How to unsync one drive folder?

Right click on onedrive folder and select unlink.

OneDrive Sync Problems? 11 Ways to Fix Them

Microsoft OneDrive is an impressive cloud storage system, giving you the ability to
synchronize the files on your local hard drive with your cloud storage account. The
OneDrive sync feature ensures you always have a backup copy of your files in the
cloud, protecting against a local computer hard drive failure.

When using OneDrive sync, you also can see and use your files on any device that
can access your OneDrive account. When you make changes to your OneDrive files
on one device, OneDrive reflects the changes in the cloud, so any device you use
with your OneDrive account will see the latest version of every file.

With so many handy features, it’s easy to see why people rely on OneDrive. However,
when the sync feature in OneDrive is not working properly, it can be a significant
hassle for users. To help you fix your OneDrive sync problems, we’ve listed the 11
most common issues OneDrive users face and the solutions.

1. Cannot Access OneDrive

OneDrive will not be able to sync across your devices if the device you’re currently
using cannot access your OneDrive account. If you’re having trouble using OneDrive,
start by checking the connection.

Solution

Look in the notification area of your Windows computer for the OneDrive icon, which
will be a blue or white cloud icon. (You may need to click the upward pointing arrow
to see the OneDrive icon.)
If you don’t see this cloud icon, you don’t have access to your OneDrive account, and
you won’t be able to sync. You’ll have to sign in again.

If you do see the cloud icon but synching is not working, click on the cloud icon,
followed by Help & Settings. In the popup menu, click Settings, followed by View
Online. This should give you access to your OneDrive files temporarily until you’re
able to make OneDrive work through synching again by using one of the other
troubleshooting options we have listed below.

2. Moving Stuck Files

If you notice some files are not synching properly, showing a red minus sign icon,
this can be a sign of an overall synching issue. OneDrive may attempt to continue
synching these files, ending up in an error loop. This causes a slowdown in
performance and may lead to other problems.

You can move these files that don’t seem to be synching properly to another folder
on your local hard drive that’s not part of the folders you’re synching to OneDrive.

Solution

Before you can move these stuck files into another folder, you will need to pause the
OneDrive synching process. Click the OneDrive icon in the notifications bar, followed
by More. In the popup menu, click Pause Synching. Next, select the amount of time
for the pause. (We suggest the minimum two hours.)

Then open File Explorer. Open your OneDrive folder that has the files causing the
conflict. Highlight the files you want to move and click the Move To button near the
top of the window. Select the folder where you want to move these files. (Remember,
it needs to be a local folder that does not sync with OneDrive.)

Once you’ve moved the files, you can restart the OneDrive synching process. Just
click the OneDrive icon in the notification bar, followed by More. Then click Resume
Synching in the popup menu. (You also can just allow the two-hour window to
expire, and OneDrive will begin synching again on its own.)

After it appears OneDrive is synching properly again, you can try moving the stuck
files back to their original folder to see if OneDrive will now sync them correctly. If it
still isn’t working, see if you have one of the issues that we’ve outlined in the next
step.

3. Incompatible File Names

If you are attempting to sync files with names that OneDrive doesn’t find compatible,
it may appear as though your entire synchronization feature is malfunctioning. In
reality, OneDrive simply is unable to sync these particular files with the incompatible
file names.

Solution

You will be unable to sync files with certain types of names. These include:

 Files larger than 15 GB in size, so you’ll need to reduce the size of the file or

compress it. (Some OneDrive account levels can use files up to 100 GB in size.)

 File path names with 400 or more characters, so you’ll need to reduce the

length of some folder names or use a path with fewer subfolders.

 File names with illegal characters, so you’ll need to remove those characters.
4. Interference From Office 365

If you are an Office 365 user, these apps can continually upload your files to
OneDrive as you’re working, ensuring that any changes you make to the files are
available on OneDrive. With this feature, you no longer have to remember to
manually save the file regularly.
However, the Office 365 automatic saving feature sometimes can interrupt the way
OneDrive syncs other files. You may receive an Upload Blocked message from
OneDrive if this is happening.

Solution

You can turn off the Office 365 automatic saving feature to solve this problem. Click
the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification bar, followed by Settings.

Across the top of the popup window, click the Office tab. Remove the checkmark
from the Sync Office Files checkbox, and the automatic save will stop.

Once OneDrive appears to be synching properly again, you can try resynching your
Office files again to see if the problem resolves itself.

