Microsoft has integrated OneDrive deeply into the Windows 11/10 operating systems. This allows us to sync files between your system and the cloud server. The OneDrive feature comes to the rescue when your system fails and you need to access your important documents urgently. If you have synced your files with OneDrive, you can access them from anywhere on the web.
Today, I came across the synchronization issue with my OneDrive folder inside File Explorer. Actually, the OneDrive option in the left pane of Explorer window was showing a yellow exclamation mark error icon on the OneDrive entry. Here is the screenshot of the scenario:
However, when I saw this error icon, I was still able to synchronize my files, but it looked like a single or some files didn’t synchronize from the huge bunch of files. That’s why I was getting the warning mark. I tried resynchronizing all the applicable files but unfortunately, it didn’t help me. So finally I tried the following steps in order to resolve this problem:
OneDrive Exclamation Mark Icon in File Explorer
1. First of all, close the SkyDrive app and File Expiorer from the Task Manager (pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ESC reveals this).
2. Now press the Windows Key + R and type the following location in the Run dialog box and hit Enter:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive\settings
3. In the Settings window so opened, select all the items and Delete them.
4. Moving on, press Windows Key + R combination, type put Regedt32.exe in Run dialog box and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
5. Navigate here:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OneDrive
6. In the right pane of this location, look for the UserFolder named registry string and double-click to modify it. Now in the following box, put the Value data for the correct OneDrive folder, because you might find a different location here since you’re facing the issue.
7. Click OK and close the Registry Editor and reboot the machine. After the restart, you’ll see that OneDrive can now sync your files, and the error exclamation mark has been removed. Now go to the following location:
C:/Users/%username%/
8. In the above-shown window, delete the OneDrive.old or SkyDrive.old folder.
Now open the SkyDrive Modern App and press Windows Key + I, click Options. Finally, enable the Access all files offline option by moving the slider to On.
Thus, your problem can be fixed.
Read: Can’t open online-only file error when opening a file in OneDrive.
What does OneDrive icon with red X mean?
A red X on an icon indicates that OneDrive files, folders, or drives are not properly synced with your Microsoft account.
