moving photos to new one drive account

Caroline Kontor 0 Reputation points
2026-10-13T11:13:40.2866667+00:00

how to move photos from old One Drive account to new One Drive without overriding the current photos

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | Other | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-13T11:13:55.0266667+00:00

    To avoid overwriting or mixing with the photos already in the new OneDrive account, copy the old photos into a separate folder in the new account instead of moving them into the existing Pictures folder.

    Recommended approach:

    1. Set up the new OneDrive account on the PC.
      • Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area.
      • Open Help & Settings > Settings.
      • Go to the Account tab.
      • Select Add an account.
    2. In File Explorer, open the old OneDrive location and select the photos to keep.
    3. Use Copy instead of drag-and-drop.
      • This is the safer method because it is less prone to errors caused by dropping files in the wrong place.
    4. In the new personal OneDrive, create a new folder such as Old Photos or Imported Photos.
    5. Paste the copied photos into that new folder.
      • OneDrive will sync the copied files to the new account.

    Important details:

    • If moving between OneDrive accounts, syncing the files to the PC and then using File Explorer is the supported method.
    • Copying is safer than moving when the goal is to preserve the original files and avoid accidental replacement.
    • Files copied from one OneDrive account to another are treated as new files, so metadata such as Date created or Modified By is not retained.
    • If both accounts are personal Microsoft accounts, only one personal account can be added in the OneDrive desktop app at a time. In that case, copy the files to a neutral folder on the PC first, then sign in to the new personal account and copy them into its OneDrive.

    If the photos are being viewed in Photo view on OneDrive.com, move them from Files view instead, because photos cannot be moved from Photo view.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. SD - IA 182.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-13T11:59:38.1666667+00:00

    Hi,

    I assume both of them are personal accounts. See these steps:

    1. Open the OneDrive website for your old account at https://onedrive.live.com/.
    2. Select the photos and folders you want to transfer, then download them to a temporary folder on your PC, such as C:\OneDrive Transfer. Download them by dragging or Copying/pasting in the file explorer.
    3. Open File Explorer and confirm that the downloaded photos are present in the temporary folder.
    4. Open the OneDrive folder associated with your new account in File Explorer.
    5. Create a new folder named Photos from Old OneDrive inside the new OneDrive folder.
    6. Copy the downloaded photos from the temporary folder and paste them into Photos from Old OneDrive. Use Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V instead of moving the files.
    7. Wait for OneDrive to finish syncing. Check its taskbar icon for any sync errors.
    8. Sign in to the new account at https://onedrive.live.com/ and verify that the transferred photos are available.
    9. Keep the original photos in the old account until you have confirmed that the transfer is complete.

    Important: Copying the photos into a separate folder helps prevent conflicts with existing photos. If you download a large collection, transfer it in batches to avoid browser download limits or interruptions.

    I look forward to hearing from you to get the results of the troubleshooting.

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