After upgrading to Monterey MS Onedrive folder got inside iCloud

I have a similar problem.

I upgraded my home iMac 2020 to Monterey a few days ago.

I use a work / institutional OneDrive account to keep my work synched between home & office Macs.

After the upgrade, on my home iMac, I started having problems with not being able to open files/documents located in my OneDrive folder. Initially I thought this was a permissions problem as when I tried to open a file from within MS Office apps I got an error message along the lines of "user doesn't have access permission". I rebooted but the problem persisted. I then noticed that my sidebar shortcut to OneDrive was gone, along with shortcuts to various OneDrive subfolders, and that OneDrive had not automatically restarted. I manually started OneDrive and found the preference "open at login" was unchecked. I corrected this and rebooted. Unfortunately that was not the end of the problem, as my OneDrive files now all appear to be located solely in the cloud, and are NOT accessible from local HDD storage. Strangely, this includes files that I generated in the past day or two and which I believed I had saved in my local OneDrive folder.

The OneDrive files which are no longer accessible locally amount to hundreds of Gb of data.

When I browse my OneDrive folder there are lengthy pauses as it attempts to populate the file menu from the cloud. When I try and open files, they do indeed have to be downloaded from the cloud. This is a marked change from before.

My OneDrive folder in my user folder is also now an alias. In my case this points to:

Interestingly, a quick check of my HDD storage suggests that my OneDrive files likely do still exist on the local drive - as >400Gb of "systems data" - they are just not accessible as user documents any longer.

This is a major degradation of OneDrive function.

I would love to get this problem fixed ASAP. It would take days to download all of these files from the cloud again, and there might be issues with file versions. I also previously had some files stored locally that had naming issues (illegal characters etc) that had prevented synching to the cloud, so these would be lost if I relied solely on restoring from cloud files. (I had always meant to fix the file names but there were many files, and was waiting for a tool to be developed that would do it for me)

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Rodger

Problem partly solved, .. thanks to time on the phone / screen share with apple support (and graduating from junior->midlevel->senior advisor). Thanks Apple!

For some reason, after the upgrade to Monterey, there was a new conflict between OneDrive and iCloudDrive. As a result, as previously noted, all of my OneDrive files (>400Gb) that previously were stored locally showed in finder as only being stored in the Cloud and not locally. And, in fact the oneDrive behaviour had changed - when I browsed through the OneDrive folders the menus lagged as they populated from cloud data, and when I opened a file it also had to download from cloud storage. When I tried to open a recent file from Word it was not found, as the the OS now indicated that the file was stored in the cloud and not locally.

All this, despite the oneDrive files also still being stored locally. From About this Mac>Storage I could see that the OneDrive files were still on the local HDD - amounting to >400Gb of HD usage. These were classified as "System Data" and not immediately accessible from Manage Storage.

We were able to follow that huge amount of data in finder and located the original local OneDrive files in:

Macintosh HD>users>[user name]>Library>Group Containers>XXXXXXXXXX.OneDriveStandaloneSuite>OneDrive - [account name].noindex>OneDrive - [account name]

In this folder I found all of my original files, and these showed as locally stored files rather than cloud based.

(to follow the data in finder, start at your user account and ensure the finder window is set to list view, then find the circle with 3 dots at top right corner and >show view options>calculate all sizes - you need to do this for every subfolder).

Unfortunately finding the original local OneDrive files does not solve the problem that the OneDrive app is not using these, but is continually looking to the cloud for files/menus. To try and resolve this, the only solution that was suggested was to disable iCloudDrive (or disable oneDrive). Disable iCloudDrive by going to Apple>System Preferences>iCloud>uncheck iCloud Drive --> and agree to store an archived version locally and disable. This does mean that iCloud won't synch documents with my local iMac, but I don't use that function much anyways on this iMac - I mainly using OneDrive to synch files from home and work, as that's what my institution requires. And I still have Keychain / contacts /reminders etc synched via iCloud, so I shouldn't loose any other functionality. Unfortunately after making this adjustment, the OneDrive folder located in the Finder sidebar still shows the cloud icon beside all of the subfolders and documents. Despite this, it initially appeared as the files were being used locally (and I let the apple support guy go) but subsequently I realized that we'd only been checking files/ folders in a folder that he had had me download from the cloud -- so of course it was working fine. Other folders still appear to be functions from the cloud, and not accessing the local files stored at the location above. So unless i get this sorted I am soon going to have 2 copies of these 450Gb files stored on my 1Tb drive. Will keep working on it. Worst case scenario is I turn off OneDrive synching, copy the original local folders/files (stored locally in the folder above) into the current OneDrive folder to replace the shadow folders currently there, ensure the OneDrive preference for storing the files locally is enabled, and then re-enable OneDrive synching. Will save me downloading the 400Gb and will ensure that I dont loose any files that previously had not synched to the cloud..

