Questions
Graduating/Leaving Bowdoin:
- How do I download my OneDrive contents to my laptop?
- How do I unlink my Bowdoin OneDrive account from my laptop?
Environment
OneDrive Files On-Demand, OneDrive Folder Backup help you access all the files in your OneDrive cloud storage without having to download them all and use storage space on your computer.
Files On-Demand is always enabled unless otherwise changed. When Files On-Demand is on, you'll still see all your files as online-only files in the OneDrive app and online but they won't take up space.
Desktop & Documents Folder Backup stores your Desktop and Documents folder contents exclusively in OneDrive and no longer on your computer.
To ensure the entire download of your OneDrive folders, which includes the contents of your Desktop & Documents folders, make sure you have enough space in your storage on your Mac. If not, you will need to move files to another location or online storage to make room.
Resolution
When you leave Bowdoin, you will lose access to your OneDrive contents. To ensure that you have everything that you expect, you will need to download all of the cloud-stored contents and then unlink your Bowdoin OneDrive account from the computer. The following steps will walk you through this process.
Download all OneDrive Files
- Click on the OneDrive cloud icon located in your Menu bar across the top of the screen Click the gear-wheel in the right-hand corner, (labeled "Help & Settings" when hovered), to open the menu, then click Preferences.
- In the "Preferences" tab, under the “Files on Demand (Advanced)” section, click on Download All OneDrive Files now.
- If you do not have enough space to store the files on your Mac, you will need to move files to another location or online storage to make room.
- Wait until the OneDrive finder menu icon says "complete" or "your files are synced".
- This may take a long time depending on how many files you have stored in the OneDrive online. Verify the OneDrive app says "Your files are synced"
Unlink OneDrive Account
- Go back in the OneDrive preferences tab, click the Account tab and under your @bowdoin.edu account, click Unlink this Mac.
- Reboot your computer. When you sign back in, you will see that your Desktop and Documents folder do not have any files in them because folder backup stopped. Your Desktop and Documents folders and your files are in the OneDrive folder.
When you unlink your Bowdoin account from OneDrive (or when your Bowdoin account is deactivated after graduation), you will no longer have access to any files and folders within the OneDrive folder on your computer unless you first "Download all OneDrive files now" and verify that "your files are synced".
Move Files Out of the OneDrive Folder
- Create a folder on the Desktop called "Bowdoin Files".
- Ctrl+Click on your Desktop and select New Folder.
- Title the folder "Bowdoin Files".
- Move all the files and folders from inside the OneDrive folder into the newly created "Bowdoin Files" folder
- Use Ctrl+A to select all the files in the OneDrive folder.
- Drag the selected files to the "Bowdoin Files" folder.
We highly recommend signing up with another service such as DropBox, OneDrive for personal use, or iCloud storage to ensure that your data continues to be backed up in the future.
If you need further assistance, please contact the Bowdoin College Service Desk.