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OneDrive is deleting people's files without authorization

Do you remove OneDrive?

  • Yes. I want to have a working PC.

    Votes: 40 93.0%

  • No. I like to live dangerously.

    Votes: 3 7.0%
  • Total voters
    43
winjer

winjer

Gold Member

Windows users keep losing files to OneDrive, and many don't know why


When Windows users suddenly discover that their files have vanished from their desktops after interacting with OneDrive, the issue often stems from how Microsoft's cloud service integrates with the operating system. The automatic, near-invisible shift to cloud-based storage has triggered strong reactions from users who find the feature unintuitive and, in some cases, destructive to their local files.
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"At some point your computer will update to start using OneDrive, and at no point will you be given any kind of plain-language warning or opt-out, it will just do it. At some point you will notice that it is quietly uploading everything on your computer to Microsoft's servers."
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Once users attempt to halt the process, the situation can escalate. Pargin explained that users who try to disable OneDrive's backup may find that "everything on your computer is gone. Everything was deleted by Microsoft. And on your desktop – your clean desktop – will be one cheeky little icon that says, 'Where are my files?'"
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This problem stems from the way OneDrive handles synchronization between the cloud and a user's local system. Disabling OneDrive Backup without explicitly restoring or relocating local copies can, in some cases, result in files being removed from both environments.
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Pargin noted that the only way to remove files from OneDrive without also deleting them from the local machine is to follow a detailed, step-by-step guide "There is no intuitive way to do it," he said, accusing Microsoft of deliberately burying the necessary controls deep within menus.
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The pattern mirrors concerns often raised in the dark-patterns community, a term describing design choices that nudge or pressure users into actions they might not otherwise take. Some users liken the experience to ransomware: data appears "locked" behind a service they did not knowingly enable and that penalizes attempts to disengage.
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These frustrations emerge against a broader backdrop of Microsoft's increasing reliance on automation and AI across its technology stack. The company recently disclosed that roughly 30% of its internal code is now written by large language models, with some projects relying entirely on AI-generated output. CEO Satya Nadella has publicly urged developers to stop labeling such content as "slop," while maintaining that these tools improve productivity and code quality.
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For users who want full control over their data, Pargin and others recommend avoiding system-level file synchronization altogether. Our recommendation is to disable OneDrive as soon as you start using a new Windows machine – though, as noted earlier, Microsoft can sometimes stubbornly activate it back after a major OS update.
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fuck-microsoft.gif
 
Yep, that's why you should disable and remove OneDrive the second you finish setting up your new system. It's caused various other issues in the past as well. Meanwhile how many times have you read about Google Drive and other major services causing major headaches for their users?
 
It wasn't until I completely removed OD that I started feeling calm with W11. It was incredibly stressful since it could save stuff in the cloud despite me specifically choosing the physical disc. I would wonder where my pics were and then I'd found them in the OverDrive mirrorverse time and time again. Absolutely exhausting. Delete it.
 
If you use the "Cloud" to store your files you deserve this shit, I actually laughed at a friend's face for losing all his photos when google banned his account, I had been warning him for years. He was not amused
 
IntentionalPun said:
OneDrive does not magically upload your entire computer at all let alone "without warning."
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Think Tim Robinson GIF by NETFLIX

Edit: If it wasn't so shitty and was more like Dropbox everyone would use Onedrive but instead it doesn't fucking work conveniently and is obtuse as fuck, so I only use it for direct file uploads, NO SYNCING. Archive only. Webportal for redownloads. Onedrive for cloud storage is about like Copilot for AI.
 
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DeepEnigma said:
Jokes on them, I accidentally delete my shit before they can get to it.

Delete Old Man GIF
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Reminds of when my dad cleaned up his system 32 folder, and attempted to put all the dlls in one folder, sys files in another and he did this for most file types. Told me he rebooted because some files were locked and his computer wouldn't boot any more.

