Forum Discussion
OneDrive stuck on "getting in sync" icons
Recently I upgraded my sync client and now my OneDrive says it is up to date but the folders and files always show the "getting in sync" icon. What should I do to fix? Running Build 17.3.7078.1026
Not sure if this is still an issue for some users but I recently had this happen for one of my clients. I realized after some testing that if I renamed one of the folders showing the "Getting in Sync" status, created a new folder, then copied over all the items from that folder, the issue would subside. When I proceeded to delete the original folder, it prompted me if I wanted to remove a temp system file.
This helped me realize that the folders in question that would not sync all had locked/corrupt temp system files (which are hidden by default) and are not meant to sync with the OneDrive Client. This included temp files for word docs, thumbnail/icon database files, etc.
Moving forward I temporarily changed the folder options as follows (Windows 10):
1. In File Explorer > View Tab > Options (All the way to the right)
2. View Tab
3. Select the radio button for "Show hidden files, folders, and drives"
4. Finally uncheck the box that shows "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)"
Once that was done, I could browse through each folder and remove all locked/corrupted temp files and the folder would show as synced after that.
Note: Remember to undo the folder options mentioned above when done.
This may not be the end all solution for everyone but it helped in my situation.
47 Replies
For what is worth and people coming here for answers.... Run a CHKDSK /SCAN on your disk... if you have errors in the disk, like reparse errors, OneDrive will get stuck and none of the workarounds here will work... you have to repair the errors using CHKDSK...
HTH
Daniel
I had the same problem with my OneDrive (I think they don't call it "OneDrive Business" anymore, it is just "OneDrive ****mycompanyname****).
I solved it by changing my OneDrive folder when setting OneDrive up. When it throws you the dialog "There is already a OneDrive folder on your PC, do you want to select the same folder or change it?" or something like that, you should change the folder and see if the syncing starts again. With my laptop it did.
This problem was with OneDrive (Business?) version Build 19.192.0926.0011 on November 6th 2019.
I am using the latest OneDrive build: 18.222.1104.0007
This worked for me:
Drill down until you find the folder that is not syncing. Simply right click and rename the stuck folder. There is no need to copy or move all files out of the folder as some have suggested.
For example: Rename "Invoices" to "Invoices 1.0"
Go through all folders and rename all that are stuck.
If you try to rename back to the old folder name that was causing the problem, the sync will get stuck again.
I tried to look for and clear hidden corrupted system files in the folder, as some posters suggested, but there weren't any. So I'm not really sure why renaming the folders works.
Let me know if this works for you - good luck!
Hi Everyone,
I had the exact same issue for the past few weeks as well. Going beyond just the icon being stuck in syncing mode, I have not been able to access a few of my files. However, after reading this thread and a few troubleshooting documents from One drive, I believe that I have figured out why it's happening. According to One-drive trouble shooting documents, no filepath can exceed 400 characters. Therefore, if you have a lot of files within files and then documents with longer names, you could easily exceed the 400 characters quite easily. I've noticed that the only time this syncing error occurs is when I have this error occurring. I don't know if this helps everyone but it's working for my files now. Thanks!
Hello:
After fussing over the same problem for about 1/2 day, I found a rather simply solution. I remove the offending folders from my OneDrive folder and place them on my desktop. Then I simply rename the folders and then return them to OneDrive. For example, I had a folder in OneDrive called "Filing Cabinet". While I had it on my desktop, I renamed it to "Filing Cabinet II" and the replaced it to OneDrive.
Works perfectly.
Just wanted to say that this works. I had 2 folders that were showing as syncing. I cut and paste all the files out of them into new folders. When I deleted the old folders I got a warning saying you are about to delete "this file". The file was hidden in the folder. With show hidden items and show protected operating system files/folders turned on, the file still didn't show up in the folder. It seems that occasionally a file gets stuck in limbo between being on my pc and in my OneDrive folder online.
Not sure if this is still an issue for some users but I recently had this happen for one of my clients. I realized after some testing that if I renamed one of the folders showing the "Getting in Sync" status, created a new folder, then copied over all the items from that folder, the issue would subside. When I proceeded to delete the original folder, it prompted me if I wanted to remove a temp system file.
This helped me realize that the folders in question that would not sync all had locked/corrupt temp system files (which are hidden by default) and are not meant to sync with the OneDrive Client. This included temp files for word docs, thumbnail/icon database files, etc.
