Two copies of OneDrive on Windows 10

This post will teach you how to add multiple OneDrive accounts Windows 10 computer, as well as manage them together in one platform without switching accounts.

Can I Have Multiple OneDrive Accounts on Windows 10?

One person may have multiple OneDrive accounts for different reasons. He or she may have given access of some of these OneDrive accounts to other persons. Therefore, he or she wants to sync these accounts managed by other persons to a folder of the OneDrive account owned by himself or herself only.

If that is someone like you, you may want to add multiple OneDrive accounts into Windows Explorer. But it’s a question on how to manage them through your computer. Continue to read the following parts to find out how to add multiple OneDrive accounts on PC and manage them conveniently.

How to Link Multiple OneDrive Accounts in Windows 10?

Now, we will show you how to connect two OneDrive accounts on one pc.

Way 1. Connect Multiple OneDrive Accounts through OneDrive Desktop App

Since OneDrive desktop app has been integrated in Windows 10 now, you can run it directly without installing. Step 1. Search OneDrive account through your PC, click” Open”.

Step 2. Enter in your email address and click “Sign in”.

Step 3. Enter password and click “Sign in”.

Step 4. Click “Next” button.

Note: Your OneDrive folder is placed under C:\Users\Username\OneDrive by default. If you want to change the location, you can click “Change Location”.

Step 5. Click “Open My OneDrive Folder” and your files will be listed.

Step 6. To add your second OneDrive account, please click the OneDrive icon on the task bar.

Step 7. Select “Settings” from the pop-up window.

Step 8. Click “Add on account” button and follow the above-mentioned steps to add your second account to your Windows 10 PC.

Step 9. You can access these two folders via Windows File Explorer.

Note: Following this solution, you can manage OneDrive and OneDrive for Business on same computer only, but you cannot connect two personal OneDrive accounts on same PC. When you try to add another personal OneDrive account, you will see the error message “You’re already syncing a personal OneDrive on this computer. Unlink that account to add a new one”.

So, is there any solution to helping link two personal OneDrive accounts on Windows 10 without encountering above problem? Though many users have such a need, Microsoft have no plans to support multiple personal OneDrive accounts on same computer.

Luckily, there is a new workaround for managing not only several personal OneDrive accounts but also OneDrive for Business accounts in Windows 10 without the need to unlink or link several times.

Way 2. Add Multiple OneDrive Accounts on PC with MultCloud

The workaround is to use MultCloud. MultCloud is a FREE web-based multiple cloud storage manager that allows you to link all your personal OneDrive and business OneDrive accounts altogether from one platform without switching cloud accounts.

MultCloud supports more than 30 mainstream clouds including Google Drive, G Suite, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, Dropbox, Dropbox for Business, Google Photos, Flickr, etc., at present. Also, MultCloud has three main features: “Cloud Transfer” and “Cloud Sync”, “Remote Upload”. 

• For “Cloud Transfer” feature, it can help transfer one cloud to another cloud directly without downloading and uploading. If you want to migrate Dropbox to OneDrive, you can make full use of it. 
• For “Cloud Sync”, it can help create sync relationships from one cloud to other clouds in 8 sync modes.
• For “Remote Upload”, it can upload files to any cloud drives from URL, magnet links, torrent files.

With all of your OneDrive accounts linked together, you can perform quick search to locate specific files and manage them effectively. You can refer to the following steps to add multiple OneDrive accounts on your PC.

Step 1. Create one MultCloud account. You can register it with your email address or you can log in directly with your Google or Facebook account.

Step 2. Add Clouds. Add your two OneDrive accounts to MultCloud by clicking “Add Cloud”.

Notes:

• When going to add your second OneDrive account to MultCloud, you need to log in your second account through OneDrive official website site first, then back to MultCloud to add the second account.
• MultCloud does not have any limit to the numbers of cloud to add. In brief, you are allowed to add unlimited personal OneDrive and OneDrive for Business accounts to MultCloud.

Step 3. Manage Multiple OneDrive Accounts with MultCloud. After they are added to MultCloud successfully, you can manage both clouds under “Add Cloud” in the left panel.

Compared to the common way above, you may find it’s very easy to use multiple OneDrive accounts in Windows 10 in just three steps without logging in and out. If you want to sync several OneDrive accounts, you can create a Cloud Sync task to achieve your goal.

