How to get all your OneDrive files on your PC, and keep OneDrive

Way 1: make the files local, then copy them

In File Explorer, right-click the OneDrive folder and choose "Always keep on this device". When every icon is a green circle, copy the folders to a destination outside OneDrive. Compare the number of files and the total size of source and copy before you trust it.

Way 2: download from the website

At onedrive.com you can select files or folders and choose Download: folders arrive as ZIP archives. It works for a few folders. For a whole account it means large archives to extract and check by hand, and nothing tells you if a file is missing.

Way 3: let Salvako do it and check every file

Salvako reads where your files really are, tells you how many are online-only and how much space you need, then copies every file to the destination you choose and compares each copy with the original. If the PC switches off, it resumes. At the end you get a receipt: what was copied, where, and what was not.

How much space you need

As much as your OneDrive holds: the free plan is up to 5 GB, a Microsoft 365 account can hold much more. Check free space on the destination disk first. If the internal disk is small, copy to an external one.

Way 1 needs room twice: "Always keep on this device" stores everything on drive C: first, before you copy it anywhere. A 1 TB OneDrive does not fit on a 256 GB laptop drive. Then go one folder at a time: keep it on the device, copy it, check it, choose "Free up space" on it, and move to the next. Salvako avoids the problem: it asks OneDrive for a few files at a time (at most 256 MB on the way), copies and checks them, then sets them online-only again. The ways to keep a copy on another disk are in back up OneDrive to an external drive.

Where to put the files

Anywhere outside the OneDrive folder: a new folder on drive C:, a second internal disk, or an external disk. Avoid putting the copy inside the OneDrive folder, it would just be synced back to the cloud. To keep that copy up to date without thinking about it, see how Salvako does it below.

External disks: check the format

A USB stick or disk formatted as FAT32 cannot hold a single file larger than 4 GB, so long videos fail to copy. Use a disk formatted as NTFS or exFAT. You see the format in File Explorer, right-click the disk, Properties.

How to compare the copy with the original

Select the source folder, right-click, Properties: Windows shows the number of files and folders and the total size. Do the same on the copy. If the numbers differ, something is missing. This is the check Salvako does file by file, with the fingerprint of each file.

Photos and videos from your phone

If the OneDrive app on your phone uploads the camera, the photos are in Pictures, Camera Roll, and they are often online-only on the PC. They are usually the largest part of the account, so check them first and make sure the destination has room.

How Salvako does it for you

Salvako does these steps in the right order and shows you the numbers. The free Check reads, without changing anything, where every file really is, how many are online-only and how much space you need. The verified copy brings every file to the destination you choose and compares each copy with the original, by size and SHA-256 fingerprint. If the PC switches off, it resumes where it stopped.

Then the guardian keeps watch: it updates the copy and warns you when files become online-only again or the storage gets close to the limit. You keep using OneDrive as before, and your files never leave your PC.