Why has my OneDrive disappeared?

As a crucial file hosting service, you can easily sync all files to OneDrive from your PC. And the OneDrive icon is usually located on the right side of the taskbar in Windows 10/11. However, you may encounter an issue that the OneDrive icon is missing from taskbar on Windows 10/11. This problem extends to the File Explorer as well.

Your OneDrive may disappear due to various reasons, such as a poor internet connection, incorrect Microsoft account sign-in or the application not starting automatically. This guide offers detailed solutions to fix the OneDrive disappearance issue from both the taskbar and File Explorer. Please read on!

Fix OneDrive icon missing from taskbar/File Explorer on Windows 10/11

If your OneDrive icon is missing on Windows 11/10, it is a frustrating issue. We've listed 8 workable solutions that may address this problem. Read on for detailed steps, and hopefully, you'll find a resolution that is helpful to you.

Way 1. Enable your taskbar

If your OneDrive icon is not showing in the taskbar, it might be hidden or it might not be running. So follow these steps below to rediscover it:

1. Click the "^" on the right side of the taskbar. Check if the OneDrive icon is hidden there. If it is hidden there, just drag it back onto the taskbar.

2. Alternatively, you can ensure the OneDrive icon is enabled in settings by right-clicking on an empty taskbar area > choosing Taskbar settings.

3. Find the Notification area under the Taskbar tab on the right page > click Select which icons appear on the taskbar. Confirm Microsoft OneDrive is open by turning on the corresponding switch.

Way 2. Check policy settings

To address the problem of OneDrive icon missing on Windows 10/11, we recommend you try the solution by checking the policy settings:

1. Open the Run window with Windows + R, input "gpedit.msc", and press Enter.

2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components. Double-click on the OneDrive option.

3. Right-click Prevent the Usage of OneDrive for File Storage and select Edit > confirm Not Configured is selected, and click OK to check if the OneDrive icon disappears issue is resolved.

Way 3. Restart OneDrive

If you're encountering the OneDrive folder icon missing issue at hand, it's possible that a corrupt installation of the OneDrive application is the point. To address this, consider restarting or resetting the OneDrive client, as this may resolve the problem.

1. Press Windows + R to open Run, copy and paste the following text, then click OK:

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

2. Wait for approximately 2 minutes and input the following command in the Run box to check if the OneDrive icon reappears.

• %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe

Way 4. Upload Windows

Microsoft consistently updates Windows to keep pace with evolving technology and address reported bugs. Here is how do I restore my OneDrive icon by updating PC's Windows to the latest version:

1. Access the Start menu and navigate to Settings > Update & Security. Click on Check for updates to determine if there's a new version available for updating.

2. If the update fails, open a web browser and go to the Windows 10 or Windows 11 download page. Click on the Update Now button and let the download complete. Then follow the prompts to complete the update process. After updating the system, verify if the OneDrive problem is resolved.

Way 5. Launch OneDrive from its website

Resolving OneDrive desktop icon missing from taskbar issue may be as simple as signing in to the web version of OneDrive and launching it through your browser. This action can often clear any temporary errors and potentially solve the problem.

1. Launch a web browser and visit the OneDrive website. Click the Sign in button and log in with your credentials.

2. Near the bottom-left, click on Get the OneDrive Apps and open Start OneDrive. Choose Open Microsoft OneDrive and check if the issue persists.

Way 6. Modify registry

If your OneDrive is not appearing on the taskbar, it could be due to misconfigured or corrupt registry settings. To address this, making the necessary registry edits may be a solution to resolve the problem. So follow these steps to modify the registry:

1. Press the Windows + R key > enter "regedit" in the box and click OK to proceed.

2. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following folder:

• Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive

3. On the right panel, right-click the DisableFileSyncNGSC string and select Modify. Change the value data to 0, then click OK.

Way 7. Delete OneDrive entries

To resolve the OneDrive icon missing in File Explorer issue, follow these steps to remove OneDrive entries from the Registry:

1. Press the Windows + R > enter "regedit" in the box and press Enter.

2. In the Registry Editor window, go to the Edit tab and choose Find… to initiate the search.

3. In the search box, input OneDrive > select all Look at options >click Find Next to proceed > remove each OneDrive entry by right-clicking Delete.

Way 8. Reinstall OneDrive

If the problem persists after attempting to try the methods above, it suggests that to reinstall OneDrive desktop app, just follow several steps below:

1. Click Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features and search for OneDrive > click it and choose Uninstall OneDrive.

2. Then go to the OneDrive website to download the newest oneDrive application.

Best free OneDrive alternative to sync files error-free

Although OneDrive is a powerful tool that offers several advantages for users who want to share and access their files from various devices, you cannot avoid encountering some OneDrive errors like OneDrive icon missing, error code 0x8004dec5 in OneDrive, or OneDrive not running on Windows.

In such instances, if you don't want to take much time solving those unexpected errors, or you can't restore your OneDrive icon back to taskbar or File Explorer, you can try a free cloud sync tool called CBackup, which supports syncing files to OneDrive error-free.   

★It has several useful features that might be helpful for you:

It supports various cloud drives like OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive. After adding your cloud accounts, you can use its Sync or Backup feature to directly sync/backup files to OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive.

What's more, you can set scheduled OneDrive sync/backup. With this feature, you don't need to manually sync your files, it can help you automatically sync your files in a daily, weekly, or monthly mode.

It also can help you get OneDrive 100GB of free storage or more to store your files by combining multiple OneDrive accounts or merging OneDrive with Google Drive/Dropbox accounts for free.   

If you want to try CBackup, follow these steps to sync your data to OneDrive error-free:

1. Download and run CBackup on your computer. Then sign up for a CBackup account and sign in to its desktop app.

2. Click on Storage, select OneDrive, tap Authorize Now, and then sign in to your OneDrive account, granting CBackup access.

3. Navigate to Sync and choose Sync PC to Public Cloud.

♥ Note: CBackup makes OneDrive one-way sync on Windows PC, which means you make changes in the cloud that will not mirrored to your local place.

4. Choose the folders and files from Source. Then, click the > arrow to designate a OneDrive folder as the target.

Tips:

You can choose files from any location to sync to popular clouds via CBackup, like syncing an external hard drive to OneDrive.

You can click Settings > Scheduler > tick Set a Sync schedule for automated Sync to establish a regular synchronization schedule for your crucial files.   

5. Then press Start Sync to effortlessly sync all files to OneDrive bypassing errors like OneDrive icon missing and not syncing.

Bottom line

To sum up, this post has provided 8 workable solutions addressing the issue of the OneDrive icon missing from both the taskbar and File Explorer. If you're encountering this problem, consider applying these solutions to restore the OneDrive icon easily.

Besides that, you can try to use CBackup to sync files to Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive error-free. What's more, with this tool, you can transfer files from one cloud to another with ease, like syncing OneDrive to Google Drive.