Stop One Drive Syncing Like This

OneDrive sync can consume bandwidth, fill up your storage, or interfere with local folder control. If you don’t use it or prefer manual backups, here’s how to stop OneDrive from syncing – temporarily or permanently.

1. Pause Syncing

• Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray (bottom right of the screen that is)
• Select Pause syncing
• Choose 2, 8, or 24 hours

2. Stop Syncing Specific Folders

• Right-click the OneDrive icon ? Settings
• Go to the Account tab ? click Choose folders
• Uncheck the folders you don’t want to sync ? click OK

3. Unlink Your PC

• Right-click the OneDrive icon ? Settings
• Go to the Account tab ? click Unlink this PC
• Confirm

4. Disable OneDrive at Startup

• Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
• Go to the Startup tab
• Right-click Microsoft OneDrive ? select Disable

5. Uninstall OneDrive

• Go to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps
• Find Microsoft OneDrive
• Click Uninstall

6. Block OneDrive via Registry (Advanced)

• Open Registry Editor
• Go to:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive
• Create a new DWORD: DisableFileSyncNGSC
• Set its value to 1
• Restart your PC

To stop OneDrive from syncing, you can pause it, unsync folders, unlink your PC, or uninstall it entirely. For permanent deactivation, use the registry method. Choose the approach that fits how much control you want to retain.