OneDrive stuck in a loop of folders into folders into folders

Question

OneDrive stuck in a loop of folders into folders into folders

Olivia Viktoria Jensen Levinsen 0

My OneDrive is stuck in an eternal loop. I have looked at others that have had similar problems but somehow the solutions cannot be applied to my case. So I have two problems:

My OneDrive has not been syncing since late august. I did not realize this until this monday (17th of november). I tried to unlink my account, updating the app and what not - which resulted in the loss of all my (local) files - that I thought would be online. Little did i know. When i downloadet OneDrive again and it began synchronizing, it was only my colleage's files and not mine that I could find. None of the files are in my bin/OneDrives bin or any other folder on my computer. I do not know what happened. Maybe I have deleted them in the process, but they are nowhere to be found. Luckily, I could restore most of my code-files from Rstudio, because Rstudio saves all commands.
My OneDrive will not update because it is stuck in an endless loop. Every time I try starting OneDrive to either a) unlink my acccount or b) turn off the folders that it is saving, it crashes. At this point, every time I uninstall and install it is like OneDrive puts itself into one of my work folders called "ODER" and then continues in this endless loop that is "OneDrive-UniversityofXX-ODER-OneDriveUniversityofXX-ODER.

I don't know what to do at this point. I've spend three days searching the internet, talking to my IT department at the university and what not. I have kind of given up on the lost files, but I need to update OneDrive in order to work so it is really blocking my work flow.

2 answers

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Answer 1

Dear Olivia Viktoria Jensen Levinsen,
Thank you for sharing your issue in the Q&A forum. I understand how stressful it can be to deal with the “endless loop” and data loss, especially when OneDrive crashes every time you open Preferences, even after trying all troubleshooting steps and contacting your university IT team without success. To resolve this issue and ensure your data is safe, please follow the steps below:

1.Ensure All Data Is Safely Stored Before Removing OneDrive Folder

Sign in to OneDrive Web with the correct account. Verify all important files:
Create a temporary folder on OneDrive Web and upload all critical files from your Mac. Additionally, you may back up your files to iCloud for extra security.

Important note: Do not proceed until you confirm all your data is uploaded to OneDrive Web (and iCloud if applicable).

2.Turn Off OneDrive Sync on Your Mac

Open Preferences > Account > click Unlink this Mac. Make sure no OneDrive processes are running.
Remove Local OneDrive Folder and Configuration
In Finder, locate the OneDrive or OneDrive - [Organization Name] folder and move it to Trash. Delete cache and configuration files: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.OneDrive-mac
~/Library/Application Support/OneDrive ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.OneDrive
Open Keychain Access, search for “OneDrive” or “Microsoft Account,” and remove related entries.

3.Reinstall OneDrive

Download the latest version from Microsoft OneDrive for Mac. During setup, choose a new folder outside of Documents or any previous OneDrive folder (e.g., ~/OneDrive-New). In Preferences, check the Backup tab:
Turn off Backup for Desktop/Documents/Pictures if not needed. Enable Files On-Demand to reduce local storage usage.

If the Issue Persists, consider creating a new macOS user profile:

Go to System Settings > Users & Groups > create a new account.
Log in to the new profile, reinstall OneDrive, and select an independent sync folder.

Additionally, could you please provide a screenshot of the error message when performing the action? This will help me review the issue more thoroughly and find a better solution for you. If you prefer not to share this publicly, you can respond via private message. I’ll send you a secure message to collect the necessary details.
Please know that while our initial response might not resolve the issue right away, your input is incredibly valuable. With a bit more detail, we’ll work together to find the best solution for you.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Olivia Viktoria Jensen Levinsen 0 Reputation points

2025-11-21T04:59:55.1033333+00:00

Thank you for this. After searching the web, these are also the solutions i've come to. The only problem is that I did not know that I had to back-up local files when I tried to update my OneDrive few days ago. This means that I still have files that are lost somewhere and I cannot find them (related to the first issue).
Tammy-Ng 5,510 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-21T06:23:48.2933333+00:00

Dear Olivia Viktoria Jensen Levinsen,
Thank you for your update and for sharing these details.
Based on what you described, if the files were stored only locally and OneDrive was unlinked without a backup, it is unfortunately very difficult to recover them. This is because those files were never uploaded to OneDrive and were removed during the unlink/reinstall process.

The only possible way to recover local files in this case is if you have Time Machine enabled on your Mac. If so, you can restore the OneDrive folder from a previous backup snapshot. Important: Before using Time Machine, please make sure all your current data is protected and backed up externally (e.g., on OneDrive Web or iCloud) to avoid overwriting or losing recent files.

If the files were synced to OneDrive before the issue occurred, here are the steps you can take:

Check OneDrive Web

Go to onedrive.com and review My files and Shared folders. Look for any shortcuts (e.g., “Add shortcut to My files”)

Check the Recycle Bin

On OneDrive Web, open Recycle Bin: Files deleted by users are typically held here for 30–93 days. Restore any missing files you find.

If files are not in the standard Recycle Bin, you must contact your IT Admin to check the Second stage Recycle Bin in SharePoint.

Thank you again for sharing your issue. If this answer has been partially helpful, please consider upvoting so others facing similar problems can find it more easily.

Answer 2

Thank you for your help. For the lost files, I believe they are truly lost as there is no trace of them. Restoring OneDrive to a former point in time, I believe, would not make sense since they where never online. But it could be a possibility.

Your solution was right. The only thing to add is that I had to delete the files through Terminal since the folders would not let me put them in the normal trashcan on mac. I also needed to unlock the 'mother' file and tap my password in Terminal to do so.

Best

Olivia

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OneDrive stuck in a loop of folders into folders into folders

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