly “repoint” the OneDrive icon in File Explorer or the taskbar like a normal shortcut. Those locations are controlled by the OneDrive sync app, so OneDrive needs to be configured to use the correct local sync folder instead.

To help OneDrive rebuild the correct local sync view, you can try the following steps:

1. On the laptop, please first open the OneDrive cloud icon > Settings > Account > Choose folders, then make sure the folders are selected to appear locally.
2. If it still shows empty, try resetting OneDrive to refresh the local sync setup.:

• If you are using Windows, press Windows + R, then enter: %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset Then open OneDrive again from the Start menu.
• If you are using Mac, you can reset OneDrive from the OneDrive app package contents or reinstall the latest OneDrive app if needed.

Please let me know how it goes after trying these steps, and I'll be glad to continue looking into it with you.

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