OneDrive thumbnails disappear offline although files are fully stored locally

Question

OneDrive thumbnails disappear offline although files are fully stored locally

Paulo R R Pinto 0

I use Windows 11 and OneDrive Personal with the OneDrive folder located at D:\OneDrive.

All files are set to Always keep on this device and are fully available on drive D:. They open normally from D:\OneDrive even without Internet access.

However:

With OneDrive running and Internet connected, thumbnails appear normally.
With Internet disconnected, or OneDrive closed, thumbnails disappear.
Files outside the OneDrive folder keep their thumbnails normally.

I also noticed that Microsoft Office references these files through https://d.docs.live.net/... instead of the local D:\OneDrive\... path.

Could you confirm whether this is expected behavior or a known issue? Since the files are fully stored and available locally on drive D:, I would expect their thumbnails to remain available offline.

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3 answers

Answer 1

This is how I fixed mine and got the Files on Demand option to show up under Settings...Advanced Settings in OneDrive.

Ctrl + Shift + Esc to bring up Task Manager.
At the top of the Task Manager window in the search bar type, "OneDrive."
Right click on the first process that has "OneDrive" in the name and choose "End Task."
Do this for each process that contains "OneDrive" in the name.
Once all processes with "OneDrive" in the name have been terminated, you can close the Task Manager window.
Windows + R to bring up the "Run" window.
In the box next to "open," type "%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\settings\Personal" and press "OK" or press "enter" on your keyboard.
A new window called "Personal" with a folder icon next to it, will open.
Scroll down the list until you see "global.ini." Double-click it to open it in Notepad. A new window called "global.ini" will open.
Look for "PlaceholdersEnabledUserSettingTribit = xxx," where "xxx" will either be "false" or "true".
If the "xxx" is "false," change it to "true" and if it's "true," change it to "false."
At the top of the window, click on "File," then click "Save."
Close the "global.ini" window and the "Personal" window.
Click on the "Start" menu and select "OneDrive" to restart the OneDrive app.
Now you should be able to click on the OneDrive icon on the bottom right of your task bar > Settings > Sync and Backup > Advanced Settings. The "Files on Demand" option should now be there and your OneDrive thumbnails should appear.

Answer 2

Xavier-D 13,755 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Paulo R R Pinto,

Since the files have the solid green check mark and still open from D:\OneDrive without an Internet connection, Always keep on this device appears to be working correctly. The issue seems limited to thumbnail generation or caching.

Previews or thumbnails are unavailable for PDFs or images larger than 100 MB. If the affected files are smaller, please try the following:

Copy one affected file from D:\OneDrive to a normal local folder outside OneDrive.
Disconnect from the Internet and close OneDrive.
Check whether the copied file retains or regenerates its thumbnail.
If it does, clear the Windows thumbnail cache using Disk Cleanup, restart Windows, and test the original OneDrive file again.
In File Explorer Options > View, confirm that Always show icons, never thumbnails is not selected.

Please also let us know which file types are affected and their approximate sizes. If the problem occurs only inside the OneDrive folder after rebuilding the thumbnail cache, it may be related to the integration between OneDrive and File Explorer rather than offline file availability.

The d.docs.live.net reference alone is not enough to confirm the cause, particularly because the files still open locally.

If the behavior remains reproducible, report it through the Feedback Hub under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > OneDrive.

I hope this helps narrow down the cause.

Please feel free to update me on this issue, I'll be happy to help.

Xavier-D 13,755 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-19T00:46:22.5733333+00:00

Hi Paulo R R Pinto

I’m following up to check on the status of this issue.

Have you had an opportunity to review the answer shared earlier?

Any update you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Paulo R R Pinto 0 Reputation points

2026-09-19T14:23:26.4366667+00:00
Hello Xavier,

Thank you for your reply. We have already performed the suggested tests, and the results are as follows:

All OneDrive files are set to Always keep on this device and are fully stored on D:\OneDrive.

The files open normally from drive D: even when offline. However, when Microsoft Office opens or references these same files, it displays a cloud address such as https://d.docs.live.net/... rather than the local D:\OneDrive\... path.

Files copied or stored outside the OneDrive folder display thumbnails normally.

Newly created files inside OneDrive can initially display thumbnails normally.

Always show icons, never thumbnails is not enabled.

The Windows thumbnail cache was cleared using Disk Cleanup and Windows was restarted, with no change.

The issue affects different file types, including PowerPoint, Word, PDF, and image files, and is not limited to files larger than 100 MB.

We also performed an additional test that seems particularly relevant:

OneDrive running + Internet connected → thumbnails appear.

OneDrive running + Internet disconnected → thumbnails disappear.

