Stop syncing a library with the OneDrive for work or school app (2024)

FAQs

Stop syncing a library with the OneDrive for work or school app? ›

Go to Start, type OneDrive in the search box, and select OneDrive for work or school. Select Settings. Select the folder you want to stop syncing, and then select OK.

Go to Start, type OneDrive in the search box, and select OneDrive for work or school. Select Settings. Select the folder you want to stop syncing, and then select OK.

Stop syncing everything

Right-click (or CTRL-click in Mac) the OneDrive icon on the taskbar. Select Pause syncing then select Quit OneDrive.

QUICK ANSWER

To stop OneDrive from syncing, open OneDrive by clicking on the cloud icon in the taskbar, click on the gear icon at the top right corner, and go to Settings. Open the Backup and sync tab, select Manage backup, and toggle off the sync option for documents, pictures, and desktop.

In the command prompt window, type the following command and hit Enter: taskkill /f /im OneDrive.exe 3.

One option to stop OneDrive from opening on startup is by disabling it in the Task Manager. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager. Then, click “Startup”. From there, turn off the Microsoft OneDrive option and it won't run at startup.

Why OneDrive Syncing Everything? Sometimes, OneDrive syncs everything because you have enabled the Manage Backup feature. And you often save your files to Documents, Pictures, and Desktop folders but you do not want to sync them to OneDrive. As a result, OneDrive will sync everything automatically.

How do I unsync files from OneDrive? ›

Open OneDrive settings (select the OneDrive cloud icon in your notification area, and then select the OneDrive Help and Settings icon then Settings.) Go to the Account tab. Select Choose folders. In the Choose Folders dialog box, uncheck any folders you don't want to sync to your computer and select OK.

Step 1: Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray or menu bar. Step 2: Head to Settings > Account > Choose folders. Step 3: Uncheck the folders you want to un-sync while keeping others checked. Step 4: Click OK to apply the changes.

To stop OneDrive from syncing desktop shortcuts, you must stop it from syncing your Desktop folder. Go into OneDrive settings, click "Manage Backup," and toggle the "Desktop" folder off. Repeat this process on your other PCs running OneDrive.

One Drive can automatically include your Desktop / My Documents / and Pictures folders to sync. If you don't want them to sync - right click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar and click settings. Then look at the “Sync and backup” settings -> manage backup and you can switch off any or all of them.

Way 2: Selective Sync

Step 1: Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray or menu bar. Step 2: Head to Settings > Account > Choose folders. Step 3: Uncheck the folders you want to un-sync while keeping others checked. Step 4: Click OK to apply the changes.

On the Sync settings tab, under Sync settings with OneDrive, turn off the switch at Sync your settings on this PC. On the Metered connections tab, turn off all the switches. To hide OneDrive from File Explorer, open File Explorer and in the folder list on the left, right-click OneDrive and then click Properties.