Microsoft OneDrive “Disappearing” in Windows 10
Assumptions: You have access to an administrator account in case these repairs do not work as expected. The program directory should be viewed using the details setting (instead of “icons”) in file explorer.
Problem: We have had a rash of users reporting OneDrive not working properly/not launching manually/not appearing at all in the windows system. Upon inspection the software is either gone or inaccessible.
Cause: Unlike most traditional Micorosft (hence referred to as MS) products, OneDrive has a built-in updating mechanism that queries MS servers for updates. If it detects an update it will attempt the update automatically. This is successful most of the time for most users but if the installer encounters any issues it does not seem to have an auto-repair function and can leave the software inoperable on an OS that has massively integrated OneDrive. Further complicating things is that MS puts the binaries into the user’s profile directory, presumably to allow the user to update without admin rights. So far, we have encountered two scenarios due this issue:
Software is still in the directory, but the OneDrive “Cloud” icon is not present and you cannot access/run/delete either the main program or the updater app (info in resolution section). This indicates that the updater failed in the removal process of the installed version, most likely to not being able to delete in use files, but was able to put the files in “delete on reboot” status which gives the Windows’ system process complete control.
One or both files are missing completely from the application directory (info in resolution section). This means the update process failed after removal of installed application files.
Resolution:
The resolution is the same for both scenarios with one step being recommended but optional for scenario 2.
Open file explorer to the directory C:\users\affecteduserprofile\appdata\local\microsoft\Onedrive. Usually the user profile is the user’s login name (lastname+first initial since late 2017 or first 7 of lastname+first initial before thatt) either on its own or with an .ai at the end (i.e. John Smith is smithj or smithj.ai) you can browse to this but appdata is a hidden directory and would need to be manually added (or hidden folders made visible). Alternatively, you can type %appdata% into the search bar, open that folder, go up one directory and then click on “local” to browse to the application directory.
Your scenario depends on what you see in this folder. If you see OneDrive.exe and OneDriveStandaloneUpdater.exe but OneDrive.exe does not have the standard One Drive blue cloud icon then you are in scenario 1 if those 1 or both of those files are not there then you are in scenario 2.
If you are in scenario 2 you can skip this step, but it is recommended to reboot the computer either way. If you are scenario 1 make note of the file dates for the two files mentioned in step 2 and reboot. After reboot, the files should be gone.
At this point One Drive probably is not running but it can now be repaired. In the directory from step 1 do only the first one applicable: if OneDriveStandaloneUpdater.exe is still there run that and it should repair. If it is not there look for a directory called “update,” and if it contains an executable newer than the files that were deleted in step 3 if in scenario 2 run that to reinstall. If neither the standalone update nor “update” folder have files, then you will need to redownload the installer from MS’ website.
Once these steps are completed and you have verified One Drive is operating as expected you should reboot if possible. If these steps did not fix One Drive then further research will be needed.