OneDrive closed → thumbnails disappear.

The files themselves remain fully available locally in all cases.

This seems to indicate that thumbnail display inside the OneDrive folder depends on the active OneDrive/online integration rather than on local file availability. The d.docs.live.net behavior may also be relevant, since Office continues to resolve the files through their OneDrive cloud identity even though the files are fully available on drive D:.

Could this be a known issue with the OneDrive–File Explorer integration?Hello Xavier,

Thank you for your reply. We have already performed the suggested tests, and the results are as follows:

All OneDrive files are set to Always keep on this device and are fully stored on D:\OneDrive.

The files open normally from drive D: even when offline. However, when Microsoft Office opens or references these same files, it displays a cloud address such as https://d.docs.live.net/... rather than the local D:\OneDrive\... path.

Files copied or stored outside the OneDrive folder display thumbnails normally.

Newly created files inside OneDrive can initially display thumbnails normally.

Always show icons, never thumbnails is not enabled.

The Windows thumbnail cache was cleared using Disk Cleanup and Windows was restarted, with no change.

The issue affects different file types, including PowerPoint, Word, PDF, and image files, and is not limited to files larger than 100 MB.

We also performed an additional test that seems particularly relevant:

OneDrive running + Internet connected → thumbnails appear.

OneDrive running + Internet disconnected → thumbnails disappear.

OneDrive closed → thumbnails disappear.

The files themselves remain fully available locally in all cases.

This seems to indicate that thumbnail display inside the OneDrive folder depends on the active OneDrive/online integration rather than on local file availability. The d.docs.live.net behavior may also be relevant, since Office continues to resolve the files through their OneDrive cloud identity even though the files are fully available on drive D:.

Could this be a known issue with the OneDrive–File Explorer integration?
Xavier-D 13,755 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-22T00:21:15.5333333+00:00
Hi Paulo R R Pinto

Thank you for the detailed test results.

Since the files remain accessible offline and thumbnails work normally when the same files are copied outside OneDrive, this appears isolated to thumbnail handling within the OneDrive folder rather than file availability or the general Windows thumbnail cache.

Files set to Always keep on this device are stored locally and available offline. However, I could not find an official Microsoft advisory confirming that thumbnails disappearing when OneDrive is offline or closed is a known issue.

The d.docs.live.net path shown by Office may reflect OneDrive integration, but by itself it does not confirm the cause of the thumbnail issue.

At this point, since the usual thumbnail troubleshooting has already been completed, reporting this reproducible behavior through Feedback Hub is recommended

You can also contact Microsoft Support for more insight:

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors, including external Microsoft employees, are not allowed to directly interfere with Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited solely to providing technical guidance on reported incidents, requests, or ideas.

Open a website link - Contact - Microsoft Support

In the box below "We're here to help", type Microsoft 365, click "Get Help", and then click "Contact Support" below.

In this section, you will need to sign in to your Microsoft account.

Select "Microsoft 365 and Office" under Products & Services, select "Technical Support" as the category, and click to confirm

You can select " Chat with a support agent in your web browser " to access the chat window.
Paulo R R Pinto 0 Reputation points

2026-09-22T10:36:19.1833333+00:00

Hello Xavier,

Thank you very much for your guidance and for helping us narrow down the issue.

Following your recommendation, I have now opened a support request directly with Microsoft so they can investigate the OneDrive–File Explorer behavior in more detail.

I appreciate your assistance.

Best regards, Paulo R R Pinto
Xavier-D 13,755 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-23T00:16:39.4733333+00:00

Hi,

I hope support can help you get this issue resolved

have a nice day

Answer 3

Nagendra Palla 0

Hi Paulo R Pinto,

Technically even the files appear on local pc, they are with shell extension and when not connected. The paths you have noticed are expected behavior. So the local path of files is automatically convers to Cloud path. Here is what i would try to make files local to pd D drive, so you need to disable collaboration on OneDrive.

Under OneDrive setting, Navigate to 'Sync and Backup' tab, expand 'Advanced Settings' and toggle off 'File Collaboration' option.

Hope this information helps!

Paulo R R Pinto 0 Reputation points

2026-09-19T14:25:00.9733333+00:00

Hello Nagendra,

Thank you for the suggestion. I checked:

OneDrive Settings > Sync and Backup > Advanced Settings

However, the File Collaboration option is not available in my current OneDrive Personal configuration.

The only options shown under Advanced Settings are download/upload rate limits, excluded file extensions, and Files On-Demand.

Is there another supported method to disable File Collaboration for a OneDrive Personal account in the current version of OneDrive?

I would like to test whether disabling this integration makes Office use the local D:\OneDrive\... files directly instead of resolving them through d.docs.live.net.