Error 0x8007016A: the cloud file provider is not running

What the error means

With Files On-Demand, many files in the OneDrive folder are online-only: a placeholder with a blue cloud icon, whose content downloads when you open it. The "cloud file provider" is OneDrive. When Windows asks it for the file and OneDrive does not answer, Windows stops with error 0x8007016A. The same happens when an app, a backup tool or a copy in File Explorer reads those files.

A close relative is error 0x800701AA, "The cloud operation was not completed before the time-out period expired": OneDrive is running but stuck, and the file does not arrive in time. In our tests, opening a stuck online-only file could wait up to an hour before that error appeared.

Fix it, step by step

1. Start OneDrive. Open the Start menu, type OneDrive and open it. The cloud icon appears in the notification area, next to the clock.
2. Resume syncing if it is paused: select the cloud icon and choose Resume syncing.
3. Sign in if OneDrive asks for your Microsoft account.
4. Open the file again. To be sure it stays available, right-click it and choose "Always keep on this device".
5. Reset OneDrive if the error persists. Press Windows and R, paste %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset and press Enter (if Windows cannot find it, use C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset), then start OneDrive again. A reset does not delete your files: OneDrive checks the folder again, which can take a while.
6. Reinstall OneDrive if it was uninstalled. Without it the placeholders on the PC cannot open. Install it from Microsoft and sign in, or download the files you need from onedrive.com.

Advice that no longer works

Many guides say to turn off Files On-Demand. In recent versions of OneDrive that switch is gone: Files On-Demand is always on. What works is choosing "Always keep on this device" on the folders you need, if the disk has room.

When it appears while deleting a folder

It often shows up when you delete an old OneDrive folder, for example after unlinking the PC. Start OneDrive first, then delete. Remember that while OneDrive is running, deleting in the OneDrive folder deletes in the cloud too, on every device. If you only want the PC clean, unlink this PC first: the files stay in the cloud.

Is my file lost?

No. Sign in to onedrive.com with the same Microsoft account: the file is there. If it is not, look in the OneDrive recycle bin, which keeps deleted files for 30 days on a personal account.

How to stop it happening

The error can only hit files that are online-only. The files you cannot do without should also be on a disk of your own, as a checked copy: then a closed or stuck OneDrive cannot keep you from them. See back up OneDrive to an external drive.

How Salvako does it for you

Salvako's free Check counts the online-only files, the ones this error can hit. The verified copy brings them to the disk you choose through OneDrive and checks each one by SHA-256 fingerprint. If OneDrive is closed or stuck, Salvako does not hang on a file for an hour: it pauses the copy, tells you why, and resumes where it stopped once OneDrive is back.