OneDrive is one of the apps that comes preinstalled in Windows 11/10. It was also present in Windows 8 as an internal app. Until Windows 7, the OneDrive app was available as a separate app that you had to download so that files could sync with the cloud. With Windows 8, it became a part of the operating system. Unlike many other apps, you cannot remove OneDrive via Apps and Features in Settings or Programs and Features, in Control Panel. This post tells how to completely uninstall OneDrive from Windows 11/10 using the command-line interface (CLI).
If you just wish to disable OneDrive instead of removing it completely, you can do so using Group Policy Editor. Unfortunately, Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) is not available for Windows Home edition so you may have to use registry tweak. Read our article on how to Disable OneDrive in Windows.
Unlink OneDrive in Windows 11/10
If you don’t want to sync or wish to use another account for syncing with OneDrive, you can simply unlink OneDrive and use another Microsoft account for OneDrive.
To unlink the OneDrive app, right-click on the OneDrive icon.
From the context menu that appears, select Settings tab and then click on Unlink OneDrive. If you wish to use another account, keep the box against “Start OneDrive with Windows” checked. If you do not wish to sync anymore, uncheck the box.
Click OK to close the OneDrive properties dialog.
Restart the computer to implement the changes. If you had not unchecked the box saying Start OneDrive with Windows, you would get a sign-on dialog for OneDrive. You can enter credentials for other Microsoft account here.
Completely Uninstall OneDrive using Command Prompt
While you can remove or uninstall the Microsoft OneDrive app via Settings, you can also use the Command Prompt. But before you uninstall OneDrive, you have to stop the process. You can simply click on Exit in OneDrive context menu that comes up when you click the icon in System Tray. You can also go to the Task Manager and right-click on OneDrive Process to “Kill it”. Or you can use the Taskkill command to kill the process.
Here is how you uninstall OneDrive in Windows 11, Windows 10 or Windows 8, as well:
- Press WinKey+R to bring up the Run dialog
- Type cmd to bring up the command prompt window
- Type the following to kill the OneDrive process: TASKKILL /f /im OneDrive.exe
- To uninstall the OneDrive from Windows 10, issue the following commands
- If you are on a 32-bit system, type: %systemroot%\System32\OneDriveSetup.exe /uninstall
- If you run a 64-bit version, type: %systemroot%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe /uninstall
The above command will remove OneDrive from your computer. It will not give you any confirmation though. Note that some folders and files related to the OneDrive.exe process will remain behind after you uninstall it. No changes will happen to the files and folders present in your OneDrive folder.
But if you want to also remove the residual folders, search for OneDrive in “%UserProfile%, “%LocalAppData% and “%ProgramData% folders and delete them.
To remove the residual OneDrive registry keys, Run regedit and delete these two keys, to remove Explorer integration:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}
If at any time later you feel like installing OneDrive, just open the command prompt window as explained in steps 1 to 2 above. Then based on whether yours’ is a 32-bit or 64-bit system, type the following:
- For 32-bit systems: %systemroot%\System32\OneDriveSetup.exe
- For 64-bit systems:: %systemroot%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe
Upon completing the installation, you should restart the computer so that the OneDrive configuration screen appears.
If you wish, you can also remove the OneDrive icon from Windows Explorer. Go here if you want to uninstall the Microsoft OneDrive app.