Moving forward I temporarily changed the folder options as follows (Windows 10):
1. In File Explorer > View Tab > Options (All the way to the right)
2. View Tab
3. Select the radio button for "Show hidden files, folders, and drives"
4. Finally uncheck the box that shows "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)"
Once that was done, I could browse through each folder and remove all locked/corrupted temp files and the folder would show as synced after that.
Note: Remember to undo the folder options mentioned above when done.
This may not be the end all solution for everyone but it helped in my situation.
- It works for me, thank you! I found some temporary files that I just deleted. The problem is gone.
I attempted to use David Lodge 's solution to no avail. However, I didn't find any temporary files or hidden files keeping things locked up, and nothing within the folders showing out of sync.
However, I also am running Google Backup & Sync (two clouds are better than one, eh?) and when I clicked on the icon for that, I was given notice about removing several items from Google's servers that I had deleted locally at some point recently. When I confirmed I wanted to remove them from the cloud, the icons updated almost instantly on my desktop. Hope this helps somebody!
- Worked for me - thanks David Lodge
I waited for MS to do something for four months and decided to take matters in my own hand. I’m manually fixing the problem. I simply create a new folder for NAME called NAME2. Then I move the files from NAME to NAME2. Then I delete NAME and rename NAME2 as NAME. It works. The problem apparently only affected the few folders I had with files that were synching at the time of the Windows 10 update in March 2018 that clashed with OneDrive.
I'm working on fixing this for myself today by John's brute force method. It's important because the glitch is actually preventing me from saving new updates to many documents. I've already lost some updates so it is frustrating and costly.
So far, replacing folders seems to work as long as I am working on the lowest level of folder that is not syncing. I have a lot of files that are broken so this may take a while.Any answers ? Same problem for many customers.
Susan,
Are you seeing this issue with the current version of OD- 17.3.7131.1115
Current versions are always listed here: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/New-OneDrive-sync-client-release-notes-845dcf18-f921-435e-bf28-4e24b95e5fc0
I'm using OneDrive for Business and have access to the MS Business Concierge service. They, however, pretend that this isn't their problem and unhelpfully blame it on Windows. In my case, it involves the same nine folders in documents. All of the files in those folders show that they are synched. The OneDrive icon shows that everything's up to date. However, those nine folders (and some subfolders under them) all show that a sync is pending. This happened after an update that MS ran in March and I cannot get MS interested in taking the issue seriously. It would seem to me that once all the files in a folder show that they are synched, the software needed to go up a level and check off the folder itself would be pretty simple. The fact that MS can't figure this one out is rather scary. The only real implication of this I've noticed is that shortcuts to the files in the folder don't work. That is, because the software believes a sync is pending, it won't allow you to attach a file from that folder to an email using a shortcut. Instead, I need to browse and click on the file going through the folders from the top. That a few extra steps, but not a real problem. The situation is just really annoying and I keep holding my breath for what will happen next.
- Me too. Very annoying as it leaves me insecure about where and when my files exist in what version. Please provide a fix.
- Yes the issue still exists with the current version of OD 17.3.7131.1115. The icons revert back to syncing. The files are all up to date.
We are running 17.3.7131.115 and are encountering these same issues. The only daily workaround is “Pausing and then resuming” which fixes the sync issues until the machine is rebooted. Not really a fix at all, has anyone opened an MS Case on the issue?
- I downloaded the current version of OD--17.3.7131.115. Currently all files show up to date. I will see if the issue returns. Thanks!
Having the same problem in the build 17.3.7131.1115...
Hi Susan, I was having the same problem and pausing the sync and resuming it would fix the display issues. After a restart the display issue was coming back. And it is really a display issue because when adding a new file or folder the sync was doing fine and was showing the new addition as synced.
We are seeing this issue on Windows 10 (1703, 1709) and Windows 7.
Then I update my computer with the new release of the insider preview or Windows 10 (Build 17063) and I am now running the client version 17.3.7289.1207 and there is no issue at the moment.
I do think that the issue is with the version of the client you are running. There should be no problem with the sync but I agree that it is not easy to explain to client running into that kind of issues.
- For us it is not just a display issue. We get an error when we try to open any excel files from the folder that is showing the sync icon. We can still upload documents we just cant open them.
- We are planning a roll out of OneDrive and the sync client and would like to have a solution to this problem. I agree with you and think this is just a display issue and the files are syncing. However, as a trainer, I don't want to try to explain this to the entire corporation.
We are also experiencing similar issues (icons remain on syncing status) on build 17.3.729031212
- so it depends on how many files... Sometimes it stops after Rebooting the machine