5. OneDrive Account Approaching Storage Capacity

As you begin to approach the storage limit for your OneDrive account, you may
notice some synching problems. The OneDrive cloud icon will have a yellow triangle
with an exclamation point on it when you are running out of storage.

If you exceed your storage limit for more than three months, Microsoft will freeze
your account until you remove some items and go below your storage limit again or
until you purchase more storage. (A locked OneDrive account will have a red circle
and a white minus sign on the OneDrive cloud icon.)

Solution

After removing some files, you may want to prevent your account from approaching
the storage limit in the future by telling OneDrive to sync fewer files automatically.

To change the folders that sync automatically, click on the OneDrive icon, followed
by Settings. Click on the Account tab near the top of the popup window, followed by
Choose Folders. Then place checkmarks next to the folders you want to use with
OneDrive sync and remove checkmarks next to the folders you don’t want to sync
with OneDrive.

6. Update OneDrive to the Latest Version

OneDrive should automatically update itself as Microsoft makes changes to the app
and software. However, it is possible that through some glitch, you could end up with
an older version of OneDrive on your device, which causes problems with synching
files.

Solution

Update your version of OneDrive to the latest version, ensuring that you have all of
the latest features and security patches. Visit the OneDrive download page to
download the latest version of the app. After the download, follow the on-screen
prompts to reinstall the app.

7. Update Windows to the Latest Version

If you do not have the latest version of Windows, your OneDrive sync process may
not work properly. Windows should update automatically for you, but if it doesn’t,
this could lead to synching problems.

Solution

You can manually tell Windows to update itself, ensuring you have the latest features
and all security patches.

Click the Start button, followed by Settings. Then click Update & Security. At the top
of the Windows Update screen, you should see an icon that tells you whether your
version of Windows is up to date. If it isn’t, click the Check for Updates button. If
necessary, follow the prompts to install your updates.
8. Resolving Synching Conflicts

If OneDrive is having difficulty synching a certain file, you may see an error message,
or the OneDrive icon may have a yellow triangle on it. This problem may occur
because the copy of the file stored locally and the copy stored in the cloud have
some sort of incompatibility, preventing OneDrive from synching them.

Solution

To test whether the problem you’re having relates to a synching resolution conflict,
right-click on the cloud icon with the yellow triangle. If you see Resolve as an option
in the popup menu, one of your OneDrive files has a synching conflict. Left-click on
the option that fits your situation.

 Open to resolve: You can see both versions of the file and choose the one

you want to save to OneDrive.

 Save a copy: You can save a copy of the file that you have stored locally in a

non-OneDrive synched folder. You then can tell OneDrive to sync the copy

that’s in the cloud.

 Discard: When selecting Discard, you’re telling OneDrive to remove the copy

of the file on your local hard drive and only retain the copy on the cloud

server.
9. Restart OneDrive

Sometimes, a simple restart of the OneDrive app will be enough to make it begin
synching properly again.

Solution

Click on the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification tray, followed by More. Click
Close OneDrive. (You may have to go through these steps twice, depending on your
OneDrive settings.)
Click the Start button in Windows and find the OneDrive app. Click on it, which will
restart it and may work to fix your synching problems with OneDrive.

10. Problems With OneDrive for Business

If you’ve used OneDrive for Business for a long time, you may be using an older
version of the synching app with an executable file called Groove.exe. However,
Microsoft stopped supporting Groove.exe recently, meaning it will no longer work to
sync your OneDrive files.

Solution

Install the latest version of OneDrive, as we described in step number six. As long as
you have the latest version of the OneDrive app, it should replace the Groove.exe file
and allow you to begin synching again.

11. No Amount of Troubleshooting Is Working

As a last resort, if you simply cannot make the OneDrive sync feature work, you can
unlink OneDrive from the device you’re currently using and reinstall OneDrive to gain
access to your files. You also can reset OneDrive. (Uninstalling or resetting OneDrive
does not delete the files in your cloud storage account.)

Solution

Click the OneDrive cloud icon in the notifications area, followed by Help & Settings.
Click Settings from the popup menu and click Unlink This PC.

This action will open the OneDrive setup process. Follow the prompts on the screen
to reinstall OneDrive on your device. Hopefully, this reset of the OneDrive system will
take care of the problems you’re having with OneDrive sync.
If reinstalling OneDrive doesn’t work, you can reset it. Press the Windows key and R
at the same time. Enter one of the two following text strings in the Run text box:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset or C:\Program Files

Click the OK button. Once you reset OneDrive, you may have to go through the
OneDrive setup process again