Moving Windows “My Documents” to OneDrive

With the drive to the cloud Microsoft has done away with their Migration wizard that you used to be able to use when you got a new PC.  So the question becomes “Well how do I move my documents and settings?” and the answer is pretty easy, OneDrive.  With OneDrive you have access to all of your documents from the cloud wherever you are.   This article will walk you through how to move your My Documents folder to OneDrive.

Step One.  Create a folder for “My Documents” in OneDrive

The first step will be pretty obvious, assuming you have OneDrive installed (which if you don’t go install it right now).  You’ll access your OneDrive folder:

image

and Right Click on “OneDrive” to create a new folder.  What would you name the folder? Well “My Documents” comes to mind first but maybe you have multiple PC’s you want to access the folder from so perhaps “Office My Documents” for the office PC and “Laptop My Documents” for your laptop, etc. 

Step Two.  Update “My Documents” on your Windows PC

On your windows PC open up file manager and go to the folder:  C:Users  then double click on the user you’re looking to modify to bring up the folders for that user:

image

Now you’ll see the folder “Documents”  Right click on that folder and click on Properties then click on the location tab and update the location tab to the location of the folder you just created in OneDrive.

image

The system will ask you if you want it to copy all files to that folder and you should say yes.  That’s it. All of your documents will be copied over and now when you click on Documents or save a file in your Documents Library it will automatically save it in the folder that will be synced to OneDrive.

author avatar
Jess
With a background in web development and web server administration dating back to 1994, Jess Coburn founded Applied Innovations in 1999. As CEO, he led the company to become a recognized leader in Windows Hosting, specializing in ASP.NET, E-Commerce, and advanced web application hosting. Under Jess's leadership, Applied Innovations became known for making cutting-edge technology accessible and affordable for businesses. Building on this success, Jess expanded his vision by founding QIT Solutions, a managed cloud, IT, and cybersecurity company, where he continues to leverage his extensive industry experience to deliver innovative and secure IT solutions to businesses.

Leave a Comment

Scroll to Top