Problems Solved
Why is Onedrive showing red crosses?
QI recently bought a new computer with Windows 10 and it came with Onedrive pre-installed. I don't really understand how it works. My list of folders in Windows Explorer now all have a red cross next to them, which I think means they aren't syncing with Onedrive? However, when I look at the files inside the folders, they all have a green tick. I've discovered the Onedrive menu in the notification area on the taskbar, and looked at Onedrive online, and it seems that all my documents are backed up to Onedrive’s servers. I thought maybe I need to uninstall and reinstall Onedrive to get rid of the red crosses, as they are very distracting – but that doesn't seem to be possible? Any help on this issue would be much appreciated. Maybe an in-depth article on how Onedrive works in a later issue? Kate Phimister
AWe’re certainly planning more coverage of cloud-storage services like Onedrive, so please keep reading the mag. In the meantime, let’s see if we can help with your current problem. The behaviour you describe is not how things should be: if all files inside a folder have a green tick, then the folder should have the same.
Moreover, a red cross indicates a problem synchronising files, but you say all files appear to be safely online. So, something has gone wrong.
First, we’d suggest resetting Onedrive. This will force the program to close and then restart, at which point it will check the synchronisation status of every file and folder. To begin, press Windows key+r to open the Run box. In the Open field type %localappdata%\microsoft\ Onedrive\onedrive.exe /reset then press Enter (see screenshot below). If you have a lot of stuff it could take a while for the process to complete, but as your PC is new you probably won’t have to wait around for long.
If that doesn’t fix the problem, then the next step is to ‘unlink’ your PC from Onedrive. Right-click the Onedrive icon in the notification area and then choose Settings. Click to select the Account tab and then, in the Onedrive section, click ‘Unlink this PC’ (see screenshot top), then confirm by clicking ‘Unlink account’. Onedrive will now prompt you to sign back in – and you should do so.
Finally, while it’s true that Onedrive was a permanent fixture of Windows 8/8.1, it is in fact now possible to uninstall the tool from many versions of Windows 10 – not that Microsoft exactly advertises that fact. Obviously, having followed our advice all might now be well and you might therefore have no desire to eliminate Onedrive. However, if you do wish to get shot of it, then click Start followed by the Settings cog, and then Apps followed by ‘Apps & features’. Now scroll through the list to find and then click Microsoft Onedrive. Then, click Uninstall (see screenshot above), and confirm by once more clicking Uninstall.