How to Sync Multiple OneDrive Accounts with “Cloud Sync”?

Click “Cloud Sync” feature, select first OneDrive as the source, select your second OneDrive account as the destination location, click “Sync Now” and wait for the process to complete.

Notes:

• If you just want to sync some folders from your first account to the second account, when selecting the source, please select these folders only.
• You can enable “Schedule” feature, and your task will be performed as scheduled.
• You can also set an email notification to inform you if a sync task is performed. In addition to organizing multiple OneDrive accounts in Windows 10, you can use "Remote Upload" feature to directly download torrents to Dropbox with MultCloud.

Summary

Following above methods, you can easily add multiple OneDrive Accounts in Windows 10. However, the first solution is useless for adding two personal OneDrive accounts on one computer. Luckily, the second solution with MultCloud can resolve this problem perfectly.

After reading this article, you may find MultCloud is not an application but a web-based tool, so there is no need to install it on your PC and even install it on your phone. As long as you have installed browser on your device and your device has Internet connection, you can access to MultCloud from any place to do file transfer, copy or sync operations.

First launched in 2007, OneDrive is Microsoft’s internet-based storage platform used by enterprises. It comes bundled with the Office 365 subscription, yet people use it for their accounts too as it allows storing all types of files. Alongside, Microsoft OneDrive easily syncs data allowing you to access it over multiple devices.

Certainly, the benefits offered by OneDrive are abundant but lately, users have been found complaining about OneDrive duplicate folders in Windows Explorer.

If you too are struggling with the same issue, you’ve come to the right place.

Here, we will discuss the reasons for this problem and how to fix duplicate OneDrive folder in File Explorer.

Reasons for Identical OneDrive Folders in Windows Explorer

• The most common reason for this problem is upgrading from Windows 8 to Windows 10
• Another reason is the drive name. The older version of Windows OneDrive was named SkyDrive. This means when you upgrade to Windows 10 since SkyDrive and OneDrive are different names they will be treated differently and you will see 2 folders. Due to this, the issue is caused and users face problems.

Common Problems Caused Due to OneDrive Duplicate Folders

1. Since both folders are of OneDrive, the same data is synched, and this creates confusion. This means in the future if synching is paused in one folder you might lose data.
2. Both folders might have different data, this creates issues as everyone wants data to be in one place.
3. Though OneDrive duplicate folders have different data. Yet, it has been found that apps store data in the older folder than the new one.

Whatever the reason be, the problem of multiple OneDrive folders can be resolved easily. Below we discuss the most common and workable fixes for OneDrive duplicate folders.

Note: We recommend taking a backup of data stored in the OneDrive folder. This is suggested as a precautionary measure so that you don’t have to suffer any data loss. For this, we recommend using Right Backup – an alternate and multiplatform cloud backup service. Using it, you can easily sync and access data.

Before applying the following fixes, ensure you have backed up local unsynced OneDrive data.

1) Reset OneDrive

To Reset OneDrive on Windows 10, follow these steps:

1. Press Windows + R
2. Copy and paste the following command :

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

Now check if this helps to fix the annoying ‘Duplicate OneDrive Folder Icons in File Explorer’ issue or not. In case the problem persists, go ahead with another workaround.

2) Unlink and Relink OneDrive

This is how you need to reconfigure OneDrive by unlinking & re-linking your PC to OneDrive:

1. Look for the OneDrive icon in the system tray
2. Right-click on it > Settings.
3. This will open a new window navigate to > Account tab
   
   
4. Hit Unlink this PC. This will redirect you to a new window to confirm you want to Unlink your OneDrive account > select Unlink account.
5. Again run OneDrive and relink the account.

This should work, and you will not see the duplicate OneDrive account any longer. Let us know if this method helps you and share your experience in the comments below.

3) Use The Registry Editor

To resolve your concern regarding ‘Duplicate OneDrive folder icons in File Explorer’, you need to make the following alterations in the Registry Editor.

Note: Before making any changes to Windows Registry as a precautionary measure we suggest taking a backup of your Windows Registry. For this, you can try using Advanced PC Cleanup – the best invalid registry cleaner and PC optimizer.

Follow the instructions stated below to learn how does this software work:

1. Download and install Advanced PC Cleanup

2. Click the three horizontal lines > Settings > Backup & Restore > Take A Full Backup.

That’s it! You’ve successfully backed up the Registry using Advanced PC Cleanup. In case you wish to restore the entries, you can take the help of the Restore feature provided by the tool.

Now that you have the backup of the registry, you can follow the steps below to fix the duplicate OneDrive folder on Windows PC.

Read More: How To Backup, Restore And Edit Files Using The Registry Editor Windows 10?

1. In Windows search bar type Windows Registry
2. Select the search result > right-click > Run as administrator
3. Navigate to – Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
   
   
4. Find the folders that have the OneDrive name.
5. Next, delete those OneDrive data DWORDs or folders.
6. Alternatively, head to

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

1. Look for folders with OneDrive names. Copy folder names that contain the OneDrive folder.
2. Thereafter, head to –

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID

1. Find the folder name you copied.
2. Double click, here you will see a DWORD named IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree. Set its value data to 0.
3. Restart PC to apply changes.

This should definitely remove the duplicate OneDrive folder. If you are still struggling, continue reading the post to find more suitable solutions!

4) Switch accounts

This is what you need to do to switch to a local account & switch back to resolve the ‘Duplicate OneDrive Folder icons in File Explorer’ issue.

1. Press Windows + I
2. Select Accounts
3. You will now be redirected to a new window. Here click Your info present in the left pane.
4. Scroll down and select the option of Sign in with a local account instead.
   
   
5. Follow on-screen instructions and create a local account.
6. Once done, head to You info again and this time click  Sign in with a Microsoft Account instead.
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to get signed in to your Microsoft Account with your Email address and Password.
8. Restart the PC and check if the issue is fixed or not.

In case, nothing has worked so far, try hiding the extra OneDrive instance. Surely, this is not a workaround but can be considered as a hack to conceal the duplicate OneDrive folder.

Hack to Hide Second Instance of OneDrive

To hide the extra OneDrive folder, follow the steps below:

1. 1. Press Windows + R
   2. Type exe> Ok
   3. Head to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
   4. Find the folders with the OneDrive Open them one by one and check the name of the registry from the right pane. When it says OneDrive, copy or make a note of the name of the folder.
   5. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\double click HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT > double click CLSID folder
   6. Thereafter, look for the folder with the same name as the OneDrive folder ( noted in step 4).
   7. Click the folder
   8. Double click named IsPinnedtoNameSpaceTree
   9. Changes its value to 0 > Ok

This will hide the duplicate OneDrive folder. To unhide the folder, repeat the steps and this time change the value to 1.

Using these simple steps, you can easily get rid of the duplicate OneDrive folder and save yourself from the trouble of getting confused due to multiple OneDrive folders. We hope you enjoy reading this post, do share your feedback in the comments section. Follow us on social media –Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Frequently Asked Questions-

Q1. How do I get rid of duplicate OneDrive in File Explorer? 

One of the easiest ways to remove duplicate OneDrive in File Explorer is through the Resetting OneDrive application. Follow the instructions stated below to learn how it’s done:

• Press Windows + R shortcut keys.
• Copy and paste the following command:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

Now check if this helps to fix the issue or not. This may help you to easily get rid of “Duplicate OneDrive folder icons in File Explorer” problem as well!

2. How do I unlink OneDrive from File Explorer?

To unlink OneDrive follow the steps below:

1. Right-click the OneDrive icon present in the system tray > Settings > Account
2. Click Unlink this PC > confirm the action by clicking Unlink account

Restart PC and that’s it the account will be unlinked and relinked.

3. How do I stop OneDrive from duplicating files?

Windows:

1. In the Windows search bar type “credentials,” and select Credentials Manager.
2. Choose the Windows Credentials
3. Under Generic Credentials, look for any entries containing “OneDrive Cached Credentials” > delete them.
4. Restart OneDrive.

Mac:

1. Head to Utilities folder > launch Keychain Access from there.
2. Search OneDrive > remove OneDrive Cached Credential.
3. Run OneDrive.

This should help fix the problem. If this doesn’t work, uninstall and reinstall OneDrive.

4. Why is OneDrive duplicating files?

When a conflict occurs during updating data, OneDrive duplicates files. This means when OneDrive has to sync the same data at more than one place file duplication takes place.