SkyDrive desktop app for Windows: Frequently asked questions

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the SkyDrive desktop app for Windows. Get the free app

Note

The SkyDrive app isn’t supported on Windows XP. If you try to install it on a computer running Windows XP, you'll get the message "SkyDriveSetup.exe is not a valid Win32 application." View the system requirements

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What does the SkyDrive folder do?

When you install the SkyDrive desktop app for Windows, a copy of your SkyDrive is downloaded to your PC and put in the SkyDrive folder. This folder is kept in sync with SkyDrive. If you add, change, or delete a file or folder on SkyDrive.com, the file or folder is added, changed, or deleted in your SkyDrive folder and vice versa.

To upload files to SkyDrive automatically, just copy or move the files to your SkyDrive folder using File Explorer, or save them in your SkyDrive folder from a program. Files you upload this way can be up to 2 GB in size. If you installed the SkyDrive app on other computers, the files will automatically be added to the SkyDrive folders on them, too.

You can also use File Explorer to rename and delete files, create new folders, and move files around in your SkyDrive folder. The changes will automatically be made on SkyDrive and your other computers that have the SkyDrive app installed.

Tip

To rotate photos on SkyDrive, open the photos in your SkyDrive folder and rotate them in a simple photo viewer such as Windows Photo Viewer. When you close the files, your changes will be saved and the photos will be automatically updated on SkyDrive.
If you use a lot of storage space on SkyDrive, it might take a long time to download all your files when you first install the SkyDrive app. For tips on maximizing the transfer speed, see Storage plans: Common subscription and billing questions.

How can I add and remove PCs from SkyDrive?

When you install the SkyDrive desktop app for Windows on a PC, that PC appears on SkyDrive, in the left pane under PCs. This is how you can access the PC's files and folders that aren’t saved in your SkyDrive folder. When you browse a PC remotely, you might be asked to enter a verification code. For more info about using the Fetch files feature to access files remotely, see Fetch files on your PC.

To remove a PC from SkyDrive, select the PC and then click Disconnect PC from SkyDrive .

Do I have to install the SkyDrive app on all my computers (PC and Mac)?

No. If you don't want to keep all the files in your SkyDrive on a computer, you can still work with your SkyDrive on that computer by going to SkyDrive.com. You can't fetch a PC's files unless you install SkyDrive on that PC.

What's the difference between SkyDrive and SkyDrive Pro?

SkyDrive is free personal cloud storage that you can choose to use at home, work, or school. Your files are available from any device by going to SkyDrive.com or using the SkyDrive mobile app for your phone. SkyDrive Pro is for organizations to provide cloud storage to their members. It’s a feature in SharePoint 2013 and is available with Office 365 Small Business and Office 365 Enterprise.

I get the error message "SkyDrive can't be run using full administrator rights. Please restart SkyDrive without administrator rights." What should I do?

If you're using an Administrator user account on a PC running Windows Vista, make sure User Account Control (UAC) is turned on. Or use SkyDrive with a Standard user account.

Can I choose other folders besides the SkyDrive folder to sync too?

You can't choose other folders to sync, but you can redirect certain folders such as your Desktop and folders in libraries to your SkyDrive folder. You can also add subfolders from your SkyDrive folder to libraries to make them easier to work with in File Explorer. For example, if you have a folder of vacation photos on SkyDrive, you can include it in the Pictures library in Windows 7 or Windows 8. To learn how to do this, see Include folders in a library.

To redirect a folder to your SkyDrive folder

Close SkyDrive by right-clicking the SkyDrive icon () in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar, and then clicking Exit.
Create a subfolder for the redirected files in your SkyDrive folder. For example, to redirect the My Pictures folder, you might create a folder on SkyDrive called "Pictures."
Right-click the folder you want to redirect ("My Pictures" in this example), and then click Properties.
Click the Location tab, and then click Move.
Browse to the location where you want to redirect this folder (for example, %userprofile%\SkyDrive\Pictures).
Click Select Folder, and then click OK.
In the dialog box that appears, click Yes to move all the files to the new location.
Restart the SkyDrive service.

In Windows 8:
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)
Enter SkyDrive , and then tap or click Apps. In the search results, tap or click the SkyDrive icon that has a folder.

In Windows 7 or Windows Vista:
Click the Start button , enter SkyDrive in the search box, and then click Microsoft SkyDrive .

Can I change the name or location of my SkyDrive folder after it's created?

No. If you use File Explorer to rename or move your SkyDrive folder, SkyDrive will stop working.

Can I choose folders on my SkyDrive that I don't want to sync on my PC?

Yes. When you first set up SkyDrive, click Choose folders to sync. If you didn't do this when you set up SkyDrive, you can do it in Settings:

Right-click the SkyDrive icon () in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar. (You might need to click Show hidden icons to see all your icons.)
Click Settings, click the Choose folders tab, and then click Choose folders.

For each folder, you can choose to sync everything in the folder, individual folders within the folder, and files that aren't in any subfolders within the folder. If you choose to sync only some items, new items you add to the SkyDrive folder on your PC will sync to SkyDrive.com, but items you add to SkyDrive.com won't be synced to your PC unless they're in the folders you chose to sync. If you choose to stop syncing folders on a PC, they'll be deleted from the SkyDrive folder on that PC, but they'll remain on SkyDrive.com.

Note

You can't choose individual files you want to sync, and you can't choose to sync files or folders shared with you.

Can I change the account I use with SkyDrive?

You can change the account you use with SkyDrive, but you can't use the folder with multiple accounts at the same time.

To change the account you use with SkyDrive

Right-click the SkyDrive icon () in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar, and then click Settings.
On the Settings tab, click Unlink SkyDrive .
Restart SkyDrive and sign in with the account you want to use. You'll need to select the location for your SkyDrive folder again. If you select the same location, the folders for both accounts will be merged. If the PC had the Fetch files feature turned on, you'll need to turn it on again.

Note

If you sign in to Windows 8 with a Microsoft account, you can't change the account you use with SkyDrive.

Can I recover files or folders I deleted?

Go to the computer that you used to delete the files or folders, and check the Recycle Bin, or check the recycle bin on SkyDrive.com by clicking the link to it in the lower left corner.

Something in my SkyDrive folder isn't syncing with SkyDrive. How can I view more info about the problem?

Right-click the SkyDrive icon () in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar, and then click View sync problems.

Note

If you choose to sync only some folders on your PC, and then add files to SkyDrive.com in locations outside of these folders, the files you add won't sync on your PC.

How do I uninstall the SkyDrive app?

If you uninstall the SkyDrive desktop app from your PC, your SkyDrive folder will stop syncing. The SkyDrive folder and your files on SkyDrive.com won't be deleted.

In Windows 8, follow these steps:

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)
Enter SkyDrive , and then tap or click Apps.
In the search results, swipe down on the SkyDrive icon that has a folder, and then tap Uninstall. (If you're using a mouse, right-click the SkyDrive icon that has a folder, and then click Uninstall.)

In Windows 7 or Windows Vista, follow these steps:

Click the Start button . In the search box, type Programs, and then, in the list of results, click Programs and Features.
Click Microsoft SkyDrive , and then click Uninstall. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.