OneDrive: Cloud vs Computer

In this lesson

• What the cloud icon means
• What the green tick means
• The safest way to free up space without deleting your files
• What to keep on your laptop, and what not to move into OneDrive

Why I made this lesson

I had exactly this problem. My laptop was almost completely full, with only about 300 MB of free space left. A lot of my OneDrive files showed green ticks, which meant they were in OneDrive but were also still stored on my computer.

After using OneDrive’s Free up space option, I ended up with about 71.8 GB free, without deleting those files from OneDrive.

The ideas behind this lesson

Why this happens

A common misunderstanding is that putting files into OneDrive automatically clears space on the laptop. That is not always true. Many OneDrive files are still downloaded on your computer, so the file is in the cloud but there is still a local copy sitting on your C drive.

That local copy can use a lot of space, especially with videos, PowerPoints, PDFs, photos or recordings. The solution is not to randomly delete files. It is to understand which files are online-only and which are still stored locally.

OneDrive in plain English

Think of OneDrive as online storage connected to File Explorer. A file can be only on your laptop, in OneDrive online, or in both places at the same time. When it is both online and downloaded to your laptop, it still takes up space.

When you choose Free up space, you are asking Windows to remove the downloaded copy from this laptop while keeping the file in OneDrive. The file still appears in File Explorer. When you need it again, Windows downloads it from OneDrive, so you normally need an internet connection to open an online-only file.

The icons you need to know

The safe order

1. Check that the file or folder is inside OneDrive.
2. Wait until OneDrive has finished syncing. If you see sync arrows, wait. If you see an error mark, pause and fix that first.
3. Use Free up space.

The order matters because you do not want to remove anything from the laptop until you are confident OneDrive has the file online.

How to free up space safely

1. Open File Explorer and select OneDrive on the left-hand side.
2. Choose one older folder you do not need on your computer every day, such as old recordings, completed PowerPoints, old PDFs, screenshots or archive folders.
3. Check the status icon and make sure OneDrive has finished syncing.
4. Right-click the folder and choose Free up space. Depending on your version of Windows, the option may sit directly in the right-click menu or under OneDrive.
5. Give OneDrive a little time to work. The green ticks should gradually change to cloud icons.
6. Check your computer storage again to see how much space has been freed.

What should stay on your laptop?

You do not have to make everything online-only. Keep active work local if you use it every day: current projects, files you are editing this week, and anything you need when you do not have internet access.

Old videos, Zoom recordings, completed resources, old screenshots, Canva exports, PDFs and archive folders are good candidates for online-only storage. If you later open an online-only file, OneDrive downloads it again.

What not to move

OneDrive is for your files. It is not for Windows system folders. Do not move the Windows folder, Program Files, AppData, installed applications, or anything you do not understand.

Be careful with active coding project folders too. They can contain thousands of small files and can behave badly inside cloud sync. If you are unsure, stay with your own documents, videos, pictures, PDFs and PowerPoints.

Your practice task

1. Find one older OneDrive folder that currently has green ticks.
2. Make sure OneDrive has finished syncing and there are no error marks.
3. Right-click the folder and choose Free up space.
4. Wait for the cloud icon to appear.
5. Check your C drive free space again and compare the before and after numbers.