How to Remove OneDrive from File Explorer in Windows 11/10
How do I remove synced OneDrive folder from File Explorer? OneDrive is deeply linked to Windows and your File Explorer. But here in this guide, you will find 3 easy solutions for removing OneDrive from File Explorer. What’s more, you will also get the best way to efficiently migrate from your OneDrive to another cloud service.
March 23, 2023 | 4 minutes read
Why Remove OneDrive from File Explorer?
The OneDrive desktop application is preinstalled in Windows 11/10 because it is easy to store data in the cloud and save your local storage. However, OneDrive still has some drawbacks that make you want to figure out how to delete OneDrive folder from File Explorer. OneDrive may constantly pop up to ask you if you want to back up data online. And it may take up unnecessary storage from your computer.
Therefore, if you do not want to see OneDrive on your computer anymore, or if the OneDrive shortcuts are disrupting the structure of your File Explorer, you can find ways to remove OneDrive folder from Windows Explorer.
How to Remove OneDrive from File Explorer: 3 Quick Ways
Removing OneDrive folder from File Explorer is so easy if you follow the step-by-step instructions below carefully. There are 3 different solutions for you to choose from according to the version of your Windows system.
Way 1. How to Remove OneDrive Folder from File Explorer via Windows Settings
You can easily remove OneDrive from Windows 10/11 by uninstalling it just like any other desktop application.
Step 1. Open Start > Settings > Apps & features.
Step 2. Search for OneDrive and click the “Uninstall” button beside the OneDrive app.
Tip: Even if you delete the OneDrive app from your computer, some OneDrive files and folders will remain in your File Explorer. Therefore, if you want to completely remove OneDrive from your computer without remaining anything in File Explorer, follow the last two methods instead.
Way 2. How to Remove a OneDrive Folder from File Explorer via Group Policy Editor
Windows Group Policy Editor is a systemically native tool used to manage and control various features of Windows accounts for Home, Professional, Enterprise, and Education users. Windows Pro and advanced users prefer this method to disable personal OneDrive and delete it from File Explorer. Because more formal and controlled cloud storage systems are more suitable to be implemented in business environments.
Step 1. Open the Windows Start menu, enter “Group Policy Editor” in the search bar, and open the editor.
Step 2. Click Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > OneDrive.
Step 3. Right-click on “Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage” and choose “Edit” in the right-click menu.
Step 4. In the pop-up window, choose “Disabled” and click “OK”. Then the OneDrive app will disappear both on your computer and your File Explorer.
Way 3. How to Remove OneDrive from File Explorer via Registry Editor
As a Windows Home user, you will not find the empty OneDrive folder in File Explorer. But for users of other Windows versions, the empty OneDrive folder will remain. These folders will not cause problems. But if you want to remove them too, you need to modify the Windows Registry Editor. This way also allows you to delete the OneDrive icon in File Explorer without uninstalling the OneDrive app.
Tip: Editing the Registry is dangerous and can permanently damage your Windows system if not performed correctly. Therefore, before starting the operation, please make a full backup of your computer.
Step 1. Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard, type “regedit”, and click “OK” in the pop-up window.
Step 2. Choose Computer > HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT > CLSID > {018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}.
Step 3. Right-click on the “System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree” and choose “Modify”.
Step 4. Enter the Value data as “0” and click “OK”. Then the OneDrive icon will disappear from your File Explorer.
Bonus Tip: Migrate from OneDrive to Another Cloud Efficiently
If you think OneDrive is annoying when it is closely tied to your File Explorer, you can choose another cloud storage service to use that is separate from your File Explorer. But how to migrate data from OneDrive to another cloud easily? The traditional method of downloading and uploading is definitely not impractical since it will take up a long time and large local storage and have high risks of data loss.
Instead, you can use a third-party cloud-to-cloud migration service, MultCloud, to click one button and successfully migrate files and folders from OneDrive to any other cloud you have. MultCloud is a popular cloud file manager that offers web service as well as mobile apps for convenient multi-cloud management and superfast cloud data transfer. It now supports more than 30 personal clouds, business clouds, and on-premise services.
- Cloud Transfer: One-key data transfer through 10 fast threads.
- Cloud Sync: One-way/two-way/real-time sync between clouds.
- Cloud Backup: Backup and directly restore backups across clouds.
- Team Transfer: Migrate team accounts between business clouds.
- Additional: Flexible schedules, email notifications, file filters, etc.
Migrate from OneDrive to pCloud via Cloud Transfer
Here we take transferring from OneDrive to pCloud as a brief example. You could go through this simple operation to migrate data between any clouds you want.
Step 1. Get a MultCloud account in the mobile app or on the website.
Step 2. Click “Add Cloud” and choose the OneDrive or OneDrive for Business icon. Then log in with your Microsoft account to add it to MultCloud. After that, add pCloud to MultCloud in the same way.
Step 3. Go to the Cloud Transfer page to create a task. Select OneDrive or files and folders in it as the source, and select a place in pCloud as the destination. Then click the button “Transfer Now”. MultCloud will immediately transfer your selected data from OneDrive to pCloud.
In the End
OneDrive is great for collaborating with Windows systems and Microsoft Office 365 suites. But if you or your company find that another cloud is more suitable for your situation, you could remove OneDrive from File Explorer and use MultCloud to transfer files between cloud storage services without any complicated steps.
