Did your Documents, Desktop or Pictures suddenly “live” in OneDrive? If you’re wondering why your files moved to OneDrive, you’re not alone. That wasn’t a ghost—it was Windows’ Known Folder Move. Microsoft tricks people by calling it “PC folder backup”. Here’s what that means, how to stop it safely, and how to move files back to local storage without losing anything.
Many people swear they didn’t ask for their folders to be moved to OneDrive and that Microsoft did it automatically. That’s understandable because Microsoft tricks people into using OneDrive without mentioning that name. The confusion often arises when users find that their files moved to OneDrive without their consent.
If you notice your files moved to OneDrive, it’s essential to understand that this happens automatically without user consent.
Many users are confused when their files moved to OneDrive without them realizing it.
When files moved to OneDrive, users often feel misled by the prompts they encounter during setup.
Documents moved to OneDrive
These prompts can lead to a situation where files moved to OneDrive without clear user agreement.
Being unaware that files moved to OneDrive may also lead to unexpected changes in folder access.
Users often express concern when they realize their files moved to OneDrive without their permission.
Instead of asking “Would you like your folders on OneDrive?” Microsoft asks “Do you want to Backup your files?”. Most people would, understandably, answer ‘Yes’ (backups are good – right?). For example, when setting up a new computer or after a major update, you’ll see this “Backup is recommended” full screen prompt. But this often leads to the situation where files moved to OneDrive without clear user understanding.
Many people will, understandably, click “Back up now” since that seems the sensible choice.
There’s no mention of OneDrive let alone the change of folder locations.
No choice for new Windows 11 installs
Recent clean installs of Windows 11 (using 25H2) will automatically move folders to OneDrive (so-called ‘backup’) whether you like it or not. That’s part of what Microsoft calls the OOBE or “Out of Box Experience”.
Here’s where it gets strange …
If adding a user to an existing Windows 11 installation, you can find the option “Only save files to this PC.” during the setup of the new login.
Why is this option available for new logins for Windows 11 but not the first user with a new Windows install? Only Microsoft knows.
The “Back up folders on this PC” trick
Never mind any privacy or security concerns that customers might have about their personal files being saved at an online location.
Even in the OneDrive settings, it’s called ‘Back up folders on this PC’. The “Learn more about folder backup” link has nothing about the folder changes.
Understanding why files moved to OneDrive is crucial for managing your documents properly.
If you’ve ever wondered how many files moved to OneDrive, the answer is likely more than you think.
Confirming how your files moved to OneDrive can help you regain control over your documents.
To manage your files effectively, recognize that files moved to OneDrive as part of the backup process.
Many users are unaware of how many files moved to OneDrive until they search their directories.
When you switch back from OneDrive, remember that your files moved to OneDrive previously may still be there.
Known Folder Move
Microsoft has a euphemism for the enforced change to saving on OneDrive – it’s called “Known Folder Move” or KFM.
Known Folders are the common name folders setup in Windows; Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music and Videos.
Each of those names can be redirected (Moved) to another folder location on your computer.
The OneDrive change alters the Known Folder locations to folders that are automatically synced with OneDrive.
Windows changed Documents path
If you choose to backup Documents using the Backup option, the location of your My Documents folder changes to a location that’s automatically synchronized to OneDrive cloud storage.
Instead of being at c:\Users\<user name>\Documents\
it’s now at \Users\<user name>\OneDrive\Documents\
Understanding how files moved to OneDrive can alleviate many of the concerns users have.
For many apps and features that’s not a problem because they look for a “Known Folder” location called “My Documents” which points to the current folder for those files. The change to OneDrive includes a change to that ‘Known Folder’ location.
This trick applies to Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music and Video folders or what Microsoft calls “Known Folders”.
Undo OneDrive folder “backup”
Switching back to local computer storage for documents and other folders is easily done.
Go to OneDrive (not Windows) Settings | Sync and Backup | Manage backup then UNcheck the folders you do not want synced with OneDrive.
In this example both Documents and Desktop are synced to OneDrive. The other folders (in particular Music and Videos) are not, to conserve OneDrive space. Pictures is also good to have synced to OneDrive but watch the amount of space used because many of us have huge photo libraries!
OneDrive can be a good thing
Before switching off OneDrive, consider that it has a place and benefits for sharing files (even if just between your own devices), sharing with others and also automatic backups.
Asking yourself why your files moved to OneDrive can lead to better usage of your local storage.
There are legitimate privacy and security concerns about cloud storage.
Some people understandably object to Microsoft’s tricky wording which doesn’t clearly explain what the ‘Backup’ really does.
More savvy people use a hybrid or mixed approach with Documents saved on either a local folder or a OneDrive synced folder. Use whichever is most appropriate.
Two Microsoft Office gotchas
Some programs don’t handle the change of folder location or OneDrive synchronization properly.
It’s very disappointing that two major culprits are in Microsoft Office itself!
- Word Master Documents don’t work at all with OneDrive. Microsoft has stubbornly refused to fix this ugly bug in Word.
- Outlook (classic) PST files move and Outlook needs help to find them. There’s no explanation and customers have to figure it out themselves.
