Error reinstalling OneDrive/disk full because of a glitch with freeing up space/don't want to lose files

It sounds like you're experiencing issues with disk space while trying to manage your OneDrive files. Here are some steps you can take to resolve the problem without losing your files:

1. Check Disk Space: First, ensure that you have checked how much disk space is actually available on your machine. You can do this by going to "This PC" and looking at the properties of your drives.
2. Free Up Space: If your disk is indeed full, you may need to free up some space. You can use the Disk Cleanup tool in Windows to remove unnecessary files:
   • Search for "Disk Cleanup" in the Start menu.
   • Select the drive you want to clean up (usually C:).
   • Check the boxes for the types of files you want to delete (like temporary files, recycle bin, etc.) and click OK.
3. Unlink and Relink OneDrive: If you haven't already, try unlinking and relinking your OneDrive account. This can sometimes resolve sync issues and help with configuration problems:
   • Go to the OneDrive settings and unlink your account, then sign back in.
4. Reset OneDrive: If the above steps do not work, consider resetting OneDrive. This will not delete your files from OneDrive, but it will reset the app:
   • Open the Run dialog by pressing Windows + R, type onedrive.exe /reset, and press Enter. This will reset the OneDrive app and may resolve any syncing issues.
5. Check OneDrive Online: Since you mentioned seeing only half of your files online, ensure that all your files are properly synced to OneDrive. You can check the OneDrive web interface to see if all your files are there.
6. Backup Important Files: If you are concerned about losing files, consider backing up important files to an external drive or another cloud service temporarily until you resolve the disk space issue.

By following these steps, you should be able to manage your disk space and OneDrive without losing any files.

References:

• Error 0x8004def7 when signing in to OneDrive
• Disk full (Visual Basic)

If you don't see all your files at onedrive.com, you may not be syncing your important folders, namely the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders. If you want those folders to sync to OneDrive, you need to turn on the folder backup in the OneDrive settings under Manage Backup.

See the video here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/back-up-your-folders-with-onedrive-d61a7930-a6fb-4b95-b28a-6552e77c3057

If you lack local disk space, use the Files On-Demand feature of OneDrive: Getting started with OneDrive - Sync files with OneDrive Files On Demand

If you lack OneDrive storage space, you must subscribe to a OneDrive plan or limit your cloud storage data to under 5GB using the free plan: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onedrive/onedrive-plans-and-pricing

The folder appears to show the back up size that I saw previously, but I don't see all the files on either the OneDrive cloud nor on the computer. When I try and select Free Up Space, the system appears to go through the motions but the drive size on the computer remains unchanged and OneDrive shows multiple sync issues. In OneDrive settings, I see different numbers for the backup. I seem to be in a loop.

If I look in the same folder name on OneDrive Cloud and on the PC files are still missing from both.

I've tried unlinking and relinking to OneDrive. I've tried resetting and restoring. I've tried to delete and reinstall.

I am not technical and don't know what I've done.