OneDrive for Windows
- Laurie Fox
- Craig Moscicki
- Susan Palmer
- Samuel Bean
Microsoft OneDrive for Business is available to all Faculty and Staff. OneDrive Auto Save will sync your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders as well as all files in the OneDrive - SUNY Geneseo folder on a Windows 10 or newer computer.
These instructions are specific to the Windows 10 operating system.
Signing Into OneDrive
If your computer is not signed into OneDrive already, you will need to sign in first.
On your main/primary computer, you will need to log in to OneDrive. Click on the OneDrive icon (Blue Cloud) in the lower right corner of your Windows taskbar and in the window that opens:
Choose Sign in
Enter your full email address at the next screen and sign in choosing the “Work or School” account option
Accept the default file location settings by selecting the Next button
Proceed with the “quick tutorial” of OneDrive tips by continuing to select the Next buttons in the following screens
Choose Later when given the option to download the mobile version onto a smartphone or device
Open the OneDrive folder when asked to do so at the end of this tutorial.
Quick Access to OneDrive
OneDrive Icon
Locate the OneDrive cloud icon on your taskbar.
Click on it.
Sign in with your university credentials if prompted.
Accessing OneDrive from a Browser
Sign in to microsoft365.com
Click the App Launcher(waffle) in the top left corner
Click on the OneDrive icon.
You can also sign in directly to onedrive.com
Accessing your Microsoft OneDrive from Anywhere
One convenient benefit of using Microsoft OneDrive is that you can get to any of your backed-up documents from any computer via the web at https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-us/signin/, log in with your Geneseo account and continue where you left off! You can even save the files back to Microsoft OneDrive to be updated when you get back to your main computer.
You can find your content on any phone or tablet using the Microsoft OneDrive app
OneDrive on Apple's App StoreHow to tell if your files are syncing:
Keeping Files on Your Computer
By default, OneDrive will upload your files to the cloud and download them to your computer when you need them. Follow these steps to make sure your files are always available on your computer.
Double-click the "This PC" icon on your desktop or do a Search for "This PC" and click on it to open it.
Under "Quick Access" on the left, right click on each of the Desktop, Documents and Pictures quick access links and select ”Always keep on this device”.
Remember to do this for each of these 3 folders: Desktop, Documents, and Pictures.
If you log into any other computers that are NOT your main/primary computer, you do NOT need to select the option to always keep on this device. This option for using OneDrive on secondary computers will still allow you to access those files as long as you have an internet connection, but will not take or fill up the hard drive space on a secondary computer.
From now on, when signing into your computer, OneDrive should automatically sign you in and the OneDrive Icon should show that it is backing up. Occasionally you may be prompted to log into OneDrive again. Make sure you do this to keep your files syncing correctly.
Each of the files or folders that are saved in OneDrive will have an icon; either a checkmark or a cloud symbol. These represent if the file has been downloaded to your computer (checkmark) or if it is available to you via the cloud (thus the cloud icon). On your main computer, almost all of your main files and folders should have a checkmark.
How to Tell if Your Files are Syncing
Look for the OneDrive icon in the system tray, which is usually in the lower right corner of the screen
If the icon has an exclamation point, there may be an issue
Customize Which Folders to Sync to Your OneDrive
OneDrive Training - Microsoft
Need more storage space?
By default all Students/Faculty/Staff are allocated 256GB of space in OneDrive. If you require additional storage, please submit a request in our service portal.