one drive issue

Hi! When you say download, do you mean copying files from the OneDrive folder in Explorer to a local folder or external drive?

When you copy a file or folder from OneDrive to a local folder, the file is downloaded and copied to the desired folder. There might be a synchronization problem, or a corrupted file in a folder could be causing the issue.

Does this problem occur with all folders and files in your OneDrive, or only one specific folder?

• Try copying only one file to your computer > If that works, try copying only one folder with a few files.

Is your local storage (Local Disk C) full or does it have plenty of space? The available space on the system influences this, even if you are trying to copy to an external or secondary drive.

If the problem occurs with ALL folders and files, reinstall OneDrive.

1. On the taskbar, next to the Speaker icon, click ^ > Blue Cloud > Gear icon > Settings > Account > Unlink Account.
2. Open Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Find Microsoft OneDrive > Click the ●●● > Uninstall.
3. Restart your computer.
4. Download and install OneDrive https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onedrive/download
5. Relink your account to OneDrive.

In File Explorer, OneDrive downloads and syncs files directly. If that is failing and downloading folders from the OneDrive website gives many errors, use these checks and workarounds:

1. Download from OneDrive website correctly
   • In a browser, go to the OneDrive website and sign in.
   • Navigate to the folder needed.
   • Select the folder (or multiple files/folders) and choose Download.
   • OneDrive will create a single .zip file containing the selected items.
   • After the download completes, open the .zip and extract the files to a local folder outside OneDrive (for example, C:\Users\<name>\Downloads\MyRestoredFiles).
2. Be aware of OneDrive download limits When downloading from the website, these limits apply:
   • Maximum single file size: 250 GB.
   • Maximum total number of files per download: 10,000.
   • Maximum number of items in a folder being downloaded: 10,000.
   • If downloading multiple compressed files (.zip, .mp4, etc.): 10 GB per .zip and 20 GB total.
   • Files protected by sensitivity labels or IRM larger than 4 MB are not included in the downloaded .zip and must be downloaded individually. If the folder exceeds these limits, split the download into smaller subfolders or download large/protected files one by one.
3. If the .zip download shows many errors
   • Check whether the folder contains:
     • More than 10,000 items, or
     • Very large files (close to 250 GB), or
     • Sensitivity‑labelled / IRM‑protected files over 4 MB.
   • Download smaller batches:
     • Open the folder and select only part of the contents (for example, a few subfolders at a time) and click Download.
     • Repeat until all content is retrieved.
   • For any protected files that are missing from the .zip, download those files individually from the website.
4. If File Explorer OneDrive sync is failing
   • If specific files show “can’t be synced” or similar errors in File Explorer:
     1. Right‑click the problem file → Properties → Security tab.
     2. Select the user account under Groups or user names and make sure Read and Write are allowed.
     3. If not, click Edit and grant Read and Write.
   • To reset sync for a problem file:
     1. Right‑click the OneDrive cloud icon in the taskbar and choose Close OneDrive.
     2. Move the problem file out of the OneDrive folder to a non‑OneDrive location (for example C:\).
     3. Start OneDrive again from Start → type OneDrive → Open.
     4. When OneDrive shows Up to date, copy the file back into the OneDrive folder.

If large folder downloads still fail after splitting into smaller batches and respecting the limits, continue using single‑file downloads for the affected items, especially for very large or protected files.

References:

• Download files and folders from OneDrive or SharePoint
• OneDrive shows "This file can't be synced"