Troubleshoot problems keeping your SkyDrive in sync

To view any sync problems affecting your SkyDrive folder:

On a PC, right-click the SkyDrive icon () in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar, and then click View sync problems.
On a Mac, click the SkyDrive status icon in the menu bar, and then click View Issues.

Here are some solutions to common problems keeping your SkyDrive in sync.

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Your connection to SkyDrive was lost or there are temporary problems with the SkyDrive service

Try restarting SkyDrive.

To restart SkyDrive for Windows

Right-click the SkyDrive icon () in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar.
Click Exit.
Click Start, enter SkyDrive in the search box, and then click Microsoft SkyDrive. This opens your SkyDrive folder, and also starts the SkyDrive service.

To restart SkyDrive for Mac

Click the SkyDrive icon in the menu bar.
Click Quit SkyDrive.
Use Spotlight to search for SkyDrive and open it.

You don't have the correct permissions to the file or folder you tried to add

Try to open the file or folder and make sure that you have permission to save a copy of it. If you're having problems accessing a file on a network, contact your network administrator.

A file can't be uploaded because there's already a file or folder with the same name in the same location

This can happen if you're uploading files on SkyDrive.com at the same time, or if you made changes in your SkyDrive folder on another computer that are syncing at the same time. Rename the file or folder, and then try to add it again.

A file you added is too big

Zip or resize the file so that it's less than 2 GB and try again. If you added a OneNote notebook, make sure each section is less than 1 GB.

There isn't enough space in your SkyDrive for the file or folder you added

Get more storage space or move files you don't need on SkyDrive anymore out of your SkyDrive folder.

Your SkyDrive is full

Get more storage space or move files you don't need on SkyDrive anymore out of your SkyDrive folder.

A file name contains characters that aren't allowed

Change its name so that it doesn’t begin or end with a space, end with a period, or include any of these characters: / \ < > : * " ? |

These names aren't allowed for files or folders: AUX, PRN, NUL, CON, COM0, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT0, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, LPT9

A file you added was in use

If you have it open in an app, save it and close the app, and then try to add it again.

The file or folder tried to add is on a removable media device, such as a CD or a USB flash drive, that is unavailable

Make sure that the removable media device is correctly connected to the computer, and then try to add the file again.

The path to a file is too long

The entire path, including the file name, must contain fewer than 255 characters. Shorten the name of your file or the name of subfolders in SkyDrive, or select a subfolder that's closer to the top-level folder. Then follow these steps to start syncing your SkyDrive folder on the computer again:

Click Start, enter SkyDrive in the search box, and then click Microsoft SkyDrive. (On a Mac, use Spotlight to search for the SkyDrive app.)
Follow the steps to select your SkyDrive settings again, including picking the location of your SkyDrive folder and choosing whether to turn on the Fetch files feature.

Your computer is running out of space

Free up disk space, and then follow these steps to start syncing your SkyDrive folder on the computer again:

Click Start, enter SkyDrive in the search box, and then click Microsoft SkyDrive. (On a Mac, use Spotlight to search for the SkyDrive app.)
Follow the steps to select your SkyDrive settings again, including picking the location of your SkyDrive folder and choosing whether to turn on the Fetch files feature.