Am grateful to Apple for the support, but wish this problem hadn't occurred in the first place.. previously had no issues.

One further update:

The original local OneDrive folder, which is now located in:

Macintosh HD>users>[user name]>Library>Group Containers>XXXXXXXXXX.OneDriveStandaloneSuite>OneDrive - [account name].noindex>OneDrive - [account name]

continues to function as an active OneDrive folder, and contains all of my original data stored locally.

I added a test folder to this folder and it immediately synched to my online OneDrive folder. Files also synched in the reverse direction. Interestingly, this new test folder also showed up in the 'new' (post-Monterey) OneDrive folder listed in the Finder sidebar under 'Locations'. In this folder however the test folder appears as an online folder rather than as a locally stored file.

So it appears that the new (post-Monterey) OneDrive folder listed in the Finder sidebar under 'Locations' provides a synched connection to the files stored in the cloud, but ignores all of the OneDrive files that I previously stored/generated locally, whereas the local OneDrive folder located within >Library>Group Containers contains the full files that I previously stored/generated locally. Both folders now work as OneDrive folders, but if I download files from the cloud into the new (post-Monterey) OneDrive folder, I'm guessing that I would probably end up storing 2 copies of the same file on my local HDD.

The bottom line: The Monterey upgrade seems to have buried my original local OneDrive folder, containing locally-stored data (in my case >400Gb data), 5 layers down in a dark corner of the user folder tree, and instead provided a sidebar OneDrive folder under "Locations" with a different functionality - a folder that looks only to the data stored on the OneDrive cloud, significantly reducing oneDrive performance. Making OneDrive access large amounts of data from the cloud when it is stored locally is bizarre.

For now, as the old local OneDrive folder within >Library>Group Containers seems to be functioning, I have re-added a shortcut to it to my sidebar and will use it as my local OneDrive folder.

Sorry for the long story. Hope it helps someone.

Hi Diasleo,

yes, I agree, the Apple support suggestion of disabling iCloudDrive does not appear to fix the OneDrive issue. And the OneDrive folder at:

Macintosh HD>users>[user name]>Library>Group Containers>XXXXXXXXXX.OneDriveStandaloneSuite>OneDrive - [account name].noindex>OneDrive - [account name]

does lack the function of identifying whether or not the file is stored locally or only in the cloud - though, in my case, most of the files are local. I guess thats the "noindex" part of the file name?

Hopefully MS support can help, but if not an alternative may be to try: turning off OneDrive synching, copy the original local folders/files (stored locally in the folder above) into the new (post Monterey) OneDrive folder to replace the shadow/cloud-based files/folders currently there (without deleting any files/folders that aren't replaced), ensure the OneDrive preference for storing the files locally is enabled for the root folder, and then re-enable OneDrive synching. Also make sure that the OneDrive preference "open at login" is on. In theory, this should ensure that you have a local copy of your OneDrive files, and that the files previously stored locally dont need to be downloaded again. The files should be in a folder with location indexing (local vs cloud). However I haven't tried this yet, and would probably back up my important files before trying..

Would be good to hear what MS support has to say.

Rodger

Thanks for sharing, I'm feeling fortunate that I found this post. I'm suffering the same as Rodger1970 and diasleo – similar experiences and issues with MS OneDrive and a post-Monterey (12.0.1) install.

I am also at an institution (Sweden) – admin personnel, not research – not sharing OD data with colleagues.

I sync my files/folders between my work iMac (Retina 5K, 27" 2019), my work MacBookPro (mid-2015) with Big Sur 11.5.2 and my private MBPro (mid-2014) with Big Sur 11.5.2. Luckily I've not even tried to update my MBPros.

My issues seem to originate with my post-Monterey iMac. Problems consist of the inability of opening any OD-based files locally, regardless of application, new files/folders not syncing, botched icons and functions.

Sad to say that I've tried several times deleting everything and reinstalling OD, including long manual uninstall and finally killing supposed corrupted .DS_Store files with Terminal with I cannot recommend as a solution.

I'm down to my last 94GB on my private MBPro (1TB), so I'm not prepared to download my entire OD files/folders collection. Instead, I plan to cool down and work using MS SharePoint apps, manually uploading/downloading my daily files until a solution is presented here.

Keep posting Rodger1970 and diasleo!

Hi Leonardo,

Thanks for taking this up with MS Support. You did a nice job of highlighting the issues with the images and screen recordings. Hopefully they will come back with a sensible response. I'm still hoping for a fix to be released.

