OneDrive sync Issues after Recovery using ATI 2017
OneDrive sync has been showing "sync pending" on several folders since did a recovery .
I recovered my desktop (Windows 10) using an Acronis ATI 2017 backup file from 4 days previously. The Desktop had been functioning OK, but I needed to re-instate some driver setting for printing to an old printer (FujiXerox DocuPrint 203A) that had no support driver for Windows 10. The FujiXerox tech took remote control of my Desktop and messed up what little printing capability I had, so the recovery returned me to settings before the Tech messed them up (I can now at least print by way of router USB connection).
Since I did the recovery I have been having issues with OneDrive syncing. The syncing seems to occur, but OneDrive icons next to several folders indicate "sync pending". The updated files seem to be getting up to the cloud so this may just be an annoying icon issue.
I resolved the issue with several folders by changing the folder option to show protected system files, and deleting some corrupted temporary files (files starting with $). However, one BIG folder and all its sub-folders (Pictures folder 137GB) still show "sync pending".
Anyone else had issues with cloud syncing after doing a recovery?
Steve, Thanks for the response (as usual)
As for the minor matter of the annoying icon:
I got rid of the annoying icon "sync pending" for the large Pictures folder by simply turning off "Files on-demand" function now available with OneDrive and the latest Windows 10. All the pictures were in the cloud and I don't mind keeping copies on my computer (actually on a large secondary internal drive).
After additional thought, I think the more important issue is how to deal with OneDrive (or any other cloud sync program) when you have to do a recovery using Acronis ATI. What I am trying to figure out (in advance) is, after restoring my computer to a time prior to the present, how will OneDrive deal with be files that were created, amended or deleted during the interim between the date of the backup used for recovery and the date/time the recovery is done.
My apologies but I think I have to rabbit on a bit as I am having difficulty getting my mind around the possibilities here.
My chief fear is that OneDrive might get confused and:
1. replace the latest copy on the OneDrive cloud with an earlier version from the backup file (or show a conflict and make two files, as Dropbox sometimes does - dates on files or folders sometimes get changed during these processes); and/or
2. OneDrive might think a document was purposefully deleted on the PC - and, accordingly, OneDrive might even delete a document on the cloud if it did not yet exist at the time the backup was done.
A Microsoft OneDrive tech suggested that one should first un-link the PC from OneDrive before doing the recovery. That doesn't seem good advice to me since:
1. the recovery may be because the PC is inoperable so there may be no way to un-link first;
2. as soon as the recovery is done the link might return because the computer is restored to the state it was in before the un-linking.
Not sure if that is a correct analysis. In any case, if was possible to un-link a dead computer by going to the OneDrive on-line site on another computer, AND if the un-link stays in effect after restoration because it is registered on-line and not just on the local PC, I still am not sure if One-Drive will then, upon re-linking, properly download all the new or amended files to the restored PC.
I have not yet gotton back to the OneDrive tech. Trying to have a better understanding of the issue before responding to her suggestion.
Another thought I had was to just un-plug the ethernet cable from my PC to my router (no wireless connection on this particular PC) - and THEN do the recovery (obviously that doesn't work for those keeping their backup on a cloud). Not sure what would happen after recovery when ethernet plugged back in.
Any thoughts, advice, etc would be much appreciated - even if it turns out my fears are baseless and I am making a mountain out of a molehill.
What I am trying to figure out (in advance) is, after restoring my computer to a time prior to the present, how will OneDrive deal with be files that were created, amended or deleted during the interim between the date of the backup used for recovery and the date/time the recovery is done.
Caveat: I am not an expert on OneDrive!
The key here, in my opinion, is where your OneDrive store folders are located?
By default, MS wants to put the OneDrive folder in the C:\Users\MyName\ path (as does most other similar cloud services including DropBox, Box etc).
I do not allow this default folder path to be used. I have a separate partition where any Cloud folders are located, well away from my OS partition, and which can be backed up & restored separately if / when needed.
This to my mind is much simpler than trying to figure out all the variations / permutations of what could / would / might happen in this / that or the other circumstances?
I run a dual-boot computer and have just the one OneDrive folder (and one DropBox etc) shared between both dual-boot OS's. The net effect is that when I boot between these different OS's, OneDrive & Dropbox etc spend a little time figuring out that actually nothing has changed and updating any sync information that they have stored in the registry or in AppData etc.
The only issue that I have encountered and only with DropBox and my Synology Cloud Drive sync (from my NAS), is that I may occasionally get a 'conflicted copy' of a file. I tend to do a quick search in Explorer for 'conflict' and see what it brings up, then remove all conflicted files if any are found. The normal cause for these conflicts is that I suffer a 'senior moment' and have tried working on the same files on different computers before remembering!
Steve,
Keeping the cloud folder in a partition away from the operating system seems like an excellent way to go. Partitioning the C: drive (not sure that can be done after computer already set up unless there is specialized software for ex post facto partitioning) is perhaps a task beyond my comfort zone.
In my case, my Desktop has a large secondary internal disk. Maybe there is a way to get my OneDrive (and Dropbox) folder onto that and off my C: drive.
Unfortunately, that is probably not as easy as drag and drop. If it involves uninstalling and reinstalling OneDrive (if that is possible with Windows 10 and Office 365) and Dropbox, I hesitate to do that. I had to take my computer over to a friend's place with better internet speed upload to initially get my files up to the clouds - and that took 2 WEEKS! If the files all stay up on the cloud during the reinstall, then I suppose it is a download project while it syncs to my new OneDrive/Dropbox folders - and my download would also take weeks as my download speed is nothing to brag about either (just above 1mps at the moment until the Australian NBN project bumps that up a bit). If instead of syncing to or from the cloud I populate the new OneDrive/Dropbox folders from an external hard disk where I can save all the files in advance, that is likely to result in messed up date stamps and a horde of "conflicted" copies - even without a senior moment.
Sometimes I wish I had a "test" computer with nothing valuable on it so that I could be adventurous and learn some of the more esoteric techniques - such as partitioning, etc.
Your time and efforts are most appreciated.
Lloyd
Lloyd, see the following webpages for help on moving your cloud storage folders:
Change the location of your OneDrive folder
Moving your Dropbox folder to a new location
The process for both of these moves is pretty simple and painless, especially as you have the second large internal drive you can move these to, so no need to partition your OS drive.
There should be no overheads for needing to upload / download files when doing the moves, just the time to physically move the data from their current default location to their new home on your second drive and update any sync reference data that the applications hold internally about the status of the folder contents.
Thanks Steve. That should fix me up.