Beware when setting up a fresh copy of Windows 11

[britechguy]

Yesterday I had to do a N&P after a client had allowed remote access to her computer as part of a scam. This was a surprise since this client already uses MFA and actually takes data backups from her computer on a regular basis. I'm not used to more sophisticated users getting taken in by these scams, but it happens.

She already had a Microsoft Account and it had been used when she previously set up this machine, so I used it again. She was not, however, using OneDrive, even the free space, so when the machine got to where I could start tweaking settings I could swear that I opened OneDrive Settings and throwing all the toggles for what to sync/backup to OFF, but somehow they ended up back ON again, and as OneDrive tried to sync her items there was nowhere near to enough space to complete the process. Since all of these files were "new to OneDrive" I thought, "Oh, all files still have to be in "Available locally," because it had not been long enough for anything to go to "cloud only" in less than 24 hours. Well, I was wrong on that, too. All of those red circle with X in it icons which were littered everywhere because there wasn't sufficient space to complete sync/backup threw my concentration.

Well, when I intentionally unlinked the computer from OneDrive, all the files that had synced were in "Cloud Only" status and, thus, no longer exist on the machine. I do, of course, have a Fabs backup as well as a "by hand copy backup" so they can be restored.

The long and the short of it is that these days, if you are setting up a machine where the client is not an M365 subscriber, one of the things on your checklist if data files are to be reloaded is to UNLINK OneDrive before doing so.

 

[dannyict]

thanks for the tip

 

[timeshifter]

What a cluster-bleep. So it almost deleted your files?

 

[britechguy]

So it almost deleted your files?

Yes and no. The files do still exist, on OneDrive, but to me it's such a grand PITA to try to link the machine again, set everything to "available locally" and unlink it again I'd rather just re-Fabs and be done with it.

I was aware that OneDrive was on and would be used, but I could have sworn that I turned off all sync/backup before even beginning the restore from Fabs, so didn't give OneDrive another thought. Then, after I realized it had still been on, and seeing myriad "red X" overlays indicating there was not enough space (duh!) I jumped to the incorrect conclusion that what there had been space for would still be both in the cloud and available locally since it had not even been on the machine for 24 hours, forgetting that anything and everything is "Cloud Only" as its initial state (with streaming down on demand) when OneDrive touches it for the first time.

I could swear that I made sure nothing was syncing, but I know how often "I could swear" turns out to be false, and I fail to believe that had I actually initially turned sync/backup off for Documents, Pictures, Music, and Desktop that it would somehow have been turned on again, so I'm taking the blame.

But in the end, what it would have made far more sense to do, rather than throwing the toggles for all of those items in OneDrive to off, is to simply unlink OneDrive entirely at the outset. All you have to do is open OneDrive Settings, Account Pane, Unlink this PC neuters it entirely without removing it. And I prefer not to remove it in case the user later decides to subscribe to M365 or even buy OneDrive space.