all my photos and files have been moved off my computers hard drive to one drive. AL

Question

all my photos and files have been moved off my computers hard drive to one drive. AL

David Wolsey 0

ALL MY PHOTOS THAT WERE ON MY HARD DRIVE HAVE BEEN MOVED TO "ONE DRIVE" AND COMPETELY RE-ORDERED. I WANT TO GET THEM BACK IN ORDER. THE SAME WITH MY FILES

Linux is coming 0 Reputation points

2026-11-11T19:13:23.8866667+00:00

What the hell. I just signed up to backup my pc on onedrive and now MY FILES HAVE FUCKING BEEN MOVED!

Why would microsoft be so fucking stupid to choose to do that?

How do I get my file structure back and still have a backup. or do i need to just backup the old fashioned way?

6 answers

Your answer

Linux is coming 0 Reputation points

2026-11-11T19:13:23.8866667+00:00

What the hell. I just signed up to backup my pc on onedrive and now MY FILES HAVE FUCKING BEEN MOVED!

Why would microsoft be so fucking stupid to choose to do that?

How do I get my file structure back and still have a backup. or do i need to just backup the old fashioned way?

Answer 1

EmilyS_726 34,280 Volunteer Moderator

David, I am happy to walk you through.

Very important - don't try to move anything at all. We can sort this through.

This is the original instruction I gave you, in order for me to unpack anything and walk you through, I need to know which step you ran into issue/challenge, and we will work on this.

Right click on the OneDrive cloud icon on the lower right on your taskbar to go to Settings.

On the "Sync and Backup" tab, click on "Advanced Settings" to expand that section. Then under File On-Demand, click on "Download all files".
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.
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.

David Wolsey 0 Reputation points

2025-07-08T15:31:24.08+00:00

When I click on the cloud icon I just get the option to”unpin from start, “resize” uninstall, so failed at the first click.
David Wolsey 0 Reputation points

2025-07-08T15:36:35.2833333+00:00

I have been into the computer shop and explained the problem. They are going to look at it. Will be without a computer for a few days but worth it. I have asked them to disable all cloud and one drive stuff.

i am copying all my written files onto my hard drive, I need to do this as I don’t think they are safe, not frightened of hackers, its Microsoft that’s the problem for me!

Thanks for all your help offers.

best wishes

David
EmilyS_726 34,280 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-07-08T15:58:31.4466667+00:00

Alright then, when you get the computer back and need help, let me know.

Answer 2

David Wolsey 0

Impossible to get any help from Microsoft after they get into your files and reorganise them. I am going to keep everything on portable hard drives so they can’t do this again.

0 comments

Answer 3

David Wolsey 0

It would be good if Microsoft had some real people on the end of a phone. They used to.

0 comments

Answer 4

Hi David,

Thank you for your honest feedback, and I completely understand your frustration in your photos and how you organize them are deeply personal, and it’s upsetting when things are changed without clear consent. Just to clarify, OneDrive’s folder backup can sometimes activate automatically during setup or after updates, which leads to files being moved to the cloud without warning. It’s not intentional, and I agree and it should be more transparent.

Your plan to use a portable hard drive is a smart one if you want full control. In the meantime, if you'd like help restoring your folders as close to the original structure as possible, I’d be happy to guide you step-by-step to make it faster and less tedious.

Warm regards,

Cherrelyn

Answer 5

Chen1018 13,875 Independent Advisor

Hi David,

I'm Cherrelyn, I'm here to help and I understand how upsetting it is when your files are suddenly moved and reorganized without your intention. To get your files back in order on your hard drive have you tried to open OneDrive and go to the folder (like Pictures or Documents) where your files now live. Then select and copy the files or folders you want to move back. Paste them into the corresponding location on your local drive ex. his PC > Pictures. Once confirmed, you can turn off folder backup by right-clicking the OneDrive icon in the taskbar > Settings > Sync and Backup > Manage Backup, then disable the folders.

Let me how it goes' I'm here to help you further.

Warm regards,

Cherrelyn

David Wolsey 0 Reputation points

2025-07-07T14:51:43.2166667+00:00

My photos are mine they were on my hard drive on my computer. You had no right to move them all. They were organised by topic in a folder. You now suggest that I take each one of the 486 pictures and paste it back into the file I put it in. It took me a great deal of time to organise in the first place. I am very annoyed about this. I am going to use a portable harf drive so you can’t get your hands on them again.
EmilyS_726 34,280 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-07-07T19:49:43.5766667+00:00
David, I hope you haven't started moving (copying them) anywhere yet. That's a unnecessary step and you were given wrong information.

If your OneDrive app is still running at the moment, this is all you need to do:

Right click on the OneDrive cloud icon on the lower right on your taskbar to go to Settings.

On the "Sync and Backup" tab, click on "Advanced Settings" to expand that section. Then under File On-Demand, click on "Download all files".

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.

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.

Restart the computer. All of your files are now back to its local path.
David Wolsey 0 Reputation points

2025-07-08T07:06:08.1833333+00:00

I really don’t know what to do. I am getting different advice. I turned on the computer this morning and there are 900 photos I need to put back. I called Microsoft this morning but the AI just kept going on about product activation and I couldn’t follow their instructions.

You are very kind to offer to help but I am retired and not tach savvy. All I want is to write save and save some photos. I don’t want or need anything else. I need someone to guide me slowly through the steps to get my pictures back. I don’t know if you would have the patience.

there is a local computer shop,will go in there today.
David Wolsey 0 Reputation points

2025-07-08T07:12:19.2033333+00:00

Sorry, I pressed accepted answer, I thought this was about accepting it, but it said the problem must be solved, far from it. I told the other kind woman that I will take the computer in to the computer shop and ask them to help. They said I didn’t have to put each file back. I did try to move each photo but it won’t let me move them.

i am dreading windows 11 it will be more intrusive and do more of this. I feel so powerless. I can’t follow their instructions complicated instructions, they might as well be in Ancient Greek.