Clearing OneDrive Space Made Easy: A Step-by-Step Guide

Clearing OneDrive space can be a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. By following a few simple steps, you can free up space on your OneDrive account and keep your files organized.

To start, you'll want to identify the files and folders taking up the most space. According to our analysis, the top 5 file types that consume the most space on OneDrive are Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, and images.

To get started, sign in to your OneDrive account and click on the "Files" tab. From there, you can sort your files by size to see which ones are taking up the most space. This will help you prioritize which files to delete or move to a different storage location.

If you're running low on storage space in OneDrive, you'll need to delete some files or buy more storage. Your files will be read-only, but you can download or delete files to get back under your storage limit.

You can view your storage usage by signing in and going to Manage your OneDrive storage to empty your Recycle bin and see what's taking up space.

If you're trying to copy and paste files but OneDrive says you don't have enough space, even though you do, you're not alone. This issue can occur even after upgrading your storage plan.

To troubleshoot this issue, you can try logging out and then in, removing and replacing files, or manually dropping smaller files. However, if you have a large amount of small files, this might not be a practical solution.

Here are the steps to view what's taking up space and what plans are available to you:

Remember, if you're stuck in this "OneDrive says not enough space but there is" problem, you can try some of the troubleshooting steps mentioned earlier to resolve the issue.

You can free up space on your device by making files online-only, which means they won't take up space on your computer. To do this, right-click a file or folder and select "Free up space" or "Always keep on this device."

If you mark a folder as "Always keep on this device", new files in that folder will download to your device as always available files. You can also mark individual files within an online-only folder as always available.

To save space on your device, you can set files and folders to be online-only, which means they won't take up space on your computer. This is especially useful for large files or files that you don't need immediate access to.

Here are the file statuses you'll see in File Explorer:

You can save space on your device by making files online only, which means they don't take up space on your computer but can still be accessed when you're online.

This feature is called OneDrive Files On-Demand, and it allows you to save space by making files online only, set files and folders to be always available locally on your device, and see important information about files like whether they're shared.

Online-only files don't take up space on your computer, but you can still open them when you're connected to the Internet. A blue cloud icon next to a OneDrive file or folder indicates that the file is only available online.

You can change an online-only file back to a locally available file by right-clicking the file and selecting "Free up space." This is a great option if you need more space on your device.

Files that you mark as "Always keep on this device" have a green circle with a white check mark next to them, and they download to your device and take up space.

You can move online-only files within your OneDrive folder for that OneDrive account. This is a convenient feature that allows you to keep your files organized.

To move a file, simply drag and drop it to the desired location within the same folder. This action won't download the file to your computer, keeping it stored in the cloud.

If you accidentally delete something, you can restore it from your OneDrive recycle bin. This is a lifesaver, especially if you've accidentally deleted an important file.

If your OneDrive is full, you can migrate it to another cloud to free up space. This can be done with the help of MultCloud, a tool that allows you to transfer files between different cloud storage services.

To migrate OneDrive to another cloud, you'll need to add both OneDrive and the destination cloud to MultCloud, then select Cloud Transfer and choose the source and destination clouds. You can also configure options such as automatic deletion of files from the source cloud after transfer and scheduling the transfer to run at regular intervals.

Here are some key options to consider when migrating OneDrive to another cloud:

Deleting files from OneDrive can be a bit tricky, but it's essential to know what happens to them. If you delete a file or move it to the trash, it's gone from all your devices and online, and you can't get it back.

You can restore deleted files and folders from your OneDrive recycle bin on the web for up to 30 days if you're signed in with a Microsoft account. This is a lifesaver if you accidentally delete something important.

If you're signed in with a work or school account, you have even more time to restore deleted files - up to 93 days. This is a huge advantage if you're working on a project and need to retrieve a deleted file.

To free up space on your OneDrive, you can empty the recycle bin. This is a simple process that you can do from the OneDrive interface.

Changing a file to online-only doesn't delete it from your OneDrive, but it will no longer take up space on your device.

You'll still be able to access the file from OneDrive mobile apps or on the website.

If your OneDrive is full, consider migrating it to another cloud with enough space to store your files. You can use MultCloud to move files between clouds with ease.

To migrate OneDrive to another cloud, apply for a MultCloud account and log in. This will give you access to the necessary tools to manage your cloud storage.

Clicking Add Cloud allows you to add OneDrive and other clouds you're using, such as Google Drive. Once added, select Cloud Transfer to move files from OneDrive to Google Drive.

You can configure transfer options to automatically delete files from OneDrive after transfer is complete, or set up email notifications and filters as needed. If you want to keep your OneDrive and Google Drive synchronized, you can set up a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule to run the transfer automatically.

Here are some key transfer options to consider:

Your PC might be running low on space, which can cause issues with OneDrive file syncing. Try freeing up space by removing temporary files, uninstalling applications, and emptying the Recycle Bin.

You can also open OneDrive settings to remove folders you no longer need on your PC. Click the Account tab and select Choose folders, then uncheck any folders you no longer want to sync locally and click OK.

If you're running out of space, consider having OneDrive remove all files from your PC and download them only when you need them. To do this, go to OneDrive settings, click the Settings tab, and enable Save space and download files as you use them in Windows 10. In Windows 11, click Sync and backup > Advanced settings > Files On-Demand.

Checking your OneDrive plan is also crucial to avoid running out of space. If your plan has expired, you might be surprised at how quickly your storage space fills up with large files.

Sometimes you'll see a OneDrive error message saying there's not enough space, but in reality, there is.

Your Outlook mailbox can be full, even if OneDrive has enough space, which can trigger the error message.

It's easy to overlook the fact that shared folders can take up a lot of space on OneDrive, making it seem like there's not enough space.

OneDrive storage quota can change due to subscription or promotion expiration, resulting in a "not enough space" error.

If you're copying large files to a OneDrive folder, you might see an error message saying there's not enough space on your computer.

Here are some reasons why OneDrive might say there's not enough space, even when there is:

Your OneDrive plan can expire and fill up your storage space quickly, especially if you've stored a large number of files before.

To check your OneDrive plan, log in to your account and look at the bottom left corner to see your storage limit.

You can also click on the text with the link (GB used of GB) to open the OneDrive manage storage page.

This page will show you what files take up the most space in OneDrive, and you can take action to free up some space.

Error Handling is crucial when trying to clear OneDrive space, especially if you're dealing with large files or folders. It's essential to understand the types of errors you might encounter.

If you're running into an error that says "OneDrive is unable to delete this file because it's in use by another process", it might be because the file is being used by a running program. This can happen even if you're not actively using the file.

To resolve this issue, try closing the program that's using the file and then try deleting the file again. If you're still having trouble, you can try restarting your computer and then deleting the file.

Another common error is the "OneDrive is unable to delete this folder because it's not empty" error. This can occur if the folder contains files or subfolders that you haven't deleted yet.

To fix this error, you'll need to delete the contents of the folder before you can delete the folder itself. You can do this by selecting the folder, clicking on the "Delete" button, and then confirming that you want to delete the contents.