How to Sync Desktop to OneDrive Automatically (3 Ways)

Is there a way I can sync my desktop to OneDrive?

People often ask in forums and communities about how they can sync their desktop content to a cloud, like OneDrive. Because this is not a single issue, but a very common problem. Even if some cloud software has sync features, there are no easy-to-understand instructions, or users cannot find the setting options. But don't worry, in this article, we'll provide two ways to sync desktop with OneDrive and an easy-to-use software that lets you automatically sync without extra settings. Let's begin.

Why need to sync Desktop to OneDrive

Syncing your Desktop to OneDrive offers several advantages that enhance productivity, security, and accessibility. Here are some key reasons to consider:

📣 Data Protection: Most computer users put commonly used folders on the desktop, but this is also the location where they are most likely to lose their files.  To keep the desktop data safe, people would like to sync the Desktop to OneDrive or other cloud storage.
📣 Accessibility: You can easily access the data on the Desktop from other devices if you sync it to OneDrive. If you sync your work to OneDrive, you can be free from the troubles of saving your files or folder to a USB flash drive before leaving the office and taking the drive home.
📣 Easy File Recovery: Besides easy access, syncing Desktop with OneDrive can be used as a way of backup. It is one of the best ways to keep your data safe. If your data is mistakenly deleted, you can use it as a data recovery plan.
📣 Seamless Synchronization: With OneDrive, changes you make to files on your Desktop are automatically updated in the cloud. This ensures that you always have the latest version of your documents, regardless of which device you're using.
📣 Space Management: Syncing to OneDrive can help free up space on your local drive. OneDrive offers features like Files On-Demand, which allows you to view all your files without having to download them all, saving space on your device.

By taking advantage of OneDrive’s syncing capabilities, you can enhance your workflow, protect your data, and enjoy the flexibility of accessing your files from anywhere. But how? You can find the most detailed instructions in the following content.

Sync Desktop in Windows 10 with OneDrive folder

OneDrive is the most popular cloud storage on Windows PCs and allows you to sync local folders to OneDrive, edit, or share them. It comes with Windows 11/10/8 and you just need to search it and sign in with your Microsoft account. For Windows 7 users, you have to download and install it first. Here are three ways to use OneDrive to sync Desktop: 

The easiest way is to drag and drop the Desktop folder to the OneDrive folder. It is Method 1.The path of Desktop: C drive > User > your username > Desktop. However, it would be troublesome to drag and drop files every time there are new files added. 

Another way is to set OneDrive Desktop sync in the settings. You can also make pictures and documents sync together.

If you want to sync Desktop to OneDrive automatically, you can set your Desktop folder location to OneDrive, so everything saved in this folder will be synchronized with the cloud.

WMethod 1 seamlessly integrates with Windows 10, ensuring real-time backup to OneDrive, while Method 2 offers manual control over copying files, potentially leading to inconsistencies. Method 3 automates the process, simplifying workflow, but may lack control over sync settings and timing.

Method 2: Copy the Desktop folder to the OneDrive folder

Step 1. Go to the OneDrive folder and create a new folder named “Desktop”.

Step 2. Then, find the Desktop folder in the C drive and right-click it, select Properties.

Step 3. In the “Desktop Properties” windows, select the Location tab and click Move. 

Step 4. In the box that appears, double-click OneDrive, select the Desktop folder inside, and then click Select Folder when it's highlighted.

Step 5. Click Apply in the Move folder window. Then, select Yes to confirm that you want to move the Desktop folder to OneDrive.

Simple as it looks like, syncing files and folders in Windows 11/10/8/7 with OneDrive folder. Note that the free account only has 5GB of space and it will be quickly filled up since OneDrive syncs files automatically when you make any change to it. 

To alleviate this situation, you can sync files regularly, such as daily, weekly, or monthly, and you need a professional OneDrive sync tool.

Method 3: Set autosave to sync desktop to Onedrive

1. tap the OneDrive icon in the taskbar. In the pop-up window, click "More..."  and select "Settings".

