Microsoft 365/ OneDrive

Question

Microsoft 365/ OneDrive

Nathan Tramel 0

I never request OneDrive however today I received a message indicating I was over my storage limit 1 outlook account and 1 Gmail account are locked. I went from low storage to over the limit in 48 hrs. in addition I had just purchased 100G of storage.

I opened several MP4 files on my local back up drive and OneDrive moved them to the cloud?? Pls call, I have more personal information.

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2 answers

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Answer 1

If Microsoft storage is over quota, these effects can happen:

OneDrive becomes read-only and cannot upload, edit, or sync new files.
Outlook.com cannot send or receive email if either cloud storage or mailbox storage is over quota. Incoming mail is returned to the sender until storage is reduced or more storage is available.
After 3 months over the OneDrive limit, the account can be frozen.
After 6 months, OneDrive files may be deleted and are non-recoverable.

Based on the symptoms described, the most relevant checks are:

Sign in to the Microsoft account dashboard and open the Microsoft storage section to verify total cloud storage usage and quota.
In OneDrive, open Manage your OneDrive storage to see what is taking space and empty the Recycle Bin.
Check whether a shared folder in OneDrive is counting against the account storage.
Check whether the storage quota changed because a subscription expired, renewal failed, or a promotion ended.
If 100 GB of storage was just purchased, allow time for the quota to update. After purchasing additional OneDrive storage, it can take up to 24 hours for the new quota to appear. If it has not updated after 48 hours, contact support.
If the OneDrive account is already frozen, delete files or buy more storage, then allow up to 2 hours for changes to apply. If still frozen after 4 hours, contact support.

What counts toward Microsoft storage includes:

OneDrive files and folders
Items in the OneDrive Recycle Bin
Outlook.com attachments and inline images
Microsoft Teams message attachments and recordings

A Gmail account is not covered by Microsoft storage guidance in the available information.

Answer 2

Hello,

Do you see all those MP4 files in the OneDrive cloud as well?

https://onedrive.live.com/

If yes, OneDrive is syncing the folder that contains the .MP4 files, most likely the Music folder on your desktop.

Step1:

First, move or copy all the files from OneDrive to a local folder on your desktop.

If the files are stored in any of the OneDrive sync folders shown in the screenshot, they may be syncing to the OneDrive cloud.

Screenshot 2026-09-26 150909 (1)

If you turn off the toggle for this folder, OneDrive will no longer sync it.

Step 2:

Once you have backed up all your files to a different local folder, unlink your Microsoft Account from OneDrive.

Right-click the OneDrive icon on the taskbar, select Settings.
Select Accounts > Unlink this PC.

Step 3:

Delete all of your files from OneDrive.

Go to https://outlook.live.com/ and sign in with your Microsoft account.

Delete all of your files from the cloud.

Then, empty the OneDrive Recycle Bin folder.

Once done, the upgraded storage may take up to 24 hours to sync and reflect in your account.

-**

First, confirm which account was used to purchase the additional 100 GB of storage. Since you have both Outlook and Gmail email addresses, be careful not to confuse the accounts. Open two separate private browsing window on your web browser and sign in to OneDrive online with each account separately. Check which files are stored in each account, back up all important files to a local folder, and verify that the backup is complete before deleting anything from OneDrive.