Stop OneDrive from erasing my local files!

The default install of 365 & OneDrive sets OneDrive as the default save location in your Office components (not outlook) and copies \My Documents folders\ (Docs/pics/vid/music) to One drive

In the file explorer task bar icon, opening that will show the OneDrive docs

I've never had any issues, on multiple devices, with any app/game

Powershell and other apps & games are not Office components so why does it impact whole system?

At least I resolved issue with Powershell. I was importing modules with full path:

Import-Module C:\Users\Myprofile\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Scripts\myscript.psm1

I fixed it by changing to:

Import-Module $PSScriptRoot\Scripts\myscript.psm1

Although I'm not sure this is the right way. Still I would like to have all my files in original locations and only have backups for them online. Is it possible with OneDrive?

How can I exclude some folders from being synchronized? I have some git repositories in Documents, also some cache & log files, so there's no point to backup them. I suppose you can just uncheck some folders in OneDrive settings, but when I try to do that I get a notification that files will remain in OneDrive service but will be erased from my harddrive. This again sounds like the least logical result of that operation. Expected one is completely opposite. If I stop synchronizing a folder, then it should remain ONLY on hard drive and be erased from OneDrive or simply stop updating it online if locally something changes. Why does it have to be so messed up with OneDrive? 😫

I moved this to Windows section, since it's not really an Office problem, but only One Drive problem and Windows file access. Please, has anyone a solution how to configure One Drive properly so it wouldn't try to mess my files?

I am responding to agree with you. I work offline all the time so I need my files on my hard drive and then one update sucked everything to OneDrive. I lost so much time, had to move the immediate items to my hard drive, and now have to spend even more time moving the rest. I don't know why they stole my files like this but it is very disturbing. All I can say is find the settings in every program / application to save to your hard drive. Good Luck.

I'm also writing to agree with you. Onedrive is a complete Cluster#%$^ and the worst thing Microsoft ever did. I've been using computers since my AppleII back in the 1980s and I've never been so enraged at a any software, or maybe any inanimate object as with onedrive. 

Seems the premise is to assume all users are idiots unable to manage their storage and want every #$%^ file  on their computer backed up to the cloud even if they have tens of thousands of files, so in doing this, OneDrive gobbles up huge chunks of CPU time, ties up the local disk and network resource indefinitely, deletes some files from the local drive but leaves others there, and sadly just plan loses many files(many of my files were permanently gone by the time I uninstalled this poison).

Whoever conceived this piece trash and those that implemented it should be fired and never allowed to work in the industry again.

Too bad microsoft cannot adopt the strategy of other companies like google and God forbit let users mange their own cloud storage. I'd encourage anybody who will listen to uninstall this poison/ransomware/virus/(any other bad name I can think of) from their system.

BTW, there are options in the setup menus to leave some folders alone, but I found that these settings were confusing, redundant(there is more than one menu where you choose which files are off-limits to one-drive), and whatever I tried to do was simply ignored. This thing just want to take every single files from all your document folders and move it to the cloud, often loosing it in the process.

In case you need help moving files back:

1. They all moved from c:/users/yourprofile/ to c:/users/yourprofile/OneDrive/ so you simply move them back to original location, but be sure to move only the content of the main folders eg. /documents/* without moving/overriding /documents itself

2. Open file explorer, go to Computer and edit properties of each profile link (Documents, Pictures, Videos... whatever was moved by OneDrive), then update path in Location tab to match the original. Basically all you need is to remove /OneDrive from the path or you can simply click Restore default just below the path.

This way you should also get original folder specific icons back.

I'm also writing to agree with you. Onedrive is a complete Cluster#%$^ and the worst thing Microsoft ever did. I've been using computers since my AppleII back in the 1980s and I've never been so enraged at a any software, or maybe any inanimate object as with onedrive. 

Seems the premise is to assume all users are idiots unable to manage their storage and want every #$%^ file  on their computer backed up to the cloud even if they have tens of thousands of files, so in doing this, OneDrive gobbles up huge chunks of CPU time, ties up the local disk and network resource indefinitely, deletes some files from the local drive but leaves others there, and sadly just plan loses many files(many of my files were permanently gone by the time I uninstalled this poison).

Whoever conceived this piece trash and those that implemented it should be fired and never allowed to work in the industry again.

Too bad microsoft cannot adopt the strategy of other companies like google and God forbit let users mange their own cloud storage. I'd encourage anybody who will listen to uninstall this poison/ransomware/virus/(any other bad name I can think of) from their system.

BTW, there are options in the setup menus to leave some folders alone, but I found that these settings were confusing, redundant(there is more than one menu where you choose which files are off-limits to one-drive), and whatever I tried to do was simply ignored. This thing just want to take every single files from all your document folders and move it to the cloud, often loosing it in the process.

The stealing of the files is the worst thing but I don't agree that OneDrive is the worst thing. I have found it useful for some files that I need on multiple devices but they shouldn't just decide that for me. I gave up strict use of Google years ago, don't like the privacy violations. Microsoft has been edging closer but I still haven't noticed the same bs as what I experienced with Google.

This takes me a whole afternoon to move it back. Definitely, worst idea ever. You mistaken one click, and then it take almost whole day to reverse it. It definitely behaves like a ransom software.