2. In the settings window, find the Auto Save tab and choose "Update Folders".

3. On the next screen, check the "Desktop" option to include it in the sync.

4. Lastly, click "Start protection" to sync your desktop with OneDrive.

Automatically sync all folders to OneDrive with AOMEI Backupper

OneDrive sync tool for Desktop

AOMEI Backupper Standard is free data transfer software that comes with the Basic Sync feature.

• It not only allows you to sync files and folders to cloud drives like OneDrive but also to different locations, such as USB flash drives, NAS, external hard drives, networks, etc.

• With its “Schedule Sync” feature, you are able to automatically sync all files and folders to OneDrive. With this feature, you can spare time and effort spent in manually syncing Desktop with OneDrive.

• This software can be applied to not only Windows 10 but also Windows 11/8.1/8/7/Visa/XP. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server!

What’s more, AOMEI Backupper Standard uses the default option “Run missed sync at the next system startup” after you set up Schedule settings. In this case, you do not have to worry that the newly added files or folders cannot be synced.

How to sync Desktop to OneDrive automatically in Windows 10

► Preparation: sign in to the OneDrive account and download AOMEI Backupper, install it.

Step 1. Open AOMEI Backupper, and choose Basic Sync under the Sync tab.

More ways to sync files automatically (available on the professional version or higher): 

Real-Time Sync: It will sync files currently on the desktop and changes made later in real-time, thereby minimizing data loss in a disaster. 

Mirror Sync: It helps you to avoid any unwanted changes in a scheduled sync task. You can mirror folders to OneDrive with this feature.

 Two-Way Sync: It is to sync files and changes between the source and destination directories. 

Step 2. Click Add Folder to select the Desktop folder you want to sync.

Tip on syncing files with certain file extensions:  

If you only sync certain files, click the funnel button of the selected folder, we call it filter settings, and then in the pop-up window, you can directly type the file extension you want or don't want to include. 

The Filter Settings feature is a premium feature and is available on advanced versions.

Step 3. Then click the drop-down menu and choose Select a cloud drive. 

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Step 4. Then, in the Select Cloud window, choose OneDrive as the destination path.

Step 5. Click Schedule Sync and enable it, you can select Daily (default), Weekly, or Monthly. Then click OK.

Also, you can click Options to write a unique comment for this sync task to distinguish it from others. Enable email notification to notify you after the operation is finished.

Step 6. After all the above steps finish, click Start Sync > Add the schedule and start sync now to sync Desktop to OneDrive for the first time.

Tips:

• Don't modify the source folder name, otherwise, this software will not sync files anymore.
• For OneDrive users with a few GB of cloud storage, you could consider backing up files to AOMEI Cloud. It's a cloud drive developed by AOMEI Tech and offers you free 1TB storage 15 days after you sign up for an AOMEI account.

FAQs about syncing desktop Windows 10

1. Why isn't OneDrive syncing my Desktop?

If OneDrive is not syncing your Desktop, go to its Settings and click on the "Office" tab. Uncheck the option "Use Office to sync Office files that I open" and then click "OK" to save the changes. Restart OneDrive to see if this resolves the issue.

2. How do I know if OneDrive is syncing?

The OneDrive icon shows different statuses to indicate sync status: a green checkmark means files are "Up to date" and fully synced with OneDrive, while a circle arrow means files are "Syncing" or being uploaded/downloaded.

3. How often does OneDrive sync to the desktop?

Once you've set up file syncing, OneDrive automatically syncs your files approximately every 10 minutes when connected to the Internet.

Summary

Syncing Desktop to OneDrive is really a good way to keep your data safe. With the help of AOMEI Backupper, you can make this process much easier.

AOMEI Backupper is also a fantastic backup and restore tool. You can create a system image to OneDrive as a disaster recovery plan. The professional edition allows you to restore to dissimilar hardware, which cannot be completed with a Windows built-in tool. Why not give it a shot?