OneDrive Constantly Preparing to Download

Recently had a business client’s OneDrive application get stuck in the “Preparing to download” phase. OneDrive was apparently working, but this perpetually confused state of OneDrive did not give me confidence that something wouldn’t eventually go odd on me.

 

 

The solution that worked for me was to simply reset the OneDrive application. This article covers how to reset OneDrive.

 

How to Reset OneDrive

Resetting Microsoft OneDrive can sometimes resolve sync issues and will reset all OneDrive settings. After the reset, OneDrive will perform a full sync. Note, resetting OneDrive disconnects all your existing connections (including personal OneDrive and OneDrive for work or school). Also, if you had chosen to sync only some folders before the reset, you will need to do that again once sync has completed.

1. Begin by resetting the Microsoft Store app by pressing the Windows key and R to open the Run dialog box, enter wsreset.exe, then select OK.
2. A Command Prompt window will open and automatically close after a few seconds.
3. The Microsoft Store window will also automatically appear after the command prompt closes. You may close the Microsoft Store window after it appears.
4. It is now recommended to restart OneDrive, but in my experience the issue will persist.
5. If OneDrive is still not correctly syncing, open the Run dialog box again.
6. Copy the command below and paste it into the run dialog window, press OK.
   • %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset
   • If you see a “Windows cannot find…” message, copy and paste this instead.
     • C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset
   • If you again see a “Windows cannot find…” message, copy and paste this instead. One of these are bound to work.
     • C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset
7. OneDrive should automatically close shortly after the above command executes successfully. If not, close it yourself.
8. Finally, restart OneDrive by going to Start, type OneDrive, and click to open the OneDrive desktop app. You should get a “We’re resetting” notification within the OneDrive app.

Note, it may take several minutes to hours for the OneDrive synchronization to complete since it is starting all over.

Conclusion

I welcome your thoughts, questions or suggestions on my article on how to reset Microsoft OneDrive so that the Preparing to download notice goes away.

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Let me know if you found any errors within my article or if I may further assist you by answering any additional questions you may have.