“It’d be a shame if something happened to your data.”
I’ve been railing against OneDrive’s backup “feature” since it was introduced. I believe I have good reason. The “feature” (I always put it in quotes intentionally, as I don’t consider it a feature at all) is confusing and leads to potential data loss.
Yes, those last two are intentional. “Lost data” can be found again if you’re quick and you know where to look. “Data loss”, on the other hand, is exactly what it sounds like: lost and gone forever.
I started this article some months ago and put it on pause in the hopes that Microsoft would clear up this absolute nightmare.
No such luck.
OneDrive and data loss
Once OneDrive’s backup “feature” is enabled, you can run out of storage space fast. Deleting files to make more space can lose your data permanently. Options include paying for more space, abandoning OneDrive, avoiding the backup “feature”, and becoming more OneDrive-literate so you can use it safely.
The conditions required for data loss
Here’s how you can end up losing data.
- You have a free Microsoft account with no additional storage purchased.
- You use that Microsoft account to log in to your computer, where you run OneDrive.
- You have more than 5GB of data in your Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music, and Video folders, and possibly Outlook.com attachments.
Those are all fairly common. As part of setting up Windows 10 or 11, you are strongly encouraged1 to create or use a free Microsoft account. The process of setting up Windows will enable OneDrive. The default location for your files will typically be one of those folders.
Oh, and you also need to be less than clear on how OneDrive works. Don’t feel bad: most people are in this bucket, and Microsoft is not helping.
The trigger for data loss
It generally starts here.
You have OneDrive running on your PC, and you’re using only a fraction of your OneDrive allocation.
Then, at some point — intentionally, accidentally, or without your knowledge — the OneDrive backup “feature” gets enabled.
The data in your Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music, and Video folders gets moved into your OneDrive folder on your PC, where it is synced online to OneDrive.com. That’s likely to be more than 5GB of data.
Your OneDrive is now full. In fact, it’s overfull.
OneDrive stops syncing. Instead, it begins to nag.
Let’s look at what happens if we click on “Free up space” in the dialog above.
Free up space
This option is incomplete at best. Notice the links in blue in the image below.
Click on OneDrive, and you’ll be taken to a page showing you the current largest files stored in OneDrive online. This only lists files already in OneDrive online; it doesn’t take into account the files on your PC that would be uploaded if you weren’t overfull. It completely misses the fact that part of reducing your OneDrive storage requirement must also involve the files that are about to be uploaded.
Click on Outlook (Attachments), and you’ll be redirected to a list of emails with the largest attachments.
Given that OneDrive just went out of its way to display for you the files taking up the most space online, you might think the thing to do would be to delete some of them from OneDrive. Let’s look at why that won’t actually free up space and can easily lead to data loss.
Why deleting files doesn’t free up space
Simply deleting a file in OneDrive does not immediately free up its space. When you delete a file in OneDrive (online or on your PC), that file is moved to the OneDrive Recycle Bin online, where it still takes up storage.
- Good news: if you suddenly realize you didn’t want to delete the file everywhere, you can restore it from the Recycle Bin at OneDrive.com.
- Bad news: if you realize that the Recycle Bin files take up space, and you want to free up space because OneDrive is pestering you, then the logical thing to do is empty it, at which point the file is gone forever. Why? See below.
How you lose data
Here’s the catch: because of the way OneDrive works, deleting a file from OneDrive.com online deletes it from every PC signed into that OneDrive account. Many people don’t realize that OneDrive’s purpose in life is not to provide cloud storage, but rather to synchronize files between PC’s and OneDrive.com online. That means files uploaded show up in both places, and files deleted are deleted from both places.
If you don’t clearly understand how OneDrive works, it’s trivially easy to lose data by deleting files you think are safe when they are not. It’s a story I’ve heard over and over.
Still more confusion
So far, Microsoft’s guidance implies that you free up space by deleting files from OneDrive.com, online. As we’ve seen, this deletes them from the OneDrive folder on your hard drive as well. Empty the Recycle Bin at OneDrive.com, the space is “really” freed, and you’ve lost data permanently.
But that’s not enough. It hasn’t addressed the size of the data that the OneDrive backup “feature” is still trying to place into OneDrive. Only when the contents of the OneDrive folder on your PC are under your 5GB limit does OneDrive stop complaining.
As an extreme example, I simply placed one file, 6GB in size, into my OneDrive Documents folder.2 No amount of cleaning up what’s currently stored in my OneDrive is going to make room for that file. It, by itself, is larger than my OneDrive storage allocation.
And yet none of the “help” offered so far has us looking at the files stored on the PC; the focus is on deleting items already in OneDrive.com online.
If you have more than 5GB in your default Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music, and Video folders, OneDrive will continue to nag you to delete files until the aggregate is less than your 5GB OneDrive quota.
It’s a friggin’ mess.
Solution #1: Pay the ransom
Extortion, ransom, upgrade — whatever you call it — the simplest solution is to pay Microsoft for more OneDrive storage space. All your files will be “backed up” in OneDrive.com online. All the files stored in the folders selected for the backup feature: Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music, and Video. Be sure that you’re comfortable with all those files being stored in the cloud. For example, do you want your personal, private, or corporate confidential files uploaded to Microsoft’s servers? Not everyone does.
