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Files are mysteriously appearing in the wrong OneDrive folders
For some reason, files in my some of my OneDrive folders are appearing in others. In most cases, they are not moving over from their original folders. They are still in the original folders but also popping up elsewhere. When I try to open them, most won't open. When you try to open photos that have duplicated in another folder, you're told "this file doesn't have a preview we can show you" and Word documents won't open with the message "sorry, this document can't be opened for editing". But I have come across one instance where a photo in a folder is copied in the same folder but with a completely different name of another t file from another folder. that did open. What is going on?
It’s definitely possible that the way OneDrive syncs across your two Macs contributed to the corruption. Here’s why:
Possible Causes Based on Your Setup
1. Sync Loop or Conflict Issues- If both Macs are set to always keep a local copy of files and constantly sync changes to OneDrive, any corruption on one machine could propagate to OneDrive.com and then to the other Mac.
- If a file is modified or indexed differently on one Mac (e.g., due to a macOS metadata change), OneDrive might misinterpret the file as new or different, leading to duplicates or corruption.
2. OneDrive File System Conflicts- OneDrive may have trouble handling multiple simultaneous sync requests, especially if macOS modifies hidden metadata (e.g., .DS_Store files or resource forks).
- This could explain why files appear in the wrong locations with different names.
3. OneDrive Database or Index Corruption- If OneDrive’s cloud index becomes corrupted, it might not properly map files to their correct locations.
- Since the issue is visible on OneDrive.com, this suggests a deeper sync issue rather than just a local cache problem.
Next Steps to Fix the Issue
1. Check OneDrive Versioning- Go to OneDrive Online → Right-click a corrupted file → Version history
- See if you can restore a previous, uncorrupted version.
2. Temporarily Disable Sync on Both Macs- Pause OneDrive sync on both Macs to stop potential corruption from spreading.
- Let OneDrive.com stabilize before re-enabling sync.
3. Verify OneDrive Storage Health- Try moving a problematic file to another folder and back.
- If OneDrive throws errors, its backend database may be corrupted.
4. Rebuild OneDrive Sync Database on One Mac FirstOn one Mac only, reset OneDrive:
rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.OneDrive-mac
Then, reinstall OneDrive and let it fully resync.
5. Manually Re-Upload Affected Files- If files are still corrupted after a reset, try manually uploading clean copies.
If the issue persists, this could be a deeper OneDrive sync bug. Let me know if you need more troubleshooting!
Thanks for your reply but what’s happening here is that the files on OneDrive.com have been corrupted, not the files on just one of my machines. It is possible that they became corrupted because I set my two Macs so that they keep a complete copy of all my OneDrive files on their hard discs and every time I change a file on one Mac, that change is automatically reflected in OneDrive.com and , through that, on the other Mac . I thought keeping a copy of my OneDrive files on each of my Mac’s would be a way of keeping my files s3cure. Maybe, in these circumstances, it allowed the corruption of one folder to infect OneDrive.com and, through that, the other Mac. What do you think?
It’s definitely possible that the way OneDrive syncs across your two Macs contributed to the corruption. Here’s why:
Possible Causes Based on Your Setup
1. Sync Loop or Conflict Issues- If both Macs are set to always keep a local copy of files and constantly sync changes to OneDrive, any corruption on one machine could propagate to OneDrive.com and then to the other Mac.
- If a file is modified or indexed differently on one Mac (e.g., due to a macOS metadata change), OneDrive might misinterpret the file as new or different, leading to duplicates or corruption.
2. OneDrive File System Conflicts- OneDrive may have trouble handling multiple simultaneous sync requests, especially if macOS modifies hidden metadata (e.g., .DS_Store files or resource forks).
- This could explain why files appear in the wrong locations with different names.
3. OneDrive Database or Index Corruption- If OneDrive’s cloud index becomes corrupted, it might not properly map files to their correct locations.
- Since the issue is visible on OneDrive.com, this suggests a deeper sync issue rather than just a local cache problem.
Next Steps to Fix the Issue
1. Check OneDrive Versioning- Go to OneDrive Online → Right-click a corrupted file → Version history
- See if you can restore a previous, uncorrupted version.
2. Temporarily Disable Sync on Both Macs- Pause OneDrive sync on both Macs to stop potential corruption from spreading.
- Let OneDrive.com stabilize before re-enabling sync.
3. Verify OneDrive Storage Health- Try moving a problematic file to another folder and back.
- If OneDrive throws errors, its backend database may be corrupted.
4. Rebuild OneDrive Sync Database on One Mac FirstOn one Mac only, reset OneDrive:
rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.OneDrive-mac
Then, reinstall OneDrive and let it fully resync.
5. Manually Re-Upload Affected Files- If files are still corrupted after a reset, try manually uploading clean copies.
If the issue persists, this could be a deeper OneDrive sync bug. Let me know if you need more troubleshooting!
It sounds like OneDrive might be experiencing sync glitches or file indexing issues, causing files to appear in multiple locations without actually moving. Here are a few possible explanations and steps to troubleshoot:
Possible Causes
1. OneDrive Sync IssuesSometimes, OneDrive may misinterpret files as duplicated due to sync conflicts.
This can happen if multiple devices are syncing the same OneDrive account with delays.
2. Corrupt Indexing or Cache IssuesFile Explorer or OneDrive might be displaying outdated information due to a corrupted cache.
3. Phantom Files / Ghost CopiesIf files appear in multiple places but can’t be opened, they may be orphaned placeholders from incomplete syncs.
4.File System Corruption
If files are duplicating with mismatched names, it could indicate minor file system corruption on OneDrive’s local sync folder.
How to Fix It
1. Restart OneDrive & Force a Full Sync- Exit OneDrive: Click on the OneDrive icon in the system tray → "Quit OneDrive."
- Restart OneDrive: Open OneDrive again and force a resync.
- Check for Sync Errors: If any files are stuck, resolve them in the OneDrive app.
2. Reset OneDrive (Without Losing Files)Press Win + R, type:
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe /reset
Press Enter. This will reset OneDrive and resync everything.
3. Check File Explorer & OneDrive Online- Open OneDrive Online (https://onedrive.live.com/) and verify if the issue exists there.
- If files are fine online but appear incorrectly on your PC, the issue is likely local cache corruption.
4. Clear File Explorer’s CacheOpen File Explorer → Click View → "Options" → "Clear File Explorer History" → Restart.
5. Run Disk Check for ErrorsOpen Command Prompt as Admin and run:
chkdsk /f /r
Restart your computer and let it scan for errors.
6. (If Nothing Works) Reinstall OneDrive- Uninstall OneDrive from Windows Settings → Apps.
- Restart your PC.
- Reinstall OneDrive and sign back in.
