How to Free Up OneDrive Storage Without Deleting Your Files!, by My Computer Works on YouTube. 3 min 10 s.
- Video length
- 3 min 10 s
- Time to do it
- 10 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Sign in at onedrive.com with your Microsoft account. Click the storage meter or open Settings and then Storage to see how much of your 5 GB is used and what is taking it up.
Check the breakdown by file type and folder. Photos, videos and Desktop screenshots are usually the biggest offenders, so start there.
Open the Files view, switch to list view and sort by Size. This brings the largest files and folders to the top so you can deal with a few big items instead of hundreds of small ones.
Move large files out of OneDrive instead of deleting them. Download them or drag them to a folder on your PC or an external drive that is not synced to OneDrive.
Before you remove anything, confirm the file exists somewhere else. Open the copy on your PC or drive to make sure it is complete, then delete the OneDrive copy.
Empty the OneDrive recycle bin. Open Recycle bin in the left sidebar and click Empty recycle bin, because deleted files keep using your quota until you clear it.
On your Windows 11 PC, right-click the OneDrive cloud icon, open Settings, go to Sync and backup and click Manage backup. Turn off Desktop, Documents and Pictures if you do not need them in the cloud.
Turn off automatic screenshot upload in the same OneDrive settings so new screenshots stop landing in your cloud storage, then check the storage meter again.
Tips and common mistakes
Emptying the recycle bin is the step most people miss, so your storage can stay full for 30 days after you delete files.
Files On-Demand frees space on your PC's drive, not your OneDrive quota, so do not rely on it to fix a full account.
Your 5 GB is shared with Outlook.com attachments and Office documents, so clear old email attachments too.
Keep a second copy of anything important on an external drive before you remove it from the cloud.
Questions
Will deleting a file from OneDrive.com remove it from my PC?
It can. If the folder is synced, the file is removed from your PC as well. Copy the file to a folder outside OneDrive first, then delete the cloud copy.
Why is my storage still full after I deleted files?
The files are probably still in the OneDrive recycle bin, which counts toward your quota. Empty the bin, then refresh the storage page.
Does turning off folder backup delete my files?
No. It stops future syncing, and the files already in OneDrive stay there until you remove them yourself.
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.
