Since signing up to OneDrive I can't find Docs and Pics easily

I'm not a Windows native and I find much of it unintuitive, especially the architecture of File Explorer where folders of the same name can be found down multiple pathways (for example, there are Documents and Pictures folders in OS (C) > Users > Username and also in This PC).

I used to find my docs and pics in the folders at the end of the first path but the Docs and Pics folders there are now empty. This change seems to have occurred since I signed up to OneDrive, which I also find far from intuitive.

What is the best way to restore my docs and pics to where I used to find them. If this involves de-activating my OneDrive account, so be it. I would like all my files to back up to the cloud but perhaps OneDrive is not the solution for me.

"I used to find my docs and pics in the folders at the end of the first path but the Docs and Pics folders there are now empty."
1) Follow this simple tutorial to change the default save location from Onedrive to This PC folders that you're used to using - Auto Save Documents to OneDrive or This PC in Windows 10

"What is the best way to restore my docs and pics to where I used to find them."
2) Copy the contents of the Onedrive folders to the corresponding This PC folders, eg; Pictures to Pictures, etc. Move them if you don't want the files in the Onedrive cloud.

"I would like all my files to back up to the cloud but perhaps OneDrive is not the solution for me."
3) This is exactly what Onedrive is for, although the free space may not be enough for most and you may need to buy more space. You can pick and choose which files to back up. R-click the Onedrive tray icon/Settings/Accounts tab. Choose your preferences.


Understand that the folders in the nav panel are separate spaces. The folders under This PC are on your hard drive only. The folders under Onedrive are on both your PC AND the cloud. Hence, anything you want backed up, needs to be in the Onedrive folders.
You may find that you want the same files in both locations (copy file to Onedrive folder), or to save cloud space, you may choose not to back up a big Music collection and use an external drive to back. I hope this clarifies your options.
As you can see from my picture, Onedrive is a handy service for me to share huge files that can't be emailed.

Thanks for your comprehensive reply.

I think the first thing I want to do, before dealing with OneDrive, is to have files stored in the same Documents and Pictures files all the time. I believe they used to be at the end of this path: This PC > OS (C) > Users > "Username". Am I right thinking this is the path Windows defaults to?

Also, as I said before, I'm not completely au fait with the pathway architecture of File Explorer but is it possible that my misuse of OneDrive has created the Documents and Pictures folders directly within This PC (see screen grab below) or do folders with these names always appear both inside This PC and again, deeper down, in OS (C) > Users > "Username"? If the latter, it seems an unnecessary complication.



Can I solve this problem and then move on to OneDrive settings or is it possible my OneDrive settings are at the root of this problem?