You can purchase 100 gigabytes of OneDrive storage (there may be additional increments available), or you can sign up for Microsoft 365, which includes 1 terabyte of OneDrive storage. Simply do so with the same Microsoft account you’re using for your PC, and magically, all should be well.
I resist this solution for obvious reasons. I use the terms extortion and ransom on purpose because to me, they encapsulate the tactics Microsoft seems to be using to sell more OneDrive storage space.3
Solution #2: Stop. Using. OneDrive.
This has become my preferred solution. Get rid of OneDrive completely.
Turn off the backup “feature”, sign out of OneDrive, and then uninstall it aggressively, using a tool like Revo Uninstaller. Move all your files out of your PC’s OneDrive folder into folders of your own choice.
If you want synchronized cloud storage, many alternatives to OneDrive aren’t nearly as aggressively destructive.4
The only “catch” is this: Microsoft has shown itself to be particularly aggressive about pushing OneDrive on Windows users. There’s a risk that it’ll come back, even after an aggressive uninstall. Keep your eyes peeled. (And uninstalling it won’t prevent Microsoft Office apps from trying to use it anyway.)
Solution #3: Keep the backup “feature” off
Microsoft pushes the backup feature hard.
When they ask, “Don’t you want to back up?”, they don’t explain the ramifications, such as the impact on your OneDrive account and that all your files will be moved there.
And just like before, the “catch” is this: Microsoft is aggressive about pushing the OneDrive backup feature as well. Even after you turn it off explicitly (or avoid turning it on in the first place), there’s a good chance they’ll either turn it on anyway or guilt/fool you into turning it on. Keep your eyes peeled.
Solution #4: Learn how to use OneDrive safely
As we’ve seen, Microsoft has made OneDrive difficult to understand and even risky to use.
However, OneDrive’s heart is in the right place. If you understand how it works and the ramifications of its various and sundry features and quirks, it can be a reasonably good tool.
The key concepts you must understand when using OneDrive are these.
- OneDrive’s fundamental purpose in life is to synchronize OneDrive folders on your PC with OneDrive.com online. That’s more than providing cloud storage. It’s cloud storage with rules about how things get placed into it and how what’s in it is replicated to or deleted from all the PCs in the same account.
- OneDrive’s backup “feature” moves files on your PC from your Documents and other folders into the OneDrive folder, causing everything to be uploaded to OneDrive.com online (if there’s room). It does not copy the files; it moves them, and the difference is critical to understand.
- Turning off the OneDrive backup “feature” may not be enough, as it doesn’t necessarily undo all damage done.
- Anything you place in the OneDrive folder on your computer is affected by OneDrive. Anything not in your OneDrive folder is not. Keep files out of OneDrive by keeping them out of your PC’s OneDrive folder.
If you’re in a position to get a handle on all that, you can use OneDrive safely.
A word about backing up (of course)
What Microsoft is suggesting with OneDrive backup is honestly not a real backup. As described above, it’s cross-device file synchronization. While that can be viewed as a type of backup, it is in no way a complete backup, nor is it a replacement for a proper backup.
Here’s the thing: a proper backup solution would actually protect you from OneDrive’s misguided backup efforts. If you have a backup regimen in place (here’s my suggested backup approach for Windows), then even if OneDrive comes in and deletes your files, you will still have your own backup to recover from.
Sadly, not enough people are in this position. Please make sure you have a robust backup solution that doesn’t rely on OneDrive.
Do this
Whether it’s extortion or just stunningly bad design and marketing, Microsoft’s approach to OneDrive has been a disaster for many people. In the past, the risk of data loss was considered a show-stopping bug in a product release. Apparently, for reasons unknown, that’s no longer true when it comes to OneDrive.
Use it with caution, if you choose to use it at all.
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Footnotes & References
1: Effectively forced, in Windows 11.
2: Ironically, a Windows 11 Setup Disc image.
3: Conspiracy theorists also believe that Microsoft wants to see your documents. I don’t buy this because they already could if they wanted to, whether they’re in OneDrive or not.
Yet another reason (IMO) to NOT use OneDrivel.
I had Microsoft turn on the OneDrive Backup after a couple of feature updates, which required my having to restore a backup image and then monitor closely when Windows Update went through the feature update process. Once, OneDrive actually tried to move my Video folder to my OneDrive folder. That would have gotten me into trouble with my ISP as well as completely filling my OneDrive storage at 3.6 Tb. I no longer use OneDrive at all except for email as I use Outlook.com for email.
Hi Leo,
First of all, thank and your staff very much for all the help you give us in your wonderful articles.
I guess I am a little bit confused about “OneDrive Backup” and the “Windows Backup” (which is also not really a backup). This is the one that backups up all of the folders, credentials, Apps, and Settings and WiFi info to my OneDrive Storage (when I reset my PC or need to transfer my “stuff” to a new PC). And let’s not forget the Win7 old Backup in Control Panel (deprecated). Which probably was the closest to a backup they have ever came to. Does Microsoft have a Backup fetish? You say the OneDrive backup does not copy the files; it moves them, and the difference is critical to understand. I am glad I did not fall for that one which installing OneDrive.
Thanks Leo! Great article as always.