Solved OneDrive Setup on Windows 10/11 is ridiculous!!!

SlicEnDicE · May 1, 2023

cereberus said:
Files on Demand is default!

It's not

SlicEnDicE · May 2, 2023

Brink said:
I would recommend to turn off backing up the folders to OneDrive before disabling or uninstalling OneDrive to avoid possibly having these folders still linked to OneDrive.

Turn On or Off OneDrive Folder Backup Syncing Across Windows 11 Devices

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off OneDrive folder backup and sync for your Microsoft account across all your Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices you sign in with the same Microsoft account. You can use OneDrive to sync files and folders between your computer and the cloud, so you...

www.elevenforum.com

Yeah, thanks!

On one account that feature wasn't enabled, but on the other it was. I disabled all that on the other account before uninstalling everything.

Seems OneDrive install with random enabled features and configurations these days. I'm so confused. Never had such experience before.

idgat · May 2, 2023

pparks1 said:
yeah, i got one of those for backups too. But it doesn't help me much when I am trying to access my files from work, from my phone, etc. And with drives like that, backups of them are a must. My sisters house burned down, onsite backups didn't really work out so well for them.

Accessing files - I don't call that backup, that's simply file sharing (being able to access files from another device/location). Convenient but that's all.

Onsite backups are pointless, for reason one of which you outline. Dedicated off-site backup service (albeit now lumped under the general category of "cloud", I leave that terminology to GoogleDrive, OneDrive, Dropbox and the like).

glasskuter · May 2, 2023

One can argue the trap with Onedrive all day long. The fact is most people do not want it. Bottom line is, M-O-N-E-Y. Most users do not use 365 with 100gb storage. Most users have 5 gb Onedrive Storage. Most users have (or will eventually have) more than 5 gb of data. MS charges these users for extra storage. Ka-ching! No way in hell will I pay for storage when I have 8 tb of it sitting on my desk (which I've already paid for)

SlicEnDicE · May 2, 2023

glasskuter said:
One can argue the trap with Onedrive all day long. The fact is most people do not want it. Bottom line is, M-O-N-E-Y. Most users do not use 365 with 100gb storage. Most users have 5 gb Onedrive Storage. Most users have (or will eventually have) more than 5 gb of data. MS charges these users for extra storage. Ka-ching! No way in hell will I pay for storage when I have 8 tb of it sitting on my desk (which I've already paid for)

You're right, although I have 5 (or was it 6) x 1TB of OneDrive storage as part of my O365 subscription. And yes I want them files to be online so I can access them from anywhere.

What I don't want is that all 5-6TB of data gets pulled to a laptop with only 128GB of storage no matter what I try. We all know how that ends.

glasskuter · May 2, 2023

I have never argued that cloud storage of any variety doesn't have its use. But, the user should be in charge of how they use it. Onedrive should allow selective sync without the user having to jump through hoops using junction points to make it work. How many of the 1.4 billion Windows users do you think even know what a junction point is? For that matter, how many of the 1.4 billion users even know their data may be in onedrive? That's the point. They don't. They should be given a CLEAR choice up front to use onedrive or not. It's deceptive business practice any way you look at it.
Even though I have 8 times more free Onedrive storage, for any files I need when away from home Google Drive which does offer selective sync is my go to.

SlicEnDicE · May 2, 2023

I'll clean install this computer...as simple refresh does not seem to work...

...maybe then OD works as it usually does...

...I'll be back with some results in a few...

SlicEnDicE · May 2, 2023

UPDATE:

A clean install fixed everything...all behaves as it should now.

What did I learn? Don't reset PC, it takes 100x longer to be up and running than grabbing a backup of your drivers and then wiping the whole system. A refresh is not guaranteed it will work anyways it seems...even if you grab the binaries from the cloud.

WXC · May 2, 2023

SlicEnDicE said:
A clean install fixed everything...all behaves as it should now.

I'm pleased you have it all squared away, S&D.

TraderGary · May 2, 2023

SlicEnDicE said:
UPDATE:

A clean install fixed everything...all behaves as it should now.

What did I learn? Don't reset PC, it takes 100x longer to be up and running than grabbing a backup of your drivers and then wiping the whole system. A refresh is not guaranteed it will work anyways it seems...even if you grab the binaries from the cloud.

Great that all is working as it should! I've always done clean installs. I've never done a reset and never will remembering your adventure with it.

BTW, did you find that a clean install defaulted to Files On Demand?

TraderGary · May 2, 2023

glasskuter said:
I have never argued that cloud storage of any variety doesn't have its use. But, the user should be in charge of how they use it. Onedrive should allow selective sync without the user having to jump through hoops using junction points to make it work. How many of the 1.4 billion Windows users do you think even know what a junction point is? For that matter, how many of the 1.4 billion users even know their data may be in onedrive? That's the point. They don't. They should be given a CLEAR choice up front to use onedrive or not. It's deceptive business practice any way you look at it.
Even though I have 8 times more free Onedrive storage, for any files I need when away from home Google Drive which does offer selective sync is my go to.

I agree. Most users expect "Plug-n-Play" and everything should just work without having to think. Using OneDrive requires taking the time to understand how it works. And you're right, the vast majority of people will never take the time. I agree that Microsoft needs to rethink their implementation of OneDrive in order to account for that.