Although I had hoped to use the local folder :

Macintosh HD>users>[user name]>Library>Group Containers>XXXXXXXXXX.OneDriveStandaloneSuite>OneDrive - [account name].noindex>OneDrive - [account name]

..as my permanent OneDrive folder - since it contains my locally stored files, the lack of indexing is problematic. Many files at this location - presumably the files that were originally stored locally - open normally from here, without needing to download from the cloud. However other files within this folder do not function - probably because they were originally stored in the cloud?. When browsing this folder and subfolders, there is no way to tell which file will work, until you attempt to open it. And although the folder synchs with the cloud OneDrive, it doesn't seem to know to download a functional version of a non-functional ghost/alias file even when you try and open it - it just gives an error message.

Interestingly, I think my OneDrive updated at least twice, if not more, today (v21.225.1031.0001->1.0002->1.0005):

However I rebooted and restarted OneDrive twice but there was no apparent fix to the problem :-(

Rodger

Thanks Leonardo

I rather foolishly followed the Microsoft OneDrive Support recommendation offered to you by Kumar S. to reset my OneDrive.

I was lulled into complacency by the fact that we have an identical problem and by the MS statement "You will not lose any data by resetting or uninstalling OneDrive."

Technically, this may be close to true, as resetting OneDrive did not wipe my data stored in the cloud, but it did erase most of my locally stored data, which was what I'd been trying to avoid and was the reason for seeking support in the first place. I did have some locally stored files that may not have synched to the cloud due to file name irregularities.

I followed the instructions to Quit OneDrive and double-click: ResetOneDriveAppStandalone.command

Immediately the local files in Macintosh HD>users>[user name]>Library>Group Containers>XXXXXXXXXX.OneDriveStandaloneSuite>OneDrive - [account name].noindex>OneDrive - [account name] vanished, although the folder/file structure subsequently rebuilt itself in a slow staggered fashion (from the cloud?). However the locally stored data from this folder is gone and files now contained within are non-functional shells.

At the same time a new folder was created: Users>rodger>OneDrive-UHN (Archive). However, this folder only contains some (20%?) and not all of the files previously stored locally in the folder above. Why some files were selected for archiving and others were not seems random. As least I could not identify a logical basis. This further fragmentation of my data into yet another folder is really annoying.

I previously had 400Gb of data stored locally in Macintosh HD>users>[user name]>Library>Group Containers>XXXXXXXXXX.OneDriveStandaloneSuite>OneDrive - [account name].noindex>OneDrive - [account name] (vs 600-700Gb in cloud), and now only have 70Gb in the Archive folder.

Fortunately I have a back up of my OneDrive from home and work iMacs (I need both, as I don't synch all folders to either computer).

At this point I'm going to set the new OneDrive (post Monterey) folder (or at least most of the subfolders), stored under "Locations" on the sidebar, to "always keep on this device" and have OneDrive download my cloud data to generate a local version of the files. This will mean downloading the 400Gb again, which may take quite some time. At least now I don't have to worry about having 2 local copies of these files on my HDD now, as the OneDrive restore deleted the previous copy (or 80% of it). I definitely need a local version of the files to keep my work efficient. I also need a local copy of the files in order to back-up these files up to an external HDD. I'll likely be missing a few files that hadn't synched from the previous local folder to the Cloud, and will have to hunt through my OneDrive back-ups for these.

I'll probably leave the Archive files lying around for a bit, in case there is a reason that this folder was created. But as many files will be duplicates of files that are downloaded into the new OneDrive folder, and as 80% of the files are missing from this Archive, and as it appears to be a non synching folder, I expect that at some point I'll need to delete it. It is using 70Gb of space.

NB. I thought about trying to merge my old and new OneDrive folders, to save me downloading so much data and to restore the local files that hadn't previously synched to the Cloud back to their proper place in my directory, but the behaviour of OneDrive is not transparent enough for me to know if this would work or create more problems - I might end up replacing some good working files stored in the Cloud with nonfunctioning shells files that OneDrive previously created and which appear in my back-up from OneDrive - [account name].noindex>OneDrive - [account name].

So for me the bottom line was:

Upgrading from BigSur to Monterey unexpectedly resulted in me having to restore my OneDrive folder from the cloud, and potentially loose local data that had not synched to the cloud. Fortunately, I likely do have back-ups of the non-synched local data on an external HDD; but these files (which were previously identified as having synch issues due to file names containing spaces or irregular characters) represent hundreds of files, distributed over hundreds of folders, and will now no longer be present in my active OneDrive account. As these files are scattered throughout my back-up data, its hard for to isolate them and just retain them, without retaining a full back-up of all the data. So my data is now fragmented across a new ONeDrive folder and a back-up, and in order to avoid data loss my data is duplicated. Not a good result from Monterey update / ONeDrive teams. Not sure who to blame.

HI Leonardo

Thanks for posting the updates. The thread on Reddit is a good find and comes as no surprise - we few are not the only ones suffering this problem.

The number of threads on this topic does seem limited though, though so perhaps only some set-ups/ accounts are being affected by this bug? I'm on an Intel processor so I don't think its an M1 silicon issue. However, I was previously allowing "OneDrive Insider Preview updates" - perhaps this was our common issue?

If you can manage it, it would be good to continue to escalate the issue with MS Support. There is clearly a problem for some OneDrive users upgrading to Monterey. When OneDrive simply looses access/fails to register huge amounts of locally stored data its just not good enough. The fact that this data became "System Data" rather than documents per the MacOS was also not good. On the Apple side, I went through at least 3 apple support techs, including senior advisers. The Apple folk were all helpful, and took the time to 1-on-1 screenshare and go through my situation etc. They did at least help find my data and I therefore was lucky enough to make an external back-up of this, before it was summarily deleted by the OneDrive restore, though ultimately the problem created with OneDrive & the Monterey update was never fixed by Apple Support.

After "restoring OneDrive" (per the MS OneDrive support recommendation that you received) and loosing my local data, I'm now 60 hours into trying to restoring my local data. As with the original OneDrive, you have to right click and re-enable "always keep on this device" for every folder you want stored locally. Unfortunately, in the past 60 hours my iMac has only downloaded 44.7Gb - so only a little more than 10% of my previously stored data. To ensure that the OneDrive synching continued without pause during this time, at the outset I temporarily disabled energy saver options, other than "wake for network access". But when I checked my OneDrive this morning it was inactive and had somehow still decided on its own to stop synching! It's hard to fathom why. I had to go into OneDrive preferences >account to start it synching again.

The good news is that, for the folders/files so far downloaded, the functionality of the OneDrive folder located in the sidebar under Locations is fairly similar to the my old OneDrive folder (previously located in the User folder). The cloud/local storage and sharing icons are a bit different, in line with the OS upgrade. But it seems this post Monterey post restore OneDrive folder is once again able to launch locally stored data, without having to download it.

Interestingly the folder in Macintosh HD>users>[user name]>Library>GroupContainers>XXXXXXXXXX.OneDriveStandaloneSuite

>OneDrive - [account name].noindex>OneDrive - [account name], is also repopulating with the data as it gets downloaded. Presumably this is where it is actually stored locally. Under "About This Mac>Storage" this data now shows up as "Documents" rather than as "System Data" as it did after the Monterey update, and the individual files are now visible in the "Manage" storage app, rather than being inaccessible. So this also seems to be working properly.

I just really wish that the OneDrive fix hadn't had to wipe all of the previously stored local data into the bargain. Am guessing that this was bad advice from MS support. There must have been a better solution to get the post Monterey OneDrive to recognize the previously stored OneDrive local data which was, after all, still present. Unfortunately the fix will come too late for me. Damage already done.

Good luck to you and any others have similar issues!

Very annoying, same here. The files in the CloudStorage location and in the .noindex folder seem to be related concerning content/size but the cloud location does not see the other local location, so I have to download everything into OneDrive first to have it all back to local. The two locations don't use up twice the storage, so there is some relation but definitely not the local/cloud state.

When I get the files into OneDrive from the cloud (by clicking the little cloud/download symbol), this works for some files but not all. For some, I get "The file couldn't be opened" as an error message in the Finder, which then breaks the recursion, so I have to go into the folder and look what is not downloaded to local yet. Very very annoying.

Needless to say that nothing should have moved into the magic CloudStorage folder in the first place and that the local files and their downloaded states should have been preserved! Getting everything to local would be a solution but seems to be tricky now with the "The file couldn't be opened". I'll continue to download everything and will report back here when done and hopefully some pattern which files "couldn't be opened".

In any case, a correction tool/resync or even a fix in OneDrive would be very useful.

I work with OneDrive on my Mac M1 and this update caused a huge mess with my data. I feel like I have the same files at three different places now. I have to be lucky now if I want to open a file from finder directly. Depending on where it is, it just won't open. Also, I don't understand which files I can preview now and which not. In any case, the experience is much worse. Is there a solid method to at least have the data again just in one place? Maybe disconnecting and deinstalling OneDrive and then delete all the local files from OneDrive before reinstalling it again?

I really hope the experience will get better again.