How do you download everything from OneDrive to your computer, especially old files? An old issues on this is locked without an ability to answer.

Anonymous
2025-03-07T22:46:08+00:00

It takes a long time, but copy blocks of your files from OneDrive to an EXTERNAL drive that is not subject to OneDrive control. Verify that this works on a small scale first. Once you know that all your files are on the external drive(s) with 'Properties' that counts files & folders, you can uninstall/unsubscribe from OneDrive, subscribe to a competitive service and copy your files back to the internal hard drives. My sense is that this is not practical for anything over a Terabyte, but it got me what I needed. My further sense is that this is the approach that some folks' technical support groups used, just with better infrastructure of a 'repair shop' that I have. Good luck!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Recovery and backup

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
EmilyS726 270.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor
2025-03-08T00:19:31+00:00

Hello,

OneDrive has download file size and quantity limit, so the best way is to do it like this:

In order for us to sort all of these out, it is necessary 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/onedriv...

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, it means all files are now locally on your computer.

If you still want to use OneDrive, leave it here. Otherwise continue:

5you can go back to OneDrive Settings. Very important - click on "Manage Backup" button, then turn off all folders listed there.

  1. After you turn off the folders sync in Step 4, now go to Account tab, click on "Unlink this PC"
  2. Go to your Windows Settings > Apps, find OneDrive and uninstall it.

Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

6 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. EmilyS726 270.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-03-08T18:34:27+00:00

    You are welcome. So it is all good now, right?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2025-03-08T17:34:27+00:00

    *** UPDATE *** the OneDrive Cloud icon is found up in the File Explorer strip menu. Once I clicked that open, I found settings and the rest of your protocol worked perfectly. Thanks again!

    Emily, I don't see the OneDrive cloud icon ... I'm running Windows 11 and it's installed (I can't re-install it from the included link). I'm embarrassed to not see how to follow your instructions.

    ImageImage

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. EmilyS726 270.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-03-08T00:53:47+00:00

    You are welcome. Good luck!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2025-03-08T00:52:37+00:00

    Hi, EmilyS726- This sounds a whole lot better than my clunky solution ... I'll start over with your protocol & respond back with SitRep. Thanks!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments