4 Fixes for OneDrive Not Showing Up in File Explorer on Windows

Quick Tips

• In most cases, closing and reopening the OneDrive app on Windows should make it appear in File Explorer.
• Review the Group Policy settings to ensure OneDrive isn’t disabled on your PC.
• If the issue persists, reset or reinstall the Microsoft OneDrive app.

Fix 1: Restart Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer is a system process that handles the graphical user interface for File Explorer. If this process is experiencing problems, File Explorer may fail to display the OneDrive folder in the navigation pane. To fix that, restart the Windows Explorer process on your PC.

Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut to open Task Manager. In the Processes tab, right-click on Windows Explorer and select Restart. After this, check if OneDrive appears in File Explorer.

Fix 2: Check Group Policy Settings

OneDrive may not appear in File Explorer if you have previously disabled it through the Group Policy Editor. In that case, you must re-enable OneDrive on your PC to fix the problem.

Note: This method only applies to PCs running the Professional, Education, or Enterprise editions of Windows, as the Group Policy Editor is only available on those versions.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box. Type gpedit.msc in the box and press Enter.

Step 2: In the Local Group Policy Editor window, navigate to Computer configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > OneDrive.

Step 3: Double-click the Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage policy in the right pane.

Step 4: Select Disabled and hit Apply, followed by OK.

Fix 3: Modify Registry Files

If OneDrive is still not showing up in the File Explorer, you can modify a few registry files to solve the problem. Here’s how:

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type registry editor in the box, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: In the Registry Editor window, paste the following path in the address bar at the top and press Enter.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

Step 3: Right-click on the Windows key, go to New, and select Key from the submenu. Name it OneDrive.

Step 4: Right-click on the newly created OneDrive key, go to New, and select DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it DisableFileSyncNGSC.

Step 5: Double-click the DisableFileSyncNGSC DWORD, enter 0 in the Value data field, and click OK.

Restart your Windows PC after this and check if OneDrive shows up in File Explorer.

Fix 4: Reset Microsoft OneDrive

Resetting Microsoft OneDrive on Windows effectively resolves all kinds of issues with it. Several users on a Microsoft Community post reported restoring the missing OneDrive folder in File Explorer with this method. You can also give it a try.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type OneDrive, and select Open file location.

Step 2: In the File Explorer window, right-click on OneDrive, and select Copy as path.

Step 3: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog. In the Open field, paste the file path of the OneDrive executable file, followed by /reset, and hit OK.

If the issue persists, consider uninstalling OneDrive from your PC and installing it again.