OneDrive frustrations

[tonypitt]

While waiting for my SurfacePro 3 i7 to come in, I starting reading these forums and learned about OneDrive. I wound up buying Office 365 just to get the 1 TB of OneDrive space that comes with it. I think OneDrive holds great promise, but if there is a more frustrating piece of software out there, I haven't experienced it.

I cannot image having anywhere need 1 TB of data on OneDrive. I'm trying to effectively manage about 100 GB and it has been a nightmare. I'm posting this to see if anyone has run into any of these things and might have some suggestions.

1. It is very confusing the way the OneDrive app and OneDrive in the system tray seem to be on totally different planets. Example: The app reports that all files are synced, yet the system tray says that it is still downloading files and is only xx% synced. I assumed that the app would just be a graphical interface for the same data reported in the system tray, but they are rarely on the same page.
2. File sync should be bulletproof, but it is anything but. Example: I have a file that I have designated as available offline. This means that I should be able to edit the local file and have it sync an updated version of that file to the cloud. In fact what happens randomly is files that sit in the sync queue and never update or report errors. I've gone so far as to move the file out of OneDrive on all my 3 computers that I'm syncing, then log into the cloud and delete the file from OneDrive online. Then, when I'm sure everything has 'settled' I'll move the file back onto OneDrive. Even doing that, there's about a 50% chance I'll still get sync errors.
3. Similar to the above, it is very frustrating to edit and save a file on machine A, have that machine report that everything is synced, go to machine B, have that machine report that everything is synced, open the noted file and see that it is the unchanged version.
4. It seems to think that random files are new and re-syncs them. I have one Excel spreadsheet that OneNote apparently loves, as every time I look at my queue it is uploading or downloading it. The file hasn't changed in a few years.

I've scoured OneDrive support. Issues such as I've reported are all over the place, but never with any real solutions. I've connected with MS support a couple of times and they have a utility to run that essentially checks some settings and then retransfers all the files. That's not a great solution when there are about 60k files taking up over 110 GB. Even on a fast network and machine, this can take a few days to process.

I'm very frustrated as this product could be so good, but it has not at all been easy to start using.

 

[jnjroach]

Office365 uses OneDrive for Business which is the newest version of Groove... then there is OneDrive which ships as part of Windows 8.x...

You need to setup OneDrive for Business separately from OneDrive. I used the Business Version for Work Files and Collaboration and OneDrive for Personal Data.

You setup OneDrive for Business from the Office365 Website.

 

[tonypitt]

Hi Jeff,

Actually when I purchased Office 365 it clearly talks about the included item being OneDrive, not OneDrive for Business. When I log in to manage my account, etc. all of these references OneDrive as well.

I think the confusion comes from the business versions of Office 365 come with the 1TB being on OneDrive for Business whereas the consumer versions of Office 365 come with the 1TB being on the OndDrive for Consumers. This change was made a couple of months ago. Here's a link to an article that talks about it http://www.zdnet.com/office-365-subscribers-now-have-access-to-1-tb-of-onedrive-storage-7000031686/

Between the rename from SkyDrive to OneDrive and there being separate business vs. consumer versions, there's a lot of confusion out there about this product.

 

[jnjroach]

Ah... I missed that they switched to OneDrive Consumer for the Home versions....

 

[nnthemperor]

Kinda funny I moved all my files to OneDrive and don't have any of these issues. Well occasionally a file decides it doesn't want to sync but I believe it's because I open up and edit the same file simultaneously on my PC and ipad. I have the 1TB from my office365 sub., but I don't remember setting up for business separately. Presently my 50gb Dropbox is has become redundant as I have no need of it anymore. The way windows handles OneDrive files is also very intuitive, as I read somewhere that it makes the online files partially available on your device so that you don't have to use actual disk space for it. Hope that makes sense, otherwise you can search it on the net. I'm sorry my pays doesn't help you in any way, it's just to recount my own experience with OneDrive.

 

[Len J]

Mine was confusing until; I realized that I either had to designate the Business account or the Personal account. Once I did that, I was good to go.

Len

 

[Len J]

Here is what I've learned re one-drive.

If you go into windows file explorer you'll see two different one-drive locations:

OneDrive .....(this is the personal one)
OneDrive - "your business location" .......(this is your business location)

I always create the folders, sub-folders and save the files directly to the OneDrive location I want them in. If I want to know what has been synched, I look in file manager and there is either a red or a green dot over the each folder indicator and each individual files. Red means it's not synced, green means it is synched.

In the desktop tray, the white cloud is your personal site, the dark blue one is your business one.

Len