How to Reset OneDrive Quickly

When OneDrive is not syncing anymore, you will probably need to restart or reset OneDrive. This way all your files will get back in sync with the online version.

It’s good to know that you won’t lose any data when you reset OneDrive. All the files on your computer and in SharePoint or OneDrive will remain. Only the OneDrive settings and connections between the files are reset.

Let’s take a look at how to restart and reset OneDrive.

Restart OneDrive

Before we are going to reset OneDrive, it’s a good idea to first restart it. Restarting OneDrive often solves most connection issues and it’s a lot quicker than resetting it.

To restart OneDrive you have two options, you can restart your computer or close and reopen OneDrive:

  1. Right-click on the OneDrive icon in the taskbar
  2. Choose Quit OneDrive in the settings menu of OneDrive
  3. Click Close OneDrive in the popup
restart onedrive

After you have closed OneDrive you will need to restart it. To open or start OneDrive we will have to search for the OneDrive app in the start menu. If you have the search bar in the taskbar, then you can use that to directly search for the app:

  1. Open the Start Menu
  2. Search for OneDrive using the search bar
  3. Open the OneDrive App
Start OneDrive

It can take a couple of seconds for OneDrive to start, just wait until the explorer opens with your OneDrive folder. Click on the OneDrive icon in the taskbar to check if the synchronization problems are solved.

Reset OneDrive

If restarting OneDrive didn’t solve the issues, then your only option is to reset OneDrive. When you reset OneDrive, you won’t lose any data, but all settings and connections in OneDrive are reset. OneDrive will perform a full sync after the reset, which solves most of the issues.

To reset OneDrive we will be using a single command which you can execute through the Run dialog or in the command prompt.

Note

When resetting OneDrive, all accounts are disconnected, personal and work. You won’t lose any files, but if you have chosen to sync only specific folders from a librairy, then you will have to re-sync those manually.

Right-click on Start and choose Run or press the Windows Key + R to open the Run Dialog:

reset onedrive

Copy and Paste the OneDrive Reset Command below in the run dialog and press enter:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

If you get an error that Windows cannot find the application, then try one of the two commands below:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

OneDrive Reset Command

OneDrive will now automatically close and restart after a couple of seconds. Depending on the amount of folders you have synced, it can take some time to resync all the files. If you open the OneDrive app, you will see the progress at the top.

Make sure you keep an eye on the app, it can happen that OneDrive finds two versions of the same file. In these cases, you will need to decide which version to keep or keep both versions.

If OneDrive doesn’t start after a few minutes, then re-open OneDrive from the Start Menu. Just use the search option in the start menu to find and open the app.

Reset OneDrive Windows Store

There is also a Windows Store version besides the normal OneDrive client. You can recognize this version by opening OneDrive. It will look like the screenshot below instead of the normal OneDrive as you can see under the chapter “Restart OneDrive”.

To reset the Windows Store version of OneDrive, we will need to open OneDrive first.

  1. Click on the 3 dots in the top-right corner
  2. Choose Settings
  3. Click on Reset now
reset onedrive windows store

Unlike with the normal OneDrive client, you will need to re-add your account after you have reset OneDrive.

Common reason OneDrive stops syncing

You now know how to reset OneDrive, but it’s also a good idea to look at the reason why OneDrive stopped syncing. Taking these points into consideration can help prevent the reoccurring of the problems.

Too many files synced

The most common cause that I see is simply too many files synced. The official limit for OneDrive is 300.000 files synced. But your computer also needs to be able to handle it. This means that you must have enough system resources (CPU and Memory) available for OneDrive to process the syncing.

Therefore it’s important to only sync the files you need. These are the files that you need every day for your work. Keep in mind that it’s quicker to look up the files in SharePoint than clicking through your Explorer.

Out-dated Office version

If you work a lot together in the same files, then it’s important that your are running the latest Office version. Using an outdated Office version can cause synchronization issues with OneDrive or duplicated files.

Windows not up-to-date

OneDrive is part of Windows these days. Therefore it’s important to keep your Windows up-to-date with the latest updates.

Wrapping Up

Resetting OneDrive should fix most synchronization issues. If the problem keeps re-occurring, then try to sync fewer document libraries to see if that solves the issue. Sometimes the synchronization issue occurs only with a specific folder or file, in those cases, stop the synchronization of the folder completely remove all local files, and re-sync the folder again.

I hope this article helped you with resetting OneDrive, if you have any questions, just drop a comment below.

Leave a Comment

0 Shares
Tweet
Pin
Share
Share