On Windows, OneDrive is built right into the operating system. Even if you dont turn it on, it will pop up occasionally, asking you to back up your files to the cloud. What that really means, of course, is that Microsoft wants you to move your folders to OneDrive.Im not here to knock OneDrive. I use OneDrive I think the 1TB of storage offered as part of Microsoft 365 subscriptions is a great deal. Even so, sometimes OneDrive still gets on my nerves. If you dont use it, theres a good chance you find it really annoying. (That may be why I get a lot of questions about OneDrive from readers of my Windows Intelligence newsletter.)Theres some good news, though: Microsoft has improved some of OneDrives worst pain points. In recent updates, some long-standing annoyances like glitchy remnants of OneDrive sticking around in File Explorer after you uninstall it have been addressed. But the service can still be exasperating in a variety of ways.Heres how to take control of OneDrive, whether you want to make it less of a pest or remove it entirely from your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC.Want to stay on top of whats happening with Windows? Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter. Ill send you free Windows Field Guide downloads as a special welcome bonus!OneDrive Windows fix #1: Enable local file storageBy default, OneDrive likes to download files on demand. That can be convenient after all, you might have up to 1TB of files in your OneDrive account if youre taking advantage of that Microsoft 365 storage. All of that data wouldnt even fit on many laptops.But perhaps you want to ensure all your files are on your PC, so you can quickly access them without waiting for OneDrive to download them every single time. Or maybe you just want to ensure theyre downloaded before you remove OneDrive.Whatever the case, to make all your OneDrive files always available offline, open File Explorer, right-click the OneDrive folder in the left sidebar, and select Always keep on this device. OneDrive will download everything and ