How to transfer data from OneDrive to external drive.

So, you hate Microsoft OneDrive and are determined to banish it from existence, well maybe not. There may be a variety of reasons to copy or transfer data from OneDrive to an external hard drive or USB flash drive. It may be to simply backup OneDrive files to safeguard your business data against accidental deletion or data loss, you may have an employee that may have left the company, and you want to move or archive their work before disabling the Microsoft account entirely, or as we have seen the prudent business owner started their business with a personal Microsoft account account to save money but in most cases this is not ideal and inadequate for business use. Or you may really hate OneDrive and are going scorched earth. Whatever the reason it is not a difficult task, and we will show you how to do it for free.

 

What are my options to transfer data from OneDrive?

There are different ways to access OneDrive to transfer files from your OneDrive cloud drive to an external drive. There is the OneDrive desktop app which runs on your computer and is synching your files through out the day. Another option is the OneDrive web app which is accesses OneDrive from your browser, yes there is a mobile app but it is limited and connecting an external drive to most mobile devices is device dependent and can be problematic. There are also options from companies that offer a OneDrive Migration tool, while these work well and can even move your files to a variety of other cloud storage services like google drive, our mission is to move your files to an external storage device such as an external hard drive or USB flash drive. Both the desktop app and web app will do the job and is free so these are the methods we will be using. ( Note The first method using the desktop app is for Windows PC’s, if you are using a Mac Skip to the second option using the OneDrive web app in your browser.)

The First option we will use is the OneDrive desktop app, as many users may already be logged into their OneDrive account and this example will be using file explorer in windows which is familiar to many users. The next option we will look at is using the OneDrive Webapp in the browser which offers more flexibility. We find many users are not as familiar with the OneDrive Webapp but using the Webapp in the browser you can move files to local storage from any computer that is connected to the internet and is running a current version of the most popular browsers which makes it a great option for Mac users. It also may be possible the primary computer that was accessing the data may be out of commission or worse in the hands of nefarious actors. We will be using Microsoft edge in our example to keep things simple but google chrome or any common chrome-based browser should work as well. You should also have a stable internet connection to minimize issues especially if you have large files to be transferred .

Tips.

If you have a Large amount of files or files that are very large such as video or music it may be best to break them into smaller groups.

If you do not wish to leave the files in OneDrive it is advised to copy the files first and once copied then you can delete.

A stable Internet connection will prevent issues while copying data. wired or a fast stable Wi-Fi connection is best. Mobile hotspots may be usable but avoid moving or traveling.

 

OneDrive file transfer using file explorer (Windows Only)

This method is for Windows computers and best for those which already are using the OneDrive desktop app.

Quick Steps

1. Verify OneDrive is synched.
2. Verify you are logged into the correct OneDrive user account.
3. Open File Explorer
4. Select the OneDrive cloud icon
5. Navigate to the one drive location where the files or folders you wish to transfer are located.
6. Choose folders or files you wish to transfer
7. Select Copy
8. Open the External Hard disk or local drive location if you prefer.
9. Paste the selected files or folders to your external drive.
10. Once the transfer is completed verify all files and folders are present.

 

Detailed steps

This section will walk you through the steps to transfer files on a windows PC using file explorer. This process is very similar to copying files from your local hard drive or another external disk but there are a few things we need to make sure is in place first.

You must be logged into the correct windows user account with access to the OneDrive data.

The OneDrive app is installed and logged in to Microsoft OneDrive account.

The computer must be connected to a stable internet connection .

The drive you plan to transfer or backup OneDrive data to has enough free space for the amount of data you wish to move.

 

First lets make sure the one drive app is installed, synced and logged into the correct account

1.Go to the lower right task bar and look for the OneDrive Icon. It may be blue a blue cloud icon or gray cloud icon ( different colors are used for personal use or business use).

If it has a slash through it this indicates a OneDrive Issue. The most common reasons are an internet access issue or you may just need to log in and sync OneDrive.

If you do not see the OneDrive icon OneDrive may not be installed. You can either download the OneDrive app or skip to the next section which will show you how to use the web interface to transfer the data.

 

2. Click on the OneDrive cloud icon to open OneDrive .Verify the Sync status on the top screen. The OneDrive desktop app should be completely synched to OneDrive cloud for this to work properly.

 

Verify account in OneDrive settings

Select Gear Icon in to right corner

 

In the Drop down select Settings

 

 

Another OneDrive window will open.

Select Account.

Verify the account you would like to transfer files from is logged in to OneDrive app.

 

 

Time to move files from OneDrive.

3. Select file explorer (it may be pinned to your start menu or you can search for it as well)

 

 

You should see one drive icon in the left corner ( if it is a business account, the business name as entered in the MS365 tenant may be displayed next to the users name)

 

 

4. Select OneDrive and it will display the top level of the OneDrive folder

 

 

5. Here you can change location to where the files or folders you wish to transfer are located.

 

 

6. Open the folder and choose the files or folders you wish to transfer

 

 

7. Select Copy

(Note: you can cut the selection as well but it will move the files from your one drive folder in MS365 as well, the recommendation would be to copy the files and when you have verified the files needed are copied successfully then proceed to delete them if you no longer want them stored in OneDrive)

 

 

8. Open the External Hard disk or local drive location if you prefer. To find your external drive in file explorer look on the left navigation menu under “This PC” . Select the drive and then the folder you will be copying files to. (if the online files are large it may be better to download to the local drive first then copy to the external disk)

 

 

 

 

9. Paste the selected files or folders. It will be easier to leave this window open while the files are copied . If you have a large amount of files or larger file sizes , this is good time for a bio break or coffee break.

 

 

10. Once completed they will show up in the right pane of file explorer . Verify all the files or folders are copied successfully.

 

 

 

Once you have verified your files are copied we have successfully completed the task. Time to take a walk and get some fresh air.

 

 

Web Based file transfer from OneDrive. Detailed steps.

OneDrive is normally part of the Office 365/ Microsoft 365 suite of tools and can be accessed via a browser but there are a few things we need to make sure is in place first.

The computer must be connected to a stable internet connection.

You must be logged in to the Microsoft account where the OneDrive Files are located.

The computer you plan to transfer or backup OneDrive data has enough free space for the data you wish to move. ( the default of OneDrive will be to download the files to your downloads folder)

The files will be zipped up to speed up the download. this is not an issue and Both Mac and Windows can unzip the file without issue.

 

Quick Steps

1. Go to https://www.microsoft365.com/
2. Login into the OneDrive/ MS365 account
3. Click the menu on the top left ( 9 dots arranged in a square)
4. Select OneDrive
5. Select My files in the OneDrive menu.
6. Choose the folder or files you wish to move. By ticking the check box on the left of the file or folder.
7. Select Download.
8. Move folder from the download folder to the external drive.
9. Unzip the folder.

 

 

Detailed steps

Note: In this Example we will be using InPrivate/incognito mode in the browser to log into our target Microsoft account. If the OneDrive we are moving data from is a different account than your account or one will not be used on this computer long term this InPrivate mode is a good idea.

 

1. To access the online version of Go to www.office.com

 

 

2. Login to the Microsoft account.

 

 

 

3. Click on the 9 dots in the top left corner

 

 

 

4. Select the OneDrive Icon ( the order of the icons may vary depending on your version of MS 365)

 

 

 

 

5. Select My Files from the left menu.

 

 

6. Here you will be at the top level of the one drive folder. You can hover to the left of each folder or file and a circle will appear which will allow you to select the file or folder. Once selected you can choose to download or move the file or folder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Files I want to transfer are in the STL Org folder .

 

 

Note: By hovering in the top bar you can select all files.

 

 

7. Once you select files .Select the Download option from the top Menu

 

 

8. The Download Dialog box will appear most browsers are set to download all files to your downloads folder automatically.

 

 

 

9 Now we need to move the zipped folder to your external drive.

 

Moving the OneDrive file to the external drive (Windows)

Open File Explorer from the start menu.

 

 

Select Downloads from the left navigation menu

 

 

Find the Zipped OneDrive file and copy,

 

While still in explorer Select the external drive you would like to copy your files to and paste..

 

 

 

Unzip/Extract the files by selecting the Extract all option from the upper menu.

 

 

Moving the OneDrive file to the external drive (Mac)

The Process of downloading the file from the OneDrive webapp will be the same as above. but locating and moving on a Mac is a bit different.

Note: Google Chrome, Firefox or any other browser than Safari is recommended. We have seen some issues with safari on the OneDrive site which does not happen with other browsers.

 

 

Once you download the fie open a new finder window and go to downloads ( or where the location you selected).

 

 

Select and copy the file by clicking on the three dots in the circle in the top menu and selecting copy.

 

 

 

While still in finder. Select the external drive from the left menu.

 

In the top menu click on the same three dots in the circle ( where the copy button was) and select paste.

 

Once the file is copied double click on it to unzip.it will unzip in the same location.

 

Summary

OneDrive is included with Microsoft 365 as part of it’s suite of cloud services, and is a very useful tool for small business with a variety of ways to access and share business data as well as allowing a business owner to implement security measures to protect company data. OneDrive is used by firms large and small including the financial and health industries. Because of its widespread use and continuous improvement, We have adopted OneDrive as a integral part of our strategy in helping small business learn how to use various tools and technologies to provide a better employee and customer experience as well as streamlining processes to save time and money. While OneDrive is a secure and stable place to store files it is a good policy to have a regular local backups or a third party cloud backup in the event data is unavailable from Microsoft. If these options are not possible a manual transfer from time to time to a local device using the methods described above can provide some level.