If we talk about OneDrive being a product of Microsoft, it’s a cloud service where you can keep your data safe, along with other files, documents, or everything, and avoid losing them for any reason.
However, there are some drawbacks of the same, due to which you might want to disable OneDrive.
This article discusses the various reasons you want to disable your OneDrive account and the best ways to do so.
Why Would You Want To Disable OneDrive?
There can be several reasons why you might consider Disabling OneDrive, but I have mentioned some of the most basic and common ones.
As you install Windows 10, OneDrive is installed automatically. And then, it starts to sync your documents, desktop folder, pictures, and every other stuff on the device.
- Several cloud storages are available where you can store your documents and files.
- If that is not important to you, then your network resources might bother you. Isn’t it evident that for the syncing process, OneDrive uses your internet connection?
- Lastly, if you won’t disable OneDrive, it’ll start working automatically in the background. Therefore, by disabling it, you can save some of your CPU and RAM usages.
How To Disable OneDrive In Windows 10/11?
I will now be discussing all the possible ways to disable OneDrive in Windows.
- Temporarily Pause OneDrive Syncing
- Remove Folders That Sync
- Unlink OneDrive
- Uninstall OneDrive From Windows
- Using The Settings App
- Using the Command Prompt
1. Temporarily Pause OneDrive Syncing
This is considered to be the best option or way to disable OneDrive temporarily on your device. With this, you’ll pause the file syncing and all the changes that OneDrive made during or after uploading them. Follow the given steps for the same.
- In the notification area of your Windows Taskbar, click on the OneDrive icon.
- Alternatively, you can also use the Start Menu to launch OneDrive.
- Click on the More option.
- Click on the Pause Syncing option.
- You can choose the duration to disable, i.e., 2 hours, 8 hours, or 24 hours.
But if you want to pause OneDrive syncing for a more extended period, you must follow the above steps after completing the first 24 hours of disabling it.
Otherwise, you can pause the syncing process by removing the entire folder that your PC monitors. For this, the steps are:
- Press the OneDrive icon.
- Click on More.
- Select Settings.
- Hit the Choose folders option in the Account tab.
- In the Choose folders Menu, you need to disable all the checkboxes.
- These checkboxes include Make all files available.
- Click on OK to save the changes.
The OneDrive will be left signed in, but the syncing process will be stopped. After that, you need to prevent OneDrive from appearing in the taskbar. And this can be done by disabling it after you sign in to windows.
- Press the OneDrive icon.
- Click on More.
- Click on Settings.
- Go to the Settings tab.
- Click on the “Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to Windows” to disable this option.
- Press on the OK button to save changes.
Now, as you restart your PC, the OneDrive won’t load. And now, when you have disabled the automatic start-up and files syncing, it would seem like you have disabled OneDrive. And now you can start unlinking your account.
2. Remove Folders That Sync
If you want to prevent some particular files from syncing, removing folders from OneDrive can do the job for you.
This way, you can gain more control over the pause. This is not a complicated process to disable OneDrive, but to prevent any data loss, you must follow some steps.
Before processing, you need to ensure that you have paused the syncing on your device and that the files are not open on any of your devices.
- Target the folder where you want the files to move after opening OneDrive.
- Copy the files to the target folder by taking them there.
- You can easily do this, as Windows does not restrict you from doing that. But it would help if you were careful, as this makes your data vulnerable to a crash.
- You can take the help of data recovery software if any similar problems appear.
- Once the copy process is completed, the next step is to delete them from OneDrive.
- After this, check your files are not syncing anymore to OneDrive.
- And for this, resume the syncing process and check the files’ names to see if any OneDrive symbol is next to them.
Steps to remove folders from OneDrive are:
- Target the folder after opening OneDrive.
- Copy your files to that folder.
- From OneDrive, delete the original files.
- Resume the syncing process.
- Make sure your data is not present on OneDrive anymore.
3. Unlink OneDrive To Disable It
You can also unlink OneDrive from your Windows to disable it from the PC. If you don’t use OneDrive frequently or won’t be using it for a longer duration, then it is the fastest solution to disable OneDrive.
The steps for this are:
- On your Windows Taskbar, click on the OneDrive icon.
- Click on the cogwheel icon to open Settings.
- After pop-up windows appear, Go to the Account tab.
- Click on the Unlink this PC.
- Confirm your action.
After this, you won’t have access to the online files but only the locally available files on OneDrive.
4. Uninstall OneDrive From Windows
If you get the OneDrive uninstalled from your system, you will indirectly disable OneDrive from your computer. For uninstalling OneDrive, the following are some ways:
Use The Settings App
Steps to uninstall OneDrive with the Settings app are:
- Launch the Settings app by pressing Windows + I keys.
- Go to the left-hand side menu.
- Click on Apps.
- In the apps section, click on Installed Apps.
- Look for the Microsoft OneDrive app by scrolling down the list.
- Select the Uninstall option after clicking on the three dots.
- Click on the Uninstall button again to confirm your action.
- To remove the app from your system, follow the on-screen prompts.
Use The Command Prompt
Steps to uninstall OneDrive with Command Prompt are:
- Search Command Prompt after pressing the Windows key.
- Right-click on the Command Prompt.
- Choose the Run as Administrator option.
- You can see Command Prompt on your screen.
- Type this command, TASKKILL /f /im OneDrive.exe
- After the previous command is finished, enter the following command for the Uninstallation process:
- %systemroot%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe /uninstall
- Wait until the execution process is completed.
- The CMD won’t display any message about this uninstallation command.
- Exit the Command Prompt window.
Now you won’t be bothered by OneDrive from now onwards.
How To Disable OneDrive Using The Group Policy Editor?
If you have an enterprise or professional copy, you can disable OneDrive using the Group Policy Editor. If you are not on any of them, then before you follow any of these steps, you have to learn how to access the Group Policy Editor on Windows Home.
- Launch the Run Command Box by pressing Windows + R keys.
- Type gpedit.msc and press the Enter Key.
- Go to the Computer Configuration.
- Select Administrative Templates.
- Select Windows Components.
- Select OneDrive.
- Look for the Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage policy option.
- Double-click on the policy to edit it.
- You’ll see the detailed settings in a new window.
- Click on the Disabled Radio button.
- Click on the Apply Button.
- Click on the OK button.
- Exit the Group Policy Editor.
How To Turn Off Notifications On Microsoft 365 OneDrive?
Constant notifications of changes in your files can create irritation, so you might want to turn OFF notifications on Microsoft 365 OneDrive. These are the steps for this purpose:
- Find OneDrive on the notification tray of your taskbar in the bottom right corner.
- Or you can click on the Windows logo and type OneDrive.
- On the bottom left corner, Select Help and Settings in the notification box on your screen.
- Go to the Settings Tab.
- Disable the notification under the Notification; these should be those notifications that you don’t want.
- Click on the OK button.
How To Stop OneDrive From Opening On Startup?
- Find OneDrive on your taskbar in the notification tray in the bottom right corner.
- If you cannot find it there, search for OneDrive after clicking on the Windows Logo.
- You’ll see a notification box popping up on the screen.
- Select Help and Settings.
- Select Setting Tab.
- Uncheck Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to the windows option under the General.
- Click on OK Button.
Conclusion
Now you can deal with the OneDrive efficiently as per your choice. OneDrive has its benefits and perks, but using it should be your choice.
And nowadays, there are several other options instead of OneDrive that can store your data, files, and documents. You can follow all the methods explained above to Disable OneDrive in Windows 10.