Guide: Adding OneDrive to File Explorer to Sync Files Easily

About OneDrive

OneDrive is a personal cloud storage service provided by Microsoft. You can sync and store your personal files to OneDrive, and share them with friends and family. Files on OneDrive can be accessed from any internet-connected device.

For enterprise users, there is OneDrive for Business. It is part of Microsoft 365 or SharePoint Server. It allows a company to provide employees with personal storage space that can be managed from a central location.

This page will focus on the usage of personal OneDrive. Let’s move on.

• How to add OneDrive to File Explorer in Windows 11, 10
• Fixed: OneDrive not showing in File Explorer
• Easily sync local folders to OneDrive

How to add OneDrive to File Explorer in Windows 11, 10

OneDrive is built into Windows 10 and 11. Just set up your account, and you will see OneDrive and all its subfolders in the File Explorer. Follow the steps below:

1. Select OneDrive from the Start menu and sign in with your Microsoft Account.
2. Configure your OneDrive folder location. You can accept the default location or change it to a new one.

Tip: If you've previously signed into OneDrive on this PC, you might have an existing OneDrive folder. In that case, you can click "Use this folder".

3. Click Next on OneDrive introduction pages. On the “Get the mobile app” page, click Get the mobile app or Later as per your need.
4. When you see “Your OneDrive is ready for you”, click Open my OneDrive folder.

5. Now OneDrive is added to Windows Explorer. You can move files in and out of OneDrive easily to sync or unsync certain files.

Fixed: OneDrive not showing in File Explorer

If OneDrive used to be in File Explorer but now it disappears, learn how to fix OneDrive not showing in File Explorer Windows 10/11 here:

Fix 1: Restart OneDrive

1. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar and select Close OneDrive from the pop-up window.

2. Click Close OneDrive again to confirm it.
3. Select OneDrive from the Start menu to restart OneDrive service.

Fix 2: Update OneDrive manually

1. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar and select Settings.
2. Click the "About" tab. In the "About Microsoft OneDrive" section, click the version number link.

3. It will open the OneDrive Support page. Compare the current version number for OneDrive with the version number in the OneDrive app window. If you need to install the latest version, click Download OneDrive for Windows.

Fix 3: Switch to a local account

1. Click Start > Settings > Accounts.
2. If you’re already logged in with your Microsoft Account (and you probably are), click on Sign in with a local account instead.

3. Click Next. Then enter your Microsoft account credentials and click OK.
4. Enter your new local user name and password. Click Next.
5. Click Sign out and finish.
6. Once you log back in, go to Accounts again. This time click Sign in with a Microsoft account instead and enter your login credentials.

Fix 4: Modify your registry

1. Press Win + R to open the Run window. Type “regedit” and press Enter.
2. Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

3. Now look for OneDrive key. If it’s not available, right-click on Windows, expand the New section and select Key. Name the key “OneDrive”.
4. Click on the OneDrive key and look for DisableFileSyncNGSC key in the right pane. If it’s missing, right-click the empty space in right pane, expand the New menu and select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. Name the new key “DisableFileSyncNGSC”. Then, double-click the newly created DWORD and change the Value data to 0 and click OK to save changes.

6. You may restart your computer to make changes take effect.

Easily sync local folders to OneDrive

Now your OneDrive should appear in File Explorer. As mentioned above, you can move files in and out of the OneDrive folder to sync or unsync certain files. However, it’s not suitable for syncing a larger number of files due to the cumbersome operations.

To make OneDrive file sync simpler, you can resort to the best free file sync tool – AOMEI Backupper Standard. You can benefit a lot from its following features:

• It allows you to sync files to various locations, including external hard drive, USB thumb drive, NAS and cloud drive. It can also help you transfer files from one computer to another.
• Besides OneDrive, you are able to sync files to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, SugarSync, hubiC, and Cloudme.
• If you change files frequently, you can have the sync task run automatically using the Schedule Sync feature.
• It runs well on all editions of Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP.

Download AOMEI Backupper and use it to sync local folders to OneDrive now.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Backupper on your PC. When it loads up, click Sync on the left pane and select Basic Sync.

Step 2. Edit the task name based on your need. Then, click Add Folder to select the folder(s) you want to sync.

Step 3. Click the destination box and choose Select a cloud drive from the drop-down menu.

Step 4. In the Select Cloud window, click on OneDrive and then OK.

Tip: If you don’t see OneDrive in the Select Cloud window, you can choose Select a local path in Step 3 and navigate to OneDrive local folder manually.

Step 5. To perform automatic sync, click Schedule Sync and choose an appropriate frequency. Finally, click Start Sync to proceed.

Note: Basic Sync runs one-way sync from the source directory to the destination directory. If you’d like to perform Two-Way Sync, please upgrade to higher editions. You can also enjoy Mirror Sync and Real-Time Sync in the premium versions.

Summary

Now you know how to add OneDrive to File Explorer and fix the OneDrive not showing in File Explorer problem. After adding OneDrive to File Explorer, you can sync your PC with OneDrive. AOMEI Backupper enables you to run OneDrive file sync with simple steps.

Actually, it can do more than that. It is built-in with powerful backup, recovery and clone features. You can use it to perform bootable backup and clone SSD to new SSD, etc. Why not give it a shot?