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Instructions: How to remove OneDrive on Windows 8.1 - here's how

August 8, 2014
Updated: April 14, 2022
Quick overview:

Onedrive screenshot

For legal reasons, Microsoft's own cloud service was changed from SkyDrive to OneDrive some time ago - although this has no technical significance. It is still a client that stores your own data on a Microsoft server on request. While this proves to be very practical in practice, it is certainly questionable from a data protection perspective. If you care about your personal data, you should remove OneDrive from Windows 8.1.

OneDrive - end synchronization with just a few mouse clicks

When installing Windows 8.1, you can select whether or not OneDrive should be installed. If the wrong entry was selected by mistake or the operating system is already pre-installed on a purchased computer, this option is no longer available. In such a case, it is necessary to deactivate Skydrive on Windows 8.1. To do this, press the "Win + R" keys and then switch to the path "Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/SkyDrive". There you can select "Activate", which actually means "Deactivate": You are activating the prevention of data storage in OneDrive. An error message will then appear when you restart the operating system, informing you of the missing synchronization option - a message that can be safely ignored.

Deactivate SkyDrive in Windows 8.1 - in the registry

There is also the option of removing SkyDrive in the Windows 8.1 registry. The difference between the above options is that the corresponding SkyDrive folders are not hidden from the Explorer. If there are still files in these folders that need to be backed up to another location, it is better to remove SkyDrive in the Windows 8.1 registry. However, it should be mentioned that changes in the registry should only be made by experienced users. After pressing "Win + R" at the same time, simply enter "regedit" and then change to the path "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTAppID{EEABD3A3-784D-4334-AAFC-BB13234F17CF}". After right-clicking on "{EEABD3A3-784D-4334-AAFC-BB13234F17CF}", the menu item "Permissions" is selected. The "Administrator" entry is then selected as the user and "Full access" is ticked in the "Allow" column. Finally, double-click on "RunAs" to change the existing character string: "Interactive user" is changed to "#Interactive user". After restarting the system, you will see that you were able to deactivate SkyDrive in Windows 8.1, but still have offline access to the corresponding folders.

Conclusion: Simply remove SkyDrive from Windows 8.1

Not everyone is comfortable with the constant synchronization of their data - but with Windows 8.1, the cloud service "OneDrive" is part of the data backup concept. If you don't trust the software company's security promises, you should remove OneDrive from your Windows 8.1. With the two variants presented here, you can decide for yourself whether you still need offline access to the folder contents or whether you want to remove Windows 8.1 OneDrive completely.

Article image above: onedrive.live.com (screenshot)

Our editorial team's articles focus on digital entertainment: tips, trends and tricks for anyone who wants to get more out of the Internet, technology and gaming - presented in an easy-to-understand way.

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