Trouble syncing files in One Drive

[Bob Zakaras]

Have a desktop and laptop both running win 10. Laptop is new for signed into my Microsoft account same password. One Drive is set up on both computers and active on both computers both say all files are synced.

I’ve already dragged and dropped and uploaded a ton of files to the cloud.

I had to use the free up space option as when uploading these files it completely filled my C Drive with one for me we’re meeting us duplicate copies.

The only way I see synced files Is if I am working on a given file downloaded from one drive and then reopened from the other computer also on one drive. Ie more or less a manual sync.

My question is should I be able to open a given file from my desktop from its original file location on my E drive make modifications, save and close the file and the computer automatically syncs that file to the cloud and then I can open up the laptop find the file and download it and it should be synced?

Then I should be able to make changes to this document I. The laptop and the reverse would be true for it to sync back to my desktop . Isn’t this the way it’s supposed to work?

I think I have all the one drive settings correctand all the right boxes checked and I’ve done closing and reopening the app and unlinking the desktop computer and relinking. a Microsoft tech spent an hour and 20 minutes remoting in on my two computers with no real success other than doing the manual sync.

What am I missing here it should be easier than this should it not?

My sense is the issue is something so incredibly basic that I’m not able to see it.

The only thing that is unusual about my set up is that my desktop has two drives the C Dr. which runs all my system operations and the e storage drive where all my working files reside.

Sorry to be so wordy and lengthy in the description of the issue. I would also note that getting through the Microsoft telephone tree and finding someone who speaks coherent English was a near impossibility at least for me

Thanks advance for both reading this for anyone who can point me in the right direction.

 

[ven07]

Maybe I'm sleepy and can't comprehend anything, but... are you saying that you have a onedrive folder, yet you're moving files to your E drive and editing them?

If you open the files from the onedrive folder and edit them, they'll sync automatically to all devices with the same account

 

[Bob Zakaras]

That’s exactly my point. I can’t get files to sync unless i change them manually in the cloud. I am trying to verify that the cloud indeed senses files that have changed automatically and syncs them to the cloud and life goes on. I can’t make my two computers and the cloud do this, ie sync, even tho I believe I have all the settings correct, am on latest updates, matching passwords, quit and restart IC, etc. what am I doing wtong? Thanks for response!

 

[Bob Zakaras]

Alright, maybe I’m expecting too much from One Drive re computer magic. Do I now understand that once you upload files to the cloud and start modifying them and syncin back and forth THAT that is now where your original up to date file “lives”? Meaning I was expecting the “base file” that I uploaded to the cloud to get synced/updated as well. AND that if I opened the base file from my original drive and changed it it would automatically get synced to the cloud? Apparently this is not how it works eh? So if I ever want to put an updated cloud file back in my base drive I need to do that manually with some sort of cut and paste?
This whole sort of once in the cloud always in the cloud then begs the question of what value do the old base files have other than a dated backup given that they don’t auto sync? I support I could just delete them? Or maybe the better way to think of it is only put stuff in the cloud that you think you will need on another device. If you can predict that.


Sorry to be such a dummy and/or have overly high expectations about how I think things SHOULD work in my world.

 

[ven07]

Or maybe the better way to think of it is only put stuff in the cloud that you think you will need on another device. If you can predict that

Not dismissing the rest of your post I did read all of it, but the qouted part is exactly how I use my onedrive. Only files that need to be accessible on multiple devices go into onedrive.

Maybe look into NAS? https://www.techradar.com/news/the-10-best-nas-devices-reviewed