How Turn On or Off OneDrive PC Folder Backup for Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders in Windows 10


OneDrive is free online storage that comes with your Microsoft account. Save your files online to OneDrive and you will be able to view, browse, upload, and share them from any PC, tablet, or phone.

OneDrive is built into Windows 10, and you can find your OneDrive files through File Explorer

If you want an additional layer of protection from ransomware, try saving your files in OneDrive. It’s part of the new experiences that arrived with the Windows 10 April 2018 Update.

When you save your files to OneDrive, you can get to them from anywhere and your files are safe in OneDrive if anything happens to your device. Now, you can set up protection for your important folders in Windows (your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders) when using either your personal OneDrive account, or your work or school account.

If a ransomware threat is found on a device, Windows Defender will notify you of the threat, help you remove the ransomware from your device, and give you options to recover your OneDrive files to the state they were in before the attack occurred. For Office 365 Home subscribers, Office 365 Personal subscribers, and OneDrive for Business users, that includes OneDrive Files Restore, which can be used to restore your OneDrive to a previous point in time within the last 30 days. The date and time that Windows Defender detected the attack will be pre-selected in Files Restore, making the process simple and easy to use.

See also:

• Back up your Documents, Pictures, and Desktop folders with OneDrive - Office Support
• Migrate Your Files to OneDrive Easily with Known Folder Move - Microsoft OneDrive Blog
• Save your files to OneDrive for expanded ransomware protection - Windows Experience Blog
• OneDrive Files Restore and Windows Defender takes ransomware protection one step further - Microsoft OneDrive Blog
• Ransomware detection and recovering your files - OneDrive

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off OneDrive PC folder backup for protection of your files in your Desktop, Documents, or Pictures folders in Windows 10.

For a Windows 11 version of this tutorial, see:

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

Contents

• Option One: Turn On OneDrive PC Folder Protection for Desktop, Documents, and Pictures Folders
• Option Two: Turn Off OneDrive PC Folder Protection for Desktop, Documents, and Pictures Folders

EXAMPLE: OneDrive PC folder backup syncing Documents, Pictures, and Desktop folders

OPTION ONE

Turn On OneDrive PC Folder Protection for Desktop, Documents, and Pictures Folders

1 Click/tap on the OneDrive icon on the taskbar notification area, click/tap on More, and click/tap on Settings. (see screenshot below)

2 Click/tap on the Backup tab in Microsoft OneDrive settings, and click/tap on the Manage backup button. (see screenshot below)

3 In the Back up your folders dialog box, select (check) the folders you want to backup to OneDrive, and click/tap on the Start backup button. (see screenshots below)

4 You can close the dialog box while your files sync to OneDrive. Or, to watch your files sync, click/tap on View sync progress. When the files finish syncing to OneDrive, they're protected and you can access them from anywhere in Desktop, Documents, or Pictures. When you backup your Desktop folder, the items on your desktop roam with you to your other PC desktops where you're running OneDrive. (see screenshot below)

5 When finished, click/tap on OK in Microsoft OneDrive settings. (see screenshot below)

OPTION TWO

Turn Off OneDrive PC Folder Protection for Desktop, Documents, and Pictures Folders

When you stop folder backup for a folder, the files you were backing up remain in OneDrive and no longer appear in the folder. You will see a Where are my files shortcut in the folder to take you to its OneDrive folder location. If you no longer want these files in OneDrive, you'll need to move them to a local folder on your PC yourself. Any new files you add to the folder on your PC will no longer be backed up (synced) to OneDrive.

1 Click/tap on the OneDrive icon on the taskbar notification area, click/tap on More, and click/tap on Settings. (see screenshot below)

2 Click/tap on the Backup tab in Microsoft OneDrive settings, and click/tap on the Manage backup button. (see screenshot below)

3 In the Manage folder backup dialog box, click/tap on the Stop backup link of a folder you want to stop syncing to OneDrive. (see screenshot below)

4 Click/tap on Stop backup to confirm. (see screenshot below)

5 Click/tap on Close. (see screenshot below)

6 Repeat steps 3 to 5 if you want to stop folder backup to OneDrive for any other folder.

7 When finished, close the Manage folder backup dialog box. (see screenshot below)

8 Click/tap on OK in Microsoft OneDrive settings. (see screenshot below)

That's it,
Shawn Brink

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Windows 11 Tutorials