I've often quipped that people should be required to pass a basic intelligence test before being allowed to purchase a computer! :zany:

Haydon · May 2, 2023

@TraderGary It requires more intelligence to not use OneDrive than to use OneDrive.

TraderGary · May 2, 2023

Haydon said:
@TraderGary It requires more intelligence to not use OneDrive than to use OneDrive.

Rest assured, @Haydon, you're in the majority!

Haydon · May 2, 2023

@TraderGary Majority on this forum maybe, but the majority in the masses just follows the herd

SlicEnDicE · May 2, 2023

TraderGary said:
Great that all is working as it should! I've always done clean installs. I've never done a reset and never will remembering your adventure with it.

BTW, did you find that a clean install defaulted to Files On Demand?

Yes, it did indeed default to Files On Demand as it should.

pparks1 · May 2, 2023

idgat said:
Accessing files - I don't call that backup, that's simply file sharing (being able to access files from another device/location). Convenient but that's all.

Onsite backups are pointless, for reason one of which you outline. Dedicated off-site backup service (albeit now lumped under the general category of "cloud", I leave that terminology to GoogleDrive, OneDrive, Dropbox and the like).

I was saying that I use an external hard drive at home for backups.

I don't really consider OneDrive a "backup" in the traditional sense of the word, but I do from the standpoint that it is a real time second copy of the file in most cases. And the likelihood of my computer dying, AND, MIcrosoft (or whichever vendor) losing my files in the cloud at the same time is extremely small.

I wouldn't say onsite backups are pointless. But I wouldn't keep 100% of my backups onsite.

Dru2 · May 2, 2023

TraderGary said:
Unfortunately most people will never take the time to learn how to use it.

This^^^

pparks1 · May 2, 2023

glasskuter said:
One can argue the trap with Onedrive all day long. The fact is most people do not want it. Bottom line is, M-O-N-E-Y. Most users do not use 365 with 100gb storage. Most users have 5 gb Onedrive Storage. Most users have (or will eventually have) more than 5 gb of data. MS charges these users for extra storage. Ka-ching! No way in hell will I pay for storage when I have 8 tb of it sitting on my desk (which I've already paid for)

Money is certainly one part of it.

Convenience is a big part of it.

People often have multiple machines, perhaps a desktop and a laptop. Having access to all of their files in both places is nice.
End users aren't always the best at making a backup. With OneDrive, if and when their computer dies, and they buy a new computer and login to their new machine and all their stuff is just there, it's convenient.
I share lots of things with other people, many who aren't very technically savvy. But I can give them a link to my OneDrive and they can click on a link and get what they need from me without having to get tech support from me, so that's convenient.
I have office 365, a wife and 2 kids. I get a discount on the $99 a year plan through my employer, so it's $69 a year for me to have each person getting 1TB of onedrive. We have our cell phones all backing up pictures and videos real time to OneDrive. Nobody has to remember to plug in their device and make a backup on occasion of their device. Nobody will lose anything. And after the files are stored in OneDrive, they can remove their pictures and videos from their phone...thus reducing their need to buy more expensive phones with more storage to keep all of their crap.

I too make use of large external drives at home. I don't want everything in the cloud. For example, with my bandwidth only being 50Mbps on my upload, storing my Macrium images in the cloud isn't feasible. I have video games on my computer taking up hundreds and hundreds of GB's, that I don't need stored in the cloud. Heck, I don't even usually want these in my backups as they can easily be reinstalled, and my stats and games saves are almost always tied to my online cloud account.

I realize that cloud storage isn't necessarily everybody's cup of tea. But it is useful for the tech savvy like myself (who have found ways to make it work) and it's useful for those aren't tech savvy at all (as they don't lose stuff). I can understand MS turning it on by default and not telling the non-savvy. Otherwise they might not use it and might lose their stuff. When a vendor like Microsoft has to consider that Apple is a competitor, and Apple has time machine built-in, which is drop dead simple to use....i can understand why they also enable a solution that helps people to recover from drive or computer failure. I wish they had a system even better like Time Machine which can be used to easily retrieve data or transfer directly to a new machine.

TraderGary · May 2, 2023

pparks1 said:
I was saying that I use an external hard drive at home for backups.

I don't really consider OneDrive a "backup" in the traditional sense of the word, but I do from the standpoint that it is a real time second copy of the file in most cases. And the likelihood of my computer dying, AND, MIcrosoft (or whichever vendor) losing my files in the cloud at the same time is extremely small.

I wouldn't say onsite backups are pointless. But I wouldn't keep 100% of my backups onsite.

I agree. OneDrive is only one part of my backup strategy. My data and photos are too valuable to me to trust them to only one backup method. My backup strategy uses three separate methods all used simultaneously. And importantly, OneDrive is offsite and is a real-time mirror of all my data.

1. Microsoft OneDrive
2. Microsoft File History
3. Macrium Reflect Drive Images

glasskuter · May 2, 2023

idgat said:
Onsite backups are pointless,

I beg to differ. This very morning, less than an hour ago, I tried to restart after a driver update and couldn't get past Dell flash screen. I restored a 2-day old image, 15 minutes later and here I am. So, no. Onsite backups are far from pointless. Why anyone messes with any other method of recovery makes no sense to me. I have never reset one of my own systems.

Solved OneDrive Setup on Windows 10/11 is ridiculous!!!

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