That was the longest conversation I've ever had with no words and just verbal eyeballs.


rQQMVhDBnOW4ojpQ.jpeg
 
negator2vc said:
Maybe OneDrive is these days part of the 30% of Windows that is written by AI :messenger_winking:
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OneDrive was always terrible, years before AI was a twinkle in Ilya Sutskever's eye

That's why all savvy Windows users know to uninstall it immediately after a new Windows installation. It's still not clear exactly why Microsoft makes software that is so insidious and potentially destructive to user data and forcibly bundles it and activates it by default for anyone who has a Microsoft account and uses it to login to Windows

I never use my Microsoft account to log into Windows and I never will despite Microsoft constant efforts to deprecate and disable the user ability to use local accounts
 
Sonik said:
If you use the "Cloud" to store your files you deserve this shit, I actually laughed at a friend's face for losing all his photos when google banned his account, I had been warning him for years. He was not amused
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This is why I backup all my photos and videos on separate drives. I have an app on my phone that sends them to my Raspberry Pi and from there I back them up to other drives. I've seen too many stories about people having their google account removed and losing all their photos. Fuck that!
 
I use One Drive but when I set it up and that box comes up with what files it will upload and where it will sync from you know I slowly stopped and read where it would take those files from. I didn't agree and unchecked all those boxes that it suggested certain folders for me.

And guess what? All my files are still there exactly where I want them. It doesn't sync my desktop and it never fucking will either.
 
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Unknown Soldier said:
OneDrive was always terrible, years before AI was a twinkle in Ilya Sutskever's eye

That's why all savvy Windows users know to uninstall it immediately after a new Windows installation. It's still not clear exactly why Microsoft makes software that is so insidious and potentially destructive to user data and forcibly bundles it and activates it by default for anyone who has a Microsoft account and uses it to login to Windows

I never use my Microsoft account to log into Windows and I never will despite Microsoft constant efforts to deprecate and disable the user ability to use local accounts
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Because MS don't care about their users, they only care about having their data. That's the only reason for all these online "conveniences"
 
Baemono said:
1- install windows: yes
2- create a Microsoft account ?: no
3- use Copilot ?: no
4- use OneDrive ?: no
5- receive news about Xbox ?: absolutely fckin not

And you're good to go
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This is a wild post. You don't have the option to not make a Microsoft account anymore. If you say not to use OneDrive that's completely irrelevant. The first thing Windows does is start OneDrive and start backing up your folders. You have to manually go in and tell it to stop and quit it, and if you don't uninstall it you will just have it start up again on a future reboots. There is also no way to remove Copilot. You can remove the start menu entry but that doesn't remove it and all windows apps have it built in now. Useless stuff like Paint even bugs you with built in copilot now. You haven't installed Windows 11 or not in a long time I would guess.
 
Revreign said:
This is a wild post. You don't have the option to not make a Microsoft account anymore. If you say not to use OneDrive that's completely irrelevant. The first thing Windows does is start OneDrive and start backing up your folders. You have to manually go in and tell it to stop and quit it, and if you don't uninstall it you will just have it start up again on a future reboots. There is also no way to remove Copilot. You can remove the start menu entry but that doesn't remove it and all windows apps have it built in now. Useless stuff like Paint even bugs you with built in copilot now. You haven't installed Windows 11 or not in a long time I would guess.
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Of course you can remove Recall and Copilot:
Just run these with an elevated command prompt.

dism /online /disable-feature /FeatureName:Recall
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dism /online /remove-package /package-name:Microsoft.Windows.Copilot
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Revreign said:
This is a wild post. You don't have the option to not make a Microsoft account anymore. If you say not to use OneDrive that's completely irrelevant. The first thing Windows does is start OneDrive and start backing up your folders. You have to manually go in and tell it to stop and quit it, and if you don't uninstall it you will just have it start up again on a future reboots. There is also no way to remove Copilot. You can remove the start menu entry but that doesn't remove it and all windows apps have it built in now. Useless stuff like Paint even bugs you with built in copilot now. You haven't installed Windows 11 or not in a long time I would guess.
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if you are a laymen this is indeed how it goes.
if you know what you're doing, or google for 30 seconds, you can circumvent literally all of that.

all of these issues should only be issues for casual users. those casual users probably don't give a shit.

so we have 2 groups of people.
one group who doesn't want any of those features, and should be able to set up Windows 11 in a way that they never become an issue.
and one group who doesn't have a strong opinion on those features and wouldn't know how to circumvent them.

both groups should in theory be happy with their Windows 11 install, yet people still complain instead of just doing it correctly, by using one of hundreds of sources on how to do it correctly. neither of which are hard to follow or much time-consuming.

is it annoying that you have to know how to get around that shit? yes... should it be done differently? yes... but should it be an issue for you to get around? no, unless you are not well versed in computers
 
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