How to Solve 'Make Sure OneDrive is Running on Your PC' Error

Created by Kylie Wickert, Modified on Tue, 5 Sep, 2023 at 2:13 PM by Kylie Wickert

See below for the icons which differentiate the file/document status

THERE ARE MULTIPLE WAYS THIS ERROR COULD BE RESOLVED INCLUDING:

Restart OneDrive
Disable the Files On-Demand Feature
Relink the PC and Restore OneDrive Folder to the Default Location
Reset or Reinstall OneDrive

1. Restart OneDrive

Step 1.

You just need to right-click the OneDrive icon on the Taskbar, choose Close OneDrive, and confirm the operation. Then, press Windows + S, input OneDrive, and click the search result to open it.

2. Disable the Files On-Demand Feature

Besides, some affected users have resolved the problem by disabling the Files On-Demand feature for OneDrive. So, you can also have a try.

Step 1.	Click the OneDrive icon on the Taskbar.
Step 2.	Click Help & Settings and choose Settings.
Step 3.	Under the Settings button, uncheck the Save space and download files as you use them option to disable the File On-Demand feature. Click OK to save changes.

3. Relink the PC and Restore OneDrive Folder to the Default Location

If you have moved the OneDrive folder to another location, you might also receive the “make sure OneDrive is running on your PC” error message. To fix the problem in this case, you can relink the PC and change its folder to the default location.

Here’s a simple guide for you:

Step 1.	Open OneDrive settings and switch to the Account tab.
Step 2.	Click Unlink this PC and hit Unlink account in the pop-up window to confirm the operation.
Step 3.	Restart your computer and re-launch your OneDrive. After signing in with your Microsoft accounts, you will get the following window. Under Your OneDrive folder is here, check if the path is the default location: \Users\%Username%\. If not, click Change location to revert it to the default.

4. Reset or Reinstall OneDrive

If there are some problems with the OneDrive folder or installation contents, you might also encounter the annoying problem while opening your OneDrive files. To fix it, you can choose to reset or reinstall your OneDrive.

Note: Before you are resetting or reinstalling the software, you had better back up important data in it in advance.

To reset OneDrive, you need to:

Step 1.	Press Windows + R to invoke the Run
Step 2.	Input %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset in the empty box and press Enter.
Step 3.	The OneDrive icon will disappear and then reappear. If the icon doesn’t appear again, you need to open Run, enter %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe, and click OK.

To reinstall OneDrive, you need to:

Step 1.	Press Windows + I to open Settings.
Step 2.	Go to Apps > Apps & features.
Step 3.	In the right pane, choose Microsoft OneDrive, click Uninstall, and confirm the operation.
Step 4.	Restart your computer. Go to the official website to download the latest version of OneDrive and install it.