I accidentally clicked a box which meant OneDrive backed up 'documents' folder and now oneDrive is full - so how do I get the files back without paying to increase storage?

Question

Somehow I accidentally selected to backup my local pc 'documents' folder to OneDrive. It did this and now my OneDrive is over the size limit, files have been removed from my local machine and it looks like I can't access files without paying to increase oneDrive storage. This is like a bit like a ransom attack! What can I do to deactivate the backup function and get my files back on to my local pc?

Answer 1

Hi @Tessa Phillips

Please check whether the following steps are helpful:

• Pause OneDrive sync

Find and right-click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar, select Pause sync to stop OneDrive syncing.

• Move files out from OneDrive folder

In the OneDrive folder in File Explorer, select all files and folders (Ctrl+A) in Documents, and then cut (Ctrl+X). Find a location on your local computer and paste these files (Ctrl+V).

Make sure all files have been successfully moved back to the local computer and backed up to other safe storage devices.

• Stop backing up the "Documents" folder to OneDrive

Go to OneDrive "Settings", "Sync & backup" tab. In "Manage backup", find the "Documents" folder and stop backing up.

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

---