In need of some advice on setting up Onedrive on after a clean install


  1. Posts : 985
    Windows 10 Home 21H1
       #1

    In need of some advice on setting up Onedrive on after a clean install


    Hi, Im looking into using Onedrive for the first time on my laptop. After searching the web I havent been able to get a clear answer about setting up Onedrive for my particular needs.
    I know that Onedrive can be configured during setup to automatically backup the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders. My question relates to the Documents folder. Immediately after a clean install I always copy my Documents into the This PC/Documents folder from a USB flash drive where I have my Documents, Pictures etc backed up. If I select the Documents, Desktop, Pictures folders to be backed up automatically during Windows Setup they will then sync and be backed up to Onedrive in the cloud. However, I dont want my entire Documents folder backing up to Onedrive. A lot of my Documents I would just like to keep locally on my laptop. Also I will be installing amongst other things the Steam Gaming Platform which also uses the Documents folder and I wouldnt want folders such as Steam Game folders to be backed up to the cloud either.
    Is it better to not enable automatic backups of the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders during Windows Setup? If you dont allow automatic backups ..does that mean that you would need to run two separate Documents folders...the Onedrive/Documents folder and the This PC/Documents Folder? Would you then just copy the files you want in the cloud to the Onedrive/Documents folder from the This PC/Documents folder and leave the files you only want to keep locally on the hard drive where they are in the This PC/Documents folder? It all seems a little bit complicated. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys
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  2. Posts : 8,057
    windows 10
       #2

    Both one drive and Google sync both have options which folders you backup
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  3. Posts : 985
    Windows 10 Home 21H1
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Samuria said:
    Both one drive and Google sync both have options which folders you backup
    Yeah..I know they do but I only need to know about onedrive and I know how to backup folders as I mentioned in the post
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  4. Posts : 8,057
    windows 10
       #4

    As stated onedrive is the same you can selec or deselect folders
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  5. Posts : 4,752
    Windows 11 Pro 64 Bit 22H2
       #5
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  6. Posts : 985
    Windows 10 Home 21H1
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Samuria said:
    As stated onedrive is the same you can selec or deselect folders
    Hi, I realise that you can Select which folders listed on Onedrive in the cloud are shown in the Onedrive folder on the PC (Choose Folders) but that is nothing to do with choosing which files/folders are backed up to the cloud. Ive read several posts where Onedrive users are complaining that when they have configured Onedrive to automatically back up their Documents folder to the cloud that it automatically backs up the entire Documents folder so they have had to turn off the automatic backup option. They say that there is no way you can select or deselect individual files or folders within the Documents folder. Below is an example of the question being asked on Microsoft site,

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...5-1ada19026919

    As you can appreciate that would be a problem as there would be many files/folders eating up your available space uneccessarily. This is the main reason for my question. I want to make sure I have it set up correctly during the Windows Setup procedure if possible. Cheers

    - - - Updated - - -

    Thanks for the link. Ive read quite a few of the Onedrive guides to find out how Onedrive works. Im trying to find out if its better to turn off the Automatic Backup option for the Documents folder. If so Im wondering if other users just run two versions of the Documents folder. The standard one in This PC/Documents (C:\Users\****) and also separately Onedrive/Documents (C:\Users\****\OneDrive) . The PC/Documents version would then be able to be used normally by other programmes which use the Documents folder for storage (such as Steam Gaming or used to keep personal files which you do not want to be in the cloud) without anything being automatically backed up to the cloud.
    Obviously if you were to turn off the Automatic Backups you would have to manually Copy and Paste any Files/Folders onto the Onedrive folder in file explorer that you wanted to be backed up in the cloud
    Last edited by sportsfan148; 28 Jun 2021 at 06:12.
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  7. Posts : 4,752
    Windows 11 Pro 64 Bit 22H2
       #7

    Most of us find OneDrive to be obtrusive. It takes over and wants to sync files you don't want it to. Most tech people turn this drive Off. Most techs rely on making an Image file of your whole computer and saving that to another drive rather then depend on an automatic backup. I also manually backup my most precious files to another drive manually so I am in control of it. But you may like the OneDrive auto backup.
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  8. Posts : 985
    Windows 10 Home 21H1
    Thread Starter
       #8

    spunk said:
    Most of us find OneDrive to be obtrusive. It takes over and wants to sync files you don't want it to. Most tech people turn this drive Off. Most techs rely on making an Image file of your whole computer and saving that to another drive rather then depend on an automatic backup. I also manually backup my most precious files to another drive manually so I am in control of it. But you may like the OneDrive auto backup.
    I do the same as you and manually back up my important files to a a couple of flash drives which I rotate in case theres ever an issue with one of them. I just thought it might be an idea to be able to back up some other files and folders that I have in the Documents folder to Onedrive. It looks like the best way to achieve that is to manually copy and paste any individual files onto the Onedrive/Documents folder in file explorer. That would avoid any syncing that would be done automatically if I turned on the option to Back up Desktop/Documents/Pictures Folders or Folder protection as I think they used to call it
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  9. Posts : 4,752
    Windows 11 Pro 64 Bit 22H2
       #9

    Good choice on turning off syncing or auto backing up.
    I would not rely on USB Flash drives for backup media. These have a high failure rate. It's best to have an external USB HDD or 2 and rotate those instead.
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  10. Posts : 985
    Windows 10 Home 21H1
    Thread Starter
       #10

    spunk said:
    Good choice on turning off syncing or auto backing up.
    I would not rely on USB Flash drives for backup media. These have a high failure rate. It's best to have an external USB HDD or 2 and rotate those instead.
    Yeah..Ive read that before about high failure rates for flash drives. I guess Ive been lucky so far because Ive never had one fail...yet. Im hoping that rotating two flash drives will keep me free from disaster striking
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