OneDrive Is Scanning Your Files – Here’s How to Kill It Completely, by Rob Braxman Tech on YouTube. 24 min 42 s.
- Video length
- 24 min 42 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Before you change anything, copy the folders OneDrive syncs, usually Desktop, Documents and Pictures, to an external drive or another cloud account. Confirm the copies open correctly.
Click the OneDrive cloud icon in the taskbar, click the gear icon, then choose Settings. If the icon is hidden, click the arrow in the system tray first.
Open the Sync and backup tab, click Manage backup, and turn off backup for Desktop, Documents and Pictures. Your local copies stay on the PC.
Go to the Account tab and click Unlink this PC. The files remain on your drive but stop syncing to the cloud.
Open Settings, then Apps, then Installed apps. Find Microsoft OneDrive, click the three dots and choose Uninstall.
In Windows 11, open Settings, then Apps, then Startup, and switch OneDrive off so it stops launching when you log in.
Open File Explorer, right-click OneDrive in the left sidebar and remove it or unpin it so the folder no longer appears.
On your phone, open the OneDrive app, go to Settings, and sign out or remove the account to stop camera upload and photo syncing.
Sign in at onedrive.live.com in a browser, delete the files you no longer want stored, then empty the OneDrive recycle bin.
Tips and common mistakes
Uninstalling the app does not delete what is already in the cloud, so clear the online copies separately.
Check that your files are still in C: Users YourName before you delete the OneDrive folder, or you may lose the only copy.
Windows updates sometimes reinstall OneDrive, so check Startup apps again after a big update.
If you use Microsoft 365, change the default save location in Word or Excel so new files save to your PC, not OneDrive.
Questions
Does uninstalling OneDrive delete my files?
No. Files already on your PC stay where they are, and cloud files stay in your Microsoft account until you delete them in a browser. Always make a backup first.
How do I stop OneDrive opening when Windows starts?
Turn it off in Settings, Apps, Startup. You can also right-click the cloud icon, open Settings, and untick the option to start OneDrive automatically when you sign in.
Will my PC still work without OneDrive?
Yes. Windows runs fine without it, but you lose automatic cloud backup, so set up an external drive or another backup service instead.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
