Beware: automatic OneDrive sync at startup

[Tempest]

My laptop had a Windows Update last night and today when I booted up the laptop there was an aggressive campaign by Microsoft to sync all my files to OneDrive. Even though I carefully tried to reject the sync, after I completed the introduction to OneDrive, the sync proceeded without my permission. There was a massive bidirectional sync between OneDrive and my laptop so that my whole file system became messed up. All my files and folders locally now have to go through a OneDrive proxy, even ones on my desktop, when offline. All my games on RetroArch were broken. What a mess.

Everyone be careful.

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

Whenever you do a fresh installation of Windows, or got a new PC with Windows, it's best to uninstall OneDrive, or config it not to auto sync what you don't want it to do. There are better apps than OneDrive that do the same job, but better, with more free storage, and customization.

How Windows 11 make things worse, as some old games wouldn't know of changed locations of files, where force user folder into one drive.
Example

C:\Users\INSERTNAMEHERE\OneDrive\Documents
vs
C:\Users\INSERTNAMEHERE\Documents

So if game only knows C:\Users\INSERTNAMEHERE\Documents, you see the problem where your save file was moved to C:\Users\INSERTNAMEHERE\OneDrive\Documents which cause game to not find save file.

[Tempest]

Yes, that happened to me. All my games in RetroArch can't find the files because the files have been renamed to include OneDrive in the name.

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

Originally posted by Tempest:

Yes, that happened to me. All my games in RetroArch can't find the files because the files have been renamed to include OneDrive in the name.

Run OneDrive > go into it settings > account > want to UNLINK from your PC and make sure turn off anything don't want app to do.

Now you can cut and paste your file from OneDrive folder to your folder. Example I made an account called TIM.

So you cut & paste from onedrive folder to here C:\Users\TIM that it, then you can uninstall one drive without losing anything. Please note whatever your named your PC account that be your folder, TIM just an example if I named my PC account that.

[PocketYoda]

I ripped one drive out of my Win 10, its gone now thank god.

[Tempest]

I waiting a half hour in line to complain to Microsoft, while I tried to rescue my laptop and RetroArch.

[Tempest]

I'm very concerned because I need to delete the synced files from my laptop but I don't want the files in OneDrive to be deleted. I can't replace them. And now, even files on the desktop go through OneDrive.

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

If do the steps I said, it stop one drive from moving things on you, and you can place the files where you want them to be.

You can watch this video for fixing pointers as well, it all same way, so watch the video.
https://youtu.be/eGxtK5WxiLA?si=JePGQ1AgfdtITzju

[Tempest]

Thanks. I'll look at it. I'm really frustrated.

[eram]

nothing to do with steam or the steam client.

[John Henry Eden]

windows key + R
services.msc
find one drive
disable

[Wolfpig]

Originally posted by John Henry Eden:

windows key + R
services.msc
find one drive
disable

You only need to go into the installed software in your windows and uninstall one drive if you do not need it.
if you need it it would make more sense to mark the folders which should be synced yourself in one drive.

[John Henry Eden]

Originally posted by Wolfpig:

Originally posted by John Henry Eden:

windows key + R
services.msc
find one drive
disable

You only need to go into the installed software in your windows and uninstall one drive if you do not need it.
if you need it it would make more sense to mark the folders which should be synced yourself in one drive.

sometimes, windows leaves bloatware, so if he deletes it, he maybe has to do this step too

[Cray]

Heard others having the problem too. Even local file copies being deleted and only the cloud saves kept. For one, it happened overnight while he was sleeping and computer was running.

Apparently tricky to avoid unless onedrive is completely wiped, but properly getting out of the bloatware and trash ms pushes is a cat and mouse game. There are som "debloat win10/win11" projects hosted on github that do a decent job at keeping up to date with their latest clown moves, could be worth a check for future proofing the installation.

The actual reason ms is doing this is essentially to get their hands on data. Either by aggressively pushing a service that stores it to engender dependence, or to get more unique data for mining and ai training purposes.
Whatever their ToS says about how they use your data today, it can and will change in the future with an update accompanied by an unreadable/long/obscurely worded dialog box that many will click past by accident or dialog blindness.

I left windows some time before win7 support ended, and seeing the sheer amount of pure crap they shove and force onto users, I'm never going back.

[PocketYoda]

Originally posted by Wolfpig:

Originally posted by John Henry Eden:

windows key + R
services.msc
find one drive
disable

You only need to go into the installed software in your windows and uninstall one drive if you do not need it.
if you need it it would make more sense to mark the folders which should be synced yourself in one drive.

I did that then win 10 reinstalled it without my says so.. Thats why i broke it on purpose.. It cannot reinstall on my system anymore.

[Tempest]

Dr.Shadowds, thanks for posting the video. It worked. I'm a long-time supporter of Microsoft but they need to stop shoving nagware down our throats. I'm curious if I can survive with SteamOS. I like to generally play RetroArch and only the rare AAA game with mods.