When you reach the storage limit, you will not be able to edit, copy, upload, or sync files in OneDrive until you reduce your storage within the limit. This article describes how to download files from OneDrive, or copy files to another OneDrive account, so that you can afterwards remove these files from OneDrive to reduce storage used.
See also this article about how to check your storage quota and tips for removing files from the OneDrive recycle bin.
Applies To
Accounts with OneDrive service
- Solution One: Download files from OneDrive for the Web to your computer
- Solution Two: Use the Microsoft OneDrive desktop application to download all files, verify, unlink, and relocate
- Solution Three: Copy business-related files shared by another user to your OneDrive storage in the same cloud before you reach your quota limit #4
Solution One: Download files from OneDrive for the Web to your computer
Downloads are subject to the following limits: 250GB file size limit; total number of files limit: 10,000; folder size limit: 10,000 files. Refer to this Microsoft support article for additional information.
- Select the My files / Shared tab on the left navigation pane.
- Select each item by clicking the circle check box that appears.
- Click the Download button from the top menu bar. Your browser will prompt you to save the download to a location you specify. If you download a folder or multiple files, the download file will be in compressed .zip format.
Solution Two: Use the Microsoft OneDrive desktop application to download all files, verify, unlink, and relocate
- Download, install and set up the OneDrive desktop app from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onedrive/download.
- Download all files to the computer. Turn off Files On‑Demand so OneDrive downloads all files automatically. Open OneDrive Settings → Sync and backup → Advanced settings → Download all files
- Verify the downloaded files before proceeding. A solid green circle with a check mark indicates items are always available offline.
- Unlink the OneDrive account from the desktop: Open OneDrive Settings → Account → Unlink this PC → Unlink account.
- Copy or move files to a familiar location or the preferred location.
Solution Three: Copy business-related files shared by another user to your OneDrive storage in the same cloud before you reach your quota limit.
This applies only to both source and destination OneDrive accounts are in the same domain (@cuhk.edu.hk / @link.cuhk.edu.hk).
- In the source OneDrive, share your business-related file/folder to the destination OneDrive (how).
- Go to the destination OneDrive and click Shared on the left navigation pane. In With you tab, you will see the file/folder shared to you. Click menu (...) next to the file/folder that you would like to make a copy and select Open location on the drop-down menu.
- The screen will be refreshed showing only the shared file/folder you've just chosen. Click menu (...) next to the file/folder that you would like to make a copy and select Copy to on the drop-down menu.
- In the Copy dialog box, click My files. Navigate to the folder that you want to have the file/folder be copied to, then click Copy here. Finally, go back to your OneDrive > My files and verify that the file/folder has successfully copied.
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