Fixing OneDrive Sync Issues

December 14, 2023

[avatar user="Jamie Poindexter" size="thumbnail" link="file" /]byJamie Poindexter|Nov 8, 2021|Jamie's Tech Corner,Our blogIf you are having issues with the OneDrive client synching either personal content or Share Point content here are a couple tips that can get it working again.

  1. Make sure the client is running

The OneDrive client has a nasty habit of crashing without notice and therefore the sync to and from the cloud will stop. Check in the system tray that the blue/white cloud is showing up and opens when clicking on it. If not try restarting the PC or click on start and searching for OneDrive and launch it.

  1. Reset OneDrive command

Press WINKEY+R to open the run box. Type %localappdata%MicrosoftOneDriveonedrive.exe /reset and hit enter. This will close OneDrive and force a reset. You will not be signed out and you will not loose any synced data. Once the command is run click on start and search for OneDrive to relaunch it. The test if the sync is working correctly.

  1. Sign out of OneDrive

Click on the OneDrive icon in the system tray and choose help and settings and then settings.

Under the account tab click on unlink. This will disassociate your OneDrive account with the client, and you will get a “setup OneDrive” where you can sign back in. If you have synced SharePoint folders, you will have to readd them from the portal.

  1. Remove synced content and force a complete resync

This is a last resort if you are still having issues up to this point. You will want to complete the last step except don’t sign back into OneDrive. Instead close out fo the setup screen and close OneDrive from the system tray if its running. Then navigate to where the synced data is stored. This is usually C:UsersUSERNAMEOneDrive or C:UsersUSERNAMEOneDrive – COMPANYNAME if you are using SharePoint.

The next step is to rename the affected sync folder and add a .old to the end. If you prefer you can also move this folder to another place on the drive or even to a external drive. Make sure you don’t delete it though as any updated files that failed to sync can be recovered from this folder. Once you rename or move the folder reopen OneDrive from the start menu. Again you will be prompted to sign back in. A new folder will be created to store the synced files.If you are using SharePoint you will have to resync the folders you need so they appear in the file explorer.