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Nskdo's avatar
Nskdo
Iron Contributor
Aug 16, 2025

Microsoft Account & One Drive Question

I have a small basic laptop that has like 18 gig free on the hard drive I use as a backup to my desktop that died.It’s a great cheap Asus that serves its purpose well. My question is that when I ...
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edwin_valentin's avatar
edwin_valentin
Copper Contributor
Aug 16, 2025

Hi, I’m Edwin Valentín and it’s a pleasure to help you. In your case, the best option is to use the same Microsoft Account on both your new desktop and your laptop. OneDrive works by account, not by device, so everything you save on your desktop PC will sync to the cloud and also be available on your laptop.

 

Steps to configure Files On-Demand:

1. Right–click the OneDrive icon (cloud) in the taskbar.

2. Select Settings.

3. Go to the Sync and backup tab.

4. Scroll down to Files On-Demand.

5. Choose Free up disk space → files will appear in File Explorer but will only download when you open them.

Recommendation: Set up your new desktop to sync all the files you need, and on the laptop enable Files On-Demand with Free up disk space. This way, you’ll have access to everything without filling up the small drive on your laptop, while always keeping a secure copy in the cloud.