Forum Discussion

NAGDT's avatar
NAGDT
Copper Contributor
Mar 03, 2025

Adding a folder on an external drive to OneDrive

The reason for asking this question is existing discussions on the subject seem to provide contradictory information.

 

Can I include a folder (i.e., D:\Finances\Taxes\TY 2024) on the USB external drive D: and all subfolders to the default OneDrive folders under C:\Users\nagdt\OneDrive so it will be backed up just like the default OneDrive folders, and if so, how?

 

FYI... When I go to OneDrive Settings -> Sync and backup -> Back up important PC folders to OneDrive -> Manage Backup, I am not offered an option to add a folder in addition to the five primary default folders except for those folders under the five primary default folders.

 

Thanks!

 

NAGDT

Folders
onedrive

1 Reply

  • NikolinoDE's avatar
    NikolinoDE
    Gold Contributor
    Mar 08, 2025

    OneDrive doesn’t natively support adding folders located on external drives (like a USB drive) to be backed up in the same way as the default system folders (Desktop, Documents, Pictures, etc.)…so far I know.

     

    You can create symbolic links (symlinks) to make OneDrive sync folders from external drives.

    A symlink acts as a pointer that makes OneDrive think that the folder on the external drive is actually located in your OneDrive folder.

    Create the symbolic link. Use the following command in the Command Prompt:

    mklink /D "C:\Users\[YourUsername]\OneDrive\Taxes\TY 2024" "D:\Finances\Taxes\TY 2024"

     

    You can manually select folders to sync to OneDrive through its selective sync feature.

    Move the Folder you want to back up (e.g., D:\Finances\Taxes\TY 2024) to your OneDrive folder

    OneDrive will automatically detect the folder inside the OneDrive folder and begin syncing it to the cloud.

    Once it is synced, you can copy it back to your external drive (D:\Finances\Taxes\TY 2024) to ensure you have a local copy.

     

    For file-level backup, consider OneDrive Personal Vault or third-party sync tools.

    You could also consider using sync software to keep the external folder synced with OneDrive. There are several third-party tools available that can help you sync an external folder with OneDrive.

    Look on _Internet you will find some.

     

    Forum User comment: Syncing OneDrive to an external hard drive

     

    My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

     

    Hope this will help you.

     

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