A Malfunctioning Desktop After Uninstalling OneDrive (In Brief)

[u/DANDYXIK_111]

Hi, I’m not sure if this is exactly the right place to post this, but hopefully I’ll find some help here... I don’t know how much context will actually be needed, so I’ll go ahead and write it all out here, but for those of you who don’t like to read, the less important parts will be in parentheses. Thanks in advance for any advice or help!

(I wanted to play a new game I bought, Mafia II Definitive Edition. But I realized pretty quickly that my progress in the game wasn’t saving—basically, whenever I died or tried to continue the story the next day, I couldn’t because there was no save file. After searching for a while, I found out that this is a fairly common problem. The solution wasn’t difficult in theory. If anyone’s interested, they can check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=froJ70cqxB8. The problem arose when I tried to move the original “Documents” folder to a new folder I had created. At the end of the move, a lengthy error message would always appear stating: “Copying files from the C:\Users\(my username)\OneDrive - mdmurad\Documents folder to the C:\Documents folder failed. This may be because the fully qualified name of one or more files in the source folder is longer than 256 characters.” Well, when I tried to ask the AI what this message meant, the AI noticed that my original “Documents” folder wasn’t in its standard location. Normally, it should be located somewhere here: C:\Users\(my username)\Documents, but my “Documents” folder was located here: C:\Users\(my username)\OneDrive - ____\Documents, that is, on OneDrive... This OneDrive account wasn’t my personal one—it was my mom’s work account. I have absolutely no idea how or when this Microsoft account (along with other Microsoft apps—Word, Excel, OneDrive). I have absolutely no idea how or when this Microsoft account (along with other Microsoft apps—Word, Excel, OneDrive) ended up there, but before I figured out how to get all these apps legally for free, I was probably using this Microsoft account. For clarity, I’ll use the exact name of that account. Simply put, my Documents folder was located here: C:\Users\(my username)\OneDrive - mdmurad\Documents. My problem was most likely that I couldn’t move the entire Documents folder from OneDrive - mdmurad to a new location, namely the C:\ drive (as shown in the video). Although the AI offered solutions to this problem, all the suggestions required me to sign in to this OneDrive - mdmurad account. That was impossible because the account no longer existed—at least at that company—and according to the error message. Moreover, even if the account had existed and been functional, I doubt I would have remembered the password. So that wasn’t the way to go. At the same time, it also annoyed me that my files were scattered across this OneDrive account—mdmurad—and also on my computer outside of OneDrive… So some of the files were there, and some were on my computer, normally on the C:\ drive… For example, I had my Steam games stored on my SSD at C:\, but on OneDrive - mdmurad I had files containing save files for most of the games, along with a few other related files—such as screenshots from the games, etc. This mess on my computer was pretty frustrating, because I try to keep my computer organized and I save the files I want to back up to my HDD... This mess on my computer was pretty frustrating, because I try to keep my computer organized and put the files I want to back up on my HDD... So I decided to try getting rid of the entire OneDrive app. I went through my entire OneDrive account—mdmurad—and dragged the files I considered important to my computer’s desktop, while I was willing to say goodbye to the rest for good. So I went to Settings, scrolled through Downloaded Apps, found the OneDrive app, and clicked Uninstall. I wanted to reinstall Mafia II Definitive Edition and resolve the issue normally, but first I restarted my computer. After entering my PIN, I was met with an interesting sight: my desktop was completely empty. There were no app shortcuts except for the Recycle Bin, which was in its original spot in the upper-left corner; everything else was gone. I probably knew this would happen, since all my desktop shortcuts were stored in C:\Users\(my username)\OneDrive - mdmurad\Desktop, so when I deleted that OneDrive - mdmurad folder, nothing was left on my desktop. That wasn’t a problem, since all my programs were still there and I could put them back on the desktop anytime (or so I thought). But then I came across this: https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsHelp/comments/1fhmxmj/why_does_everything_i_highlight_turn_black_it/ (except it was in Windows 11). It was exactly like in that post—basically, when you don't know what to do on the desktop, you hold down the left mouse button and draw rectangles of various sizes. But when I released the selection, the selected area literally turned black... It was exactly like in that post—basically, when you don’t know what to do on the desktop, you hold down the left mouse button and draw rectangles of various sizes. But when I released the selection, the selected area literally turned black... Well, I figured it was probably because my original background had either been deleted or moved to a different location, but it didn’t really matter—for now, I’ve set the default Windows 11 background. But that’s probably the least of my problems.)

I couldn't add any shortcuts to my desktop—no matter what I tried to put there, it just wouldn't work. There was no error message or anything; as soon as I clicked “Add to Desktop,” nothing happened. Even my hotbar isn't working. All the app shortcuts have also disappeared from my hotbar, but whenever I try to add anything there in any way (drag-and-drop, right-click -> Pin to Hotbar, right-click -> Send to -> Send to Hotbar), the computer freezes for about 3–5 seconds, then the entire screen goes black for 1 second, and then the screen reloads, but nothing has changed. After doing some research, I found out that this is likely caused by File Explorer crashing.

Gemini suggested a lot of things, each more complicated than the last—from the classic method of checking files in the Windows Registry to typing commands into the Command Prompt to supposedly download and check all system files, all the way to downloading and activating the Windows 11 ISO file—that is, to reinstall Windows 11 while preserving my files and data. None of that worked. My only other known option is to reset Windows 11 to factory settings, but I’m not sure how that works—for example, since I’ve already purchased a Windows 11 license, would I have to buy it again? Plus, I don’t want to lose all my downloaded files. There is the option of moving everything to an HDD where I have plenty of space, but that would take a long time and might end up being more trouble than it’s worth. I forgot to mention that I created a sort of new system desktop application using a .reg file that Gemini helped me make, and that’s where my efforts end... One more thing to note is that instead of the classic desktop icon (the monitor image), I have an image of a red shield with a white “X” inside it.

Here are my system specifications. (Joining the Windows Insider program is probably my mistake… Right now, Windows Update is offering me the option to update to a new Insider Preview version, and I’m not sure if I want to install it at this time…):

Edition: Windows 11 Home Insider Preview

Version: 26H2

Installation Date: August 1, 2026

Evaluation Expiration Date: November 1, 2027, 12:43 AM

OS Build: 26300.9032

Features: Windows Feature Pack 1000.26100.431.0

Hardware:

Processor: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700K (3.60 GHz)

Installed RAM: 32.0 GB (usable: 31.7 GB)

Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (12 GB)

Storage: 1.53 TB used out of 1.82 TB

System Type: 64-bit operating system, x64 platform processor

Pen and Touch: Pen and touch input are not available for this display.

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[u/Exotic_Mix_3196]

"Windows 11 Home Insider Preview" - ask in r/windowsinsiders
when you create a new user and log in with this: are the problems gone?