How to fix ”OneDrive is full” error in a few simple steps

Aleksandar Ognjanovic
by Aleksandar Ognjanovic
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onedrive stuck on looking for changes

OneDrive cloud solution is there for some time, and it has its considerable piece of the pie on the market share. With the introduction of Windows 10, it made a breakthrough with both free and Bussines versions. However, the desktop client had its fair share of issues since it was presented.

One common error is the ”OneDrive is full” notification which pop-ups frequently. Do we need to say that this is a false alarm and there’s a plenty of free space?

For that purpose, we provided a few solutions that should come in handy. If you’re seeing this error on regular basis, make sure to check them out.

How to address ”OneDrive is full” error/bug in Windows 10

  1. Unlink account
  2. Run OneDrive Troubleshooter
  3. Change the sync folder on your PC
  4. Reset OneDrive
  5. Reinstall OneDrive
  6. Use browser instead of the desktop client for the time being

1: Unlink account

The first obvious step is to try unlinking your account from the current machine and link it back again. By doing so, you should be able to resolve occasional bugs. Since we’re certain that you indeed have a lot of free space and the error keeps on popping up, the chances are that the simple unlinking will do the job.

Here’s how to unlink and link OneDrive account in Windows 10:

  1. Right-click on the OneDrive icon in the notification area and open Settings.
  2. Select the Account tab.
  3. Click on the Unlink this PC button.onedrive is full error
  4. Sign in with your credentials.onedrive is full error
  5. Select the location of the OneDrive folder.

2: Run One Drive Troubleshooter

When the OneDrive became the built-in, preinstalled part of Windows 10, certain issues emerged. For the purpose of resolving those issues, OneDrive team offers the specialized OneDrive Troubleshooter which can be downloaded. Once run, it should address some of the minor issues and, the ”OneDrive is full” bug should be in that basket.

Follow these steps to run the dedicated OneDrive Troubleshooter in Windows 10:

  1. Download the OneDrive Troubleshooting tool here.
  2. Run the tool and choose Next.onedrive is full error
  3. Wait for the resolution of the identified errors and restart your PC.

3: Change the sync folder on your PC

Another possible reason for this error is truly the lack of space. Just not space to which the error prompt informs about. Namely, make sure you have enough space on the partition which holds synced files. If you’re in the shortage of free space, make sure to sync your files and delete the ones you don’t need for the immediate use. You can access them later on through browser either way.

On the other hand, if one partition is full (system partition comes often with less storage space), you can transfer your OneDrive folder to a secondary partition. That should relieve you of the error at hand and you’ll have more space to manage your data.

Here’s how to do it in a few simple steps:

  1. In the Notification area, right-click on the OneDrive icon and open Settings.
  2. Under the Account tab, click on the Unlink this PC button.onedrive is full error
  3. Log in with your credentials.
  4. Select another location for the local OneDrive folder and the files you want to sync. If there’s a lot of files, the sync might take some time depending on their size and your bandwidth.

If the issue is persistent, proceed through the list.

4: Reset OneDrive

Besides the reinstallation of OneDrive (which is possible as users can remove OneDrive nowadays and that wasn’t the case before), you can reset its settings. There’s a special executable file for this purpose, and it’s hidden in the AppData folder. Once you run it, it should refresh the OneDrive installation.

These instructions should show you how:

  1. Press Windows key + R to open the elevated Run command-line.
  2. In the command line, paste or type the following line and press Enter:
    • %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /resetonedrive is full error
  3. Right-click on the OneDrive icon in taskbar’s notification area and open Settings.
  4. Sign in again.

5: Reinstall OneDrive

If the aforementioned step proposition fails, there’s the reinstallation as the last resort. You don’t need to download OneDrive again as its setup files are always stored on your system. Reinstalling OneDrive will give you a fresh start from a scratch, so you’ll need to set it up again.

Follow these instructions to reinstall OneDrive in Windows 10:

  1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
  2. Open Apps.onedrive is full error
  3. Select Apps & features in the left pane.
  4. In the Search bar, type One and expand OneDrive.
  5. Uninstall OneDrive.onedrive is full error
  6. Now, follow this path:
    • C:\Users\:Your Username:\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneDriveUpdate
  7. Double-click the OneDriveSetup.exe file and run the installer.
  8. After the installation completes, log in and look for changes.

6: Use browser instead of the desktop client for the time being

Finally, if none of the provided solutions removed the ”OneDrive is full” prompt, we’re afraid that there’s no so much we can do. You should send the ticket to Microsoft, explaining your problem. And maybe, and just maybe, they’ll find it worth addressing in the future update releases.

As an alternative, you can always use the browser version of OneDrive to access your files, upload new or download old without issues. Just log in with your Microsoft credentials and you should be good to go.

That should conclude it. In case you have questions or suggestions regarding the ”OneDrive is full” error in Windows 10, please be kind and share them with us in the comments section below.

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