Onedrive file sync issue

Question

I just recently had an issue where my files were not synced because i had run out of onedrive storage space so i just got rid of a bunch of unnecessary files sitting around which freed up a ton of space. The files still werent synced so i resett one drive to sync them back up but when i did that it just restored the files i had just deleted. I kept trying over and over again but the same kept happening and now i cant sycn my files. Ive tried everything, restarted my computer. Reinstalled onedrive but its all not working and my files and folders wonf sync. What do i do to fix this?

nikolinode · Answer

OneDrive is basically “confused” about the state of your files because you hit a storage limit and then tried to reset. When OneDrive restores deleted files after a reset, it’s usually because it’s syncing from the cloud version, which still has the old files. Let’s carefully work through a step-by-step approach to fix this without risking your files.

Check OneDrive Online

Go to OneDrive.com and log in.
Check whether the files you deleted are still in the cloud.

If they are there, that’s why they keep coming back.
If they’re not there, the problem might be local sync cache corruption.

Pause Syncing

Before making any changes, pause OneDrive sync:

Click the OneDrive icon in your taskbar.
Click Help & Settings → Pause syncing → 2 hours.

Backup Locally

Make a copy of the folder you want to keep outside of the OneDrive folder (e.g., on your desktop or another drive).

This ensures nothing is accidentally deleted during the reset or resync process.

Fully Reset OneDrive

Sometimes a standard reset doesn’t clear corrupted local caches. Here’s a thorough reset:

Close OneDrive completely (from the system tray → Exit).
Press Win + R → type:
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

→ Press Enter.

Wait a few minutes. Check the taskbar to see if OneDrive starts.

If it doesn’t start automatically, manually start it:
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe

This clears the local sync cache, which often fixes stuck or looping syncs.

Clear Conflicting Files

After reset, do not immediately copy files back into the OneDrive folder.
Rename your local OneDrive folder (e.g., OneDrive_old) as a backup.
Start OneDrive and choose a new folder to sync to.
Move only the files you want synced from your backup folder to the new OneDrive folder gradually, checking that sync works.

Check Storage

Make sure you now have enough OneDrive storage: