One Drive local files

Lynette D 0 Reputation points
2026-09-25T18:09:14.25+00:00

Good afternoon,

I would like to cancel my one drive subscription but do not know how to remove the files from one drive and save them locally on my computer before deleting them from one drive? I do not want to lose my documents. Please provide a step by step process to save my documents to my computer and then to delete them from one drive before canceling the srvice.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Other
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  1. EmilyS726 270.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-25T18:47:30.28+00:00

    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.

    After that, you can go to www.onedrive.com and safely delete all files on the web.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-25T18:09:30.0733333+00:00
    1. First, stop OneDrive from continuing to sync changes from the PC.
      • Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area.
      • Select Help & Settings or the gear icon, then Settings.
      • Go to the Account tab.
      • Select Unlink this PC and confirm.
    2. If Desktop, Documents, or Pictures are being backed up by OneDrive, turn that off before moving files.
      • Open OneDrive Settings.
      • Go to Sync and backup.
      • Select Manage backup.
      • Turn off the folders being backed up.
      • When prompted, choose whether to keep the files only on my PC or only in OneDrive. To keep documents locally, choose only on my PC.
      • If a folder contains cloud-only files, download them first by changing them to Always keep on this device.
    3. Make sure the files needed on the computer are outside the OneDrive folder.
      • Open File Explorer.
      • Find the OneDrive folder.
      • Move the documents wanted to keep from the OneDrive folder to another local folder that is not inside OneDrive.
      • Take care when moving files. If something is moved by mistake, CTRL + Z can undo the last file move.
    4. Verify the files open correctly from the new local folder.
      • Open a few documents from the new location.
      • Confirm they are no longer inside the OneDrive folder path.
    5. Delete the files from OneDrive to free cloud storage.
      • After confirming the local copies are outside the OneDrive folder, delete the files from OneDrive online.
      • Deleted files go to the OneDrive recycle bin first.
      • If many files were deleted by mistake, the safest option is to let the action complete, then undo with CTRL + Z or restore them from the OneDrive website recycle bin.
    6. After confirming everything is safe locally, OneDrive can be removed from the computer if needed.
      • Open Settings in Windows.
      • Go to the list of installed apps.
      • Find Microsoft OneDrive.
      • Select Uninstall.
      • Removing OneDrive from the computer does not delete files or data already stored in OneDrive; files remain accessible by signing in to OneDrive on the web until they are deleted there.
    7. If the goal is to erase everything from OneDrive before canceling the service, use this order:
      • Unlink this PC first.
      • Delete the cloud files online.
      • Wait briefly before emptying the OneDrive recycle bin, in case anything needs to be restored.

    Important:

    • Files moved out of the OneDrive folder are not backed up or protected by OneDrive.
    • Deleting files online keeps them deleted from OneDrive.
    • Files deleted from the OneDrive recycle bin cannot be recovered.
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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