How to Restore Files from OneDrive to PC?

How to get back files from OneDrive to PC?

Nowadays, computer users will have tons of data to keep and restore on their computers or external hard drives.

For the sake of safety or convenience, a great number of users choose to seek help from cloud services and save and back up their files on the cloud.

For example, OneDrive is a popular data hosting service facilitating users to access their files anytime and anywhere.

But Onedrive is not primarily designed for backup. Some users have found their files lost after backup or sync. E.g., some users asked, “Why OneDrive deleted my local files”.

Besides the inconvenience that data sync brings, many users are about to unlink or disable OneDrive for many reasons but don’t know where to restore OneDrive files to PC. So, where are OneDrive files saved?

Where are OneDrive files actually stored?

OneDrive is a file hosting service; all the files you add to OneDrive will be stored on the cloud.

But don’t worry; in whatever ways you add the files to OneDrive, the original files will be safe in the original location. The files in OneDrive are only copies.

No matter whether you add files by “Upload”, “copy & paste”, or “drag & drop”, the master copies are still on your local drive.

But things will be different when you enable OneDrive backup or manually delete the files.

OneDrive backup isn’t designed for users to literally back up their data, but sync desktop to OneDrive, allowing them to visit the files on different devices via the network.

So, once you enable it, the files will be moved from the Desktop/Document/Pictures folder to the folder under OneDrive.

Also, if you have accidentally deleted files from the local drive after uploading them to OneDrive, you cannot access them easily as usual.

But don’t worry; this article can help restore OneDrive files to PC even if there are no master copies.

How to restore files from OneDrive to PC if they still exist?

Firstly, let’s discuss how to get back files from OneDrive to computer when there is no deletion.

This scenario applies to users who want to unlink OneDrive/have lost the master copy on the local drive/want to keep a copy of the files on a new device.

1. Download wanted files from the OneDrive cloud

With signing into your Microsoft account, you can visit, share, and download your files on any device you like.

>> Sign in to the OneDrive website with your Microsoft account > choose the files or folders you need > click the 3-dot menu icon > Choose Download in the drop-down menu.

You could download the files anywhere you like.

2. Copy or cut from the OneDrive folder

How to restore files from OneDrive to PC when it is inconvenient to visit the website? There is also a local OneDrive folder you can access.

Step 1. Open This PC or File Explorer > go to OneDrive – Personal > navigate to the file location.

Step 2. Choose files you want > directly drag and drop/copy and paste them to a place you like.

If you drag the files out/cut and paste them, they will be removed from OneDrive; you will be warned with a notice saying  “Deleted files are removed everywhere”.

So, it is suggested to copy and paste your files in case you will need to download them again in the future.

How to recover deleted files from OneDrive?

Luckily, you will have local master copies to restore from; but what if the files were already removed from the cloud and the local drive?

Check out the methods in the following parts.

1. Check out the OneDrive and desktop Recycle Bin

Restoring deleted files from the Recycle Bin is the easiest way when data loss occurs. Also, the OneDrive website is equipped with a Recycle Bin that stores unwanted files for the utmost 30 days.

Now learn how to recover deleted files from OneDrive in the following two methods.

>> Try to get back deleted files from the OneDrive website:

Step 1. Sign in to your OneDrive account > click the 3-line Menu button > Recycle bin.

Step 2. Select what you need > Restore.

>> Try to retrieve deleted files from the desktop Recycle Bin:

Step 1. Open the Recycle Bin on your desktop.

Step 2. Locate all deleted files you need > click Restore.

They will go back to the original location. If you found the deleted files are not in the Recycle Bin, unfortunately, they were permanently deleted. Please move on and seek help from third-party tools.

2. Efficiently recover deleted OneDrive files

How to recover deleted files from OneDrive if they were permanently removed? How to achieve OneDrive file recovery when there are no backups?

In this case, users might as well seek help from professional Windows data recovery apps. With the help of a third-party app, you can quickly and easily get what you want, saving you time.

MyRecover stands out for its unique features: user-friendly, all-inclusive, high-efficient, and high-compatible.

User-friendly. Its simple design makes it easy to operate for all users. 

All-inclusive. It applies for deletion, formatting, Recycle Bin emptying, viruses, etc. 

High-efficient. It restores over 200 types of data, including photos, videos, docs, etc. 

High-compatible. It supports Windows 11/10/8/7 SP 1/Server.

Step 1. Install and run MyRecover > Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

Step 2. Sort the files by Date modified, Type, Size, Path, etc.

Step 3. Go to Deleted files or Recycle Bin > navigate to the Onedrive folder > choose the files you need > click Recover x files.

You can easily solve the OneDrive file missing issue with the help of this powerful tool.

Wrapping up

Users who have lost files from OneDrive or want to unlink/disable OneDrive can check this article and learn how to restore files from OneDrive to PC in an easy way.

If you just want to get back files from OneDrive to your computer, directly navigate to OneDrive and the desktop Recycle Bin.

If files were removed already, you could also utilize MyRecover to restore OneDrive files to PC even after permanent deletion without difficulties.