SOVLED! OneDrive Looking For Changes

About OneDrive “Looking for changes” not going away, there may have been synchronization issues and you could fix that by unlinking and relinking your account. Depending on the situation, you should also delete empty/temporary files, run the Windows Store Apps troubleshooter, reset OneDrive, uninstall and reinstall OneDrive, … Read to the end to be able to bring OneDrive back to normal and put it to good use. 

The Root Of The Problem 

In use, OneDrive could act up every now and then but if you notice OneDrive “Looking for changes” lingering, take these suspects into account. 

• Synchronization.
• Empty and temporary files.
• OneDrive. 

A List Of Approaches

 

Unlink And Relink The Account

• Step 1: Look to the bottom right, hit the up arrow (^) to open System Tray, right-click the OneDrive icon and pick Settings.
• Step 2: Go to Account tab, select Unlink this PC and choose Unlink account.
• Step 3: In Set up OneDrive, enter your email address, click Sign in, enter your password and pick Sign in. 
• Step 4: If you want to change the location of the OneDrive folder, hit Change location. Otherwise, hit Next and follow onscreen instructions to wrap up the process.
• Step 5: Restart your computer, launch OneDrive and see how things turn out.

Delete Empty And Temporary Files

• Step 1: Open the OneDrive folder on your PC, go to Search bar on the top right, type size: 0 and hit Enter.
• Step 2: If the search returns results, select Ctrl +A to highlight all files and choose Delete to move them to Recycle Bin.
• Step 3: Press Windows key, type cleanmgr and hit Enter.
• Step 4: In Disk Cleanup, check on the Temporary files checkbox then hit OK.
• Step 5: After the process finishes, restart your computer. 

Run Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter

• Step 1: Press Windows + I to open Settings, select Update & Security then choose Troubleshoot.
• Step 2: Click Additional troubleshooters and pick Windows Store App. 
• Step 3: Select Run the troubleshooter then let the process run all the way. If the troubleshooter manages to find out the cause at the end of the process, choose Apply this fix.
• Step 4: Restart your computer.
• Step 5: When the screen comes back on, launch OneDrive and determine whether the issue persists.

Reset OneDrive

• Step 1: Go to Search bar, type cmd and hit Run as administrator. 
• Step 2: In Command Prompt (Admin), type %localappdata%MicrosoftOneDriveonedrive.exe /reset and hit Enter.
• Step 3: The moment the process completes, restart your computer and give OneDrive one more go. 

Uninstall And Reinstall OneDrive

• Step 1: Go to Search bar, type Control Panel and press Enter.
• Step 2: In Control Panel, change View by to Category then hit Uninstall a program under Program.
• Step 3: Locate OneDrive, right-click it and pick Uninstall.
• Step 4: Follow on-screen instructions to initiate the uninstallation then restart your computer. 
• Step 5: Reinstall OneDrive. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I give OneDrive access to my phone storage?

• Step 1: Open Settings on your device, go to Permission Manager and hit Files & Media.
• Step 2: Select OneDrive then choose Allow access or Enable permission.

What must be done to address the error “A newer version of OneDrive is installed”?

• Step 1: Go to Search bar, type appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
• Step 2: Right-click OneDrive and select uninstall.
• Step 3: Press Windows key, type Regedit and press Enter to open Registry Editor.
• Step 4: Go to the directory: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive
• Step 5: Right-click OneDrive and pick Delete. Next, download and install the latest Windows updates and version of OneDrive. Proceed to open OneDrive, sign in and personalize your account. The error should vanish in most of the cases. 

Does switching a file to online-only erase it from OneDrive?

No, switching a file to online-only doesn’t erase it from OneDrive. You’ll still be able to access the file from the OneDrive website as well as the app but it will no longer be available on your device.

Is OneDrive the same as Google Drive?

No, OneDrive isn’t the same as Google Drive. Microsoft owns OneDrive while Google owns Google Drive. Also, the features of the two cloud storage services differ. For example, OneDrive offers 5GB of free cloud storage while Google Drive offers 15 GB of free storage. The cost of their plans also varies.