How to Change the location of your OneDrive folder

Step 1Disconnect Your Current OneDrive Link

Unlinking your PC from OneDrive lets you safely change onedrive folder location without losing or corrupting your files. To start, click the blue or white cloud icon in your system tray 🔔 at the bottom right of your screen, open the app settings, and choose the option to unlink this PC so you can move your files freely.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Find the OneDrive Cloud Icon: Look for the small blue (or sometimes white) cloud icon in your system tray 🔔. This is usually in the bottom-right corner of your screen, near the clock. If you don’t see it, you might need to click the small arrow pointing up to show hidden icons.
   
2. Open OneDrive Settings: Click the cloud icon. A small window will appear. In this window, look for the “Help and Settings” icon. It often looks like a gear or a question mark. Click it, then choose “Settings” from the menu.
   
3. Go to the Account Tab: Once the OneDrive settings window opens, you’ll see a few tabs across the top. Click the “Account” tab.
   
4. Unlink Your PC: On the Account tab, find the option that says “Unlink this PC.” Click it. A box will pop up asking if you’re sure. Click “Unlink account” to confirm.
   

It only disconnects the computer from that specific OneDrive folder location. Files remain safe on Microsoft’s servers.

Step 2Move Your OneDrive Folder

Moving your files to a new drive requires you to completely cut and paste the directory to successfully change onedrive folder location. Open File Explorer 📁 by pressing the Win+E, find your current folder, and move the entire directory to the exact spot on your hard drive where you want your files to live.

Press the Windows key + E to open File Explorer.

1. Open File Explorer: Click the folder icon on your taskbar, or press the Windows key + E on your keyboard.
   
2. Find Your Current OneDrive Folder: By default, your OneDrive folder is usually found in your user profile. It might look like this:
   C:\Users\YourUsername\OneDrive
   Go to this folder.
   
3. Cut and Paste (or Drag and Drop): Select the entire OneDrive folder. You can then right-click on it and choose "Cut." Go to the new location you want (like
   D:\MyCloudFiles\OneDrive
   or a folder on a different drive). Right-click in the new spot and choose "Paste." You can also just click and drag the whole OneDrive folder to its new destination.

Step 3Connect OneDrive to Its New Location

Reconnecting the app to your files finishes the process when you change onedrive folder location on Windows. Search for OneDrive in your Start menu to open the setup window again, sign in with your account, and follow the prompts to point the application to your new folder path so syncing resumes normally.

1. Start OneDrive Setup: If you closed the OneDrive setup window earlier, you might need to find it again. Sometimes, after unlinking, Windows will automatically offer to set up OneDrive again. If not, search for "OneDrive" in the Windows search bar and open it.
   
2. Sign In: You'll be asked for your Microsoft account email and password. Sign in like you normally do.
   
3. Find the Location Screen: As you go through the setup, you'll reach a screen showing where OneDrive wants to create its folder by default. This is the important part!
   
4. Change the Location: Look for an option that says "Change location." Click it.
   
5. Select Your New Folder: A window will open for browsing. Go to the exact folder where you moved your OneDrive files in Step 2. For example, if you moved it to
   D:\MyCloudFiles\OneDrive
   , select that
   OneDrive
   folder.
   
6. Confirm and Finish: After selecting the new folder, click "OK." You'll probably see a message saying the folder you chose already has files. This is what we want! Click "Use this location" (or a similar button).
   
7. Complete Setup: Finish any other setup steps. OneDrive will now look at the files in your new location and start syncing any changes.
   

OneDrive compares cloud files with files in the new local folder upon reconnection. Previously selected folders for syncing require re-selection during setup. Skipping this step triggers a large download of all cloud files again, which wastes bandwidth.

Reference:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/change-the-location-of-your-onedrive-folder

Summary

Completing the steps to change onedrive folder location takes only a few minutes when you follow the proper order. You must first unlink your account from the system tray, move the files to your new drive using File Explorer, and finally sign back into the app to point it toward the new folder location.

• First, unlink your PC from OneDrive through its settings. Your files remain safe in the cloud.
• Next, use File Explorer to move your entire OneDrive folder from its old location to your desired new location.
• Finally, start the OneDrive setup again, sign in, and choose the "Change location" option to point OneDrive to the folder you just moved.