How to Sync All Files to OneDrive and Sync OneDrive to PC

This guide will walk you through how to sync all files to OneDrive and sync OneDrive to computer. Keep reading to get more details.

By @Jonna Last Updated September 30, 2024

Benefits of syncing all files and folders with OneDrive

If you need to create an online backup of all your files to protect them, syncing all files to OneDrive is a good choice. OneDrive is a cloud storage service from Microsoft. It enables file hosting and synchronization and is included in Microsoft's document management software - Microsoft 365.

It comes with up to 5GB of free storage and you can get more OneDrive storage space by subscribing to its paid plans. There are many advantages for you to synchronize all files and folders to OneDrive:

  • Access data on different platforms: When you sync files to Onedrive, all OneDrive files will sync automatically between all devices logging in with the same accounts. Therefore, you can access files from anywhere.  
  • Prevent data loss and corruption: Data stored on the computer is easily lost due to hard drive failure, system crashes, human error, and virus attacks. Saving important data online with OneDrive enables you to retrieve it from the cloud.

Part 1. How to Sync All Files to OneDrive

Does OneDrive sync all files? Actually, no. As a backup utility, OneDrive only allows you to upload specific folders. For example, you can sync Desktop to OneDrive, as well as Documents and Pictures. How to sync everything to OneDrive?

In this chapter, we will show you two ways to make OneDrive sync all files and folders on your computer. Besides, in the following chapter, you can also learn how to stop OneDrive from syncing all files.

Way 1. Sync all Files with OneDrive using OneDrive folder

How to backup all files to OneDrive? OneDrive is preinstalled on Windows 10 or Windows 11. After you log in and complete all OneDrive setup on the computer, you can start to backup files to the OneDrive cloud, and OneDrive will sync cloud files locally as well.

How to sync all files to OneDrive on Mac and Windows? Let us take a look at the detailed steps.

Step 1. Download and run OneDrive or search for "OneDrive" on the Windows search box to open it, and then sign in with your Microsoft account.

Step 2. Specify a location for the OneDrive sync folder and select the folders you want to sync from OneDrive to your PC. If you want OneDrive to synchronize all files locally, tick Sync all files and folders in OneDrive > Next.

Step 3. You can set up PC folders auto sync to OneDrive by clicking OneDrive Settings > Manage Backup in the Backup tab, and selecting desktop, documents, or pictures to upload to OneDrive.

How to force OneDrive to sync all files instead of only desktop, documents, and pictures? You could navigate to the OneDrive folder, and copy and paste files from your computer to the OneDrive sync folder. And then, they will be synced to OneDrive.

Way 2. Sync All Files and Folders automatically to OneDrive with CBackup

Apart from OneDrive, there is another solution for you to sync PC folders to OneDrive, using professional cloud backup and sync software - CBackup. Why should you use this tool? You can take a look at its advantages.

  • It allows you to back up and sync files and folders in any location to OneDrive.
  • You can sync multiple folders, even the whole computer to OneDrive with one click.
  • It offers one-time-only, daily, weekly, and monthly auto sync schedules.
  • It not only supports syncing files to OneDrive but also can sync local folders to Google Drive, Dropbox, and other public clouds.
  • It comes with a simple interface and user-friendly design.
  • It works perfectly on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP.

The following is a simple guide on how to sync local folder to OneDrive.

Step 1. Sign up for a CBackup account. Download and run CBackup on your computer, and then log in.

Download CBackupWin 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
Secure Download

Step 2. Click Storage, choose OneDrive, and tap Authorize Now. Then, sign in to your OneDrive account to grant CBackup access to your cloud storage.

Step 3. Tap Sync, and then select Sync PC to Public Cloud.

Step 4. Choose the folders and files you need to synchronize with OneDrive, and click > to pick a OneDrive as the target path. Finally, press Start Sync to sync all files to OneDrive with ease.

Before you start a sync task, you can click Settings > Scheduler > tick Set a Sync schedule for automated Sync and set up regular synchronization for your important files.

Part 2. How to stop OneDrive syncing all files

Though syncing all OneDrive files locally makes it easy for you to access them on the computer, it could also take up a lot of hard drive space. If you want to stop syncing all files from OneDrive to PC, you can do the following:

Step 1. Click on the OneDrive icon on the taskbar, and open the OneDrive settings.

Step 2. Press the Choose folder button under the Account section.

Step 3. Untick all items that you wish to stop syncing and click OK.

Bonus tip: How to expand OneDrive storage for free

You know how to backup all files to OneDrive on the above. However, if you don't have enough storage space on OneDrive to store all your files, the file upload will fail. Luckily, in addition to spending big bucks on a OneDrive storage subscription, you can use CBackup to increase your OneDrive space for free.

CBackup provides a cloud storage combination function that is capable of merging multiple, even unlimited cloud accounts to expand cloud storage. You could combine numerous OneDrive accounts, and you could merge OneDrive accounts with Google Drive accounts as well.

Step 1. Run the CBackup desktop program, and click Storage > + Add Cloud to add and authorize all your cloud accounts to CBackup.

Step 2. After finishing cloud-adding, click + Add Combined Cloud.

Step 3. Tick all the needed clouds, and click Next. Modify the cloud storage order according to your needs, and click Combine.

Step 4. Then, you will get a combined huge space, and you could backup files to it by clicking Backup > Backup PC to Combined Cloud.

Other features of CBackup: โ€ Backup files to OneDrive/Google Drive/Dropbox with its Backup feature. โ€ Backup OneDrive to Dropbox/ Google Drive/FTP/SFTP and other cloud drives quickly and easily. โ€ Backup files to CBackup Cloud, its own cloud storage with 5GB of free space and scalable storage.

Conclusion

On this page, we cover two methods for you to sync all files to OneDrive to keep your data safe. With the help of CBackup, you can make the file sync progress much easier and more worry-free.

With CBackup, you can sync PC files and folders to OneDrive hassle-free and schedule syncs to happen automatically to make sure your files are safe and up to date. Moreover, you can use it to transfer files from OneDrive to another account or migrate OneDrive files to Google Drive effortlessly.