Setting up cloud storage? Get OneDrive syncing.

To use OneDrive, you need to sign in with your Microsoft account. On a work computer, use your work account and keep work files out of a personal account.

For a business, make sure every employee signs in with their own Microsoft 365 business account, never a personal one, so the business keeps ownership of its files.

On a personal computer, you can use OneDrive free, which has a storage limit. For more storage, buy a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription from Microsoft.

You need a working internet connection; if it is not working, see our internet guide. Make sure the computer has enough free space for the files you want to keep on it; see our disk space guide.

OneDrive's safety net

• Recycle bin: deleted files go to the OneDrive recycle bin on onedrive.com and can be restored for 30 days (93 days for work accounts).
• Version history: right-click a file in OneDrive and choose Version history to go back to an earlier copy.
• Ransomware detection: with Microsoft 365, OneDrive warns you if ransomware is found and helps you restore your files to a time before the attack.

These help, but cloud storage is still not a backup. To keep a separate copy of important files, see our backup guide.

Look for the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area (bottom right of the taskbar, next to the clock). If you cannot see it, select the small up arrow (Show hidden icons) next to it. If it is still not there, press the Windows key + S, type OneDrive and open it.

Enter your Microsoft account or work email, select Sign in and enter your password. Keep the suggested OneDrive folder location, select Next and finish setup.

If you have a lot of files, the first sync uses a lot of internet and can slow everything down. Start it at the end of the day and leave the computer on overnight.

If it slows things down while you or your family are working, select the OneDrive cloud icon, then the settings gear, and choose Pause syncing. When you are finished, or before bed, select Resume syncing and it carries on at full speed.

Or slow it down instead of pausing: in OneDrive Settings, select Sync and backup > Advanced settings, turn on the upload rate limit and set a lower speed. Turn the limit off again once the first sync has finished.

1. Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area (bottom right of the taskbar, next to the clock), then the settings gear, then Settings.
2. Select Sync and backup, then Manage backup.
3. Wait for the scan to finish, then turn on Documents, Pictures and Desktop.
4. Select Start backup.

Microsoft calls this backup, but it is sync: if you delete or change a file in these folders, it is deleted or changed in OneDrive too.

How to tell when a file has synced

Open File Explorer (the folder icon on the taskbar, or press the Windows key + E), select OneDrive on the left, and look at the Status column next to each file. The icons are shown below.

Leave the computer on and connected until everything has synced.

Go to onedrive.com and sign in with the same Microsoft account. Check your Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders are there, and open a few important files to check they have the latest changes.

You do not need to do this. Windows can make OneDrive files you have not opened for a while online-only automatically, to save space on the computer. This is done by Storage Sense, which needs to be turned on:

1. Open Start > Settings > System > Storage and turn on Storage Sense.
2. Select Storage Sense to open its settings. Under Locally available cloud content, choose how many days before unused OneDrive files become online-only.

If you want to choose yourself, open File Explorer (Windows key + E), select OneDrive and right-click a file or folder:

• Free up space makes it online-only (blue cloud). It needs internet to open.
• Always keep on this device keeps it on the computer (solid green tick) so it opens without internet. It uses disk space.

Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area (bottom right of the taskbar, next to the clock), then the settings gear, then Settings. Your storage is shown at the bottom left, for example 133 GB used of 1 TB.

If it is nearly full, move large or old files you no longer need to an external drive (check the copy opens first), or select Manage storage to buy more space. Online-only files save space on the computer, not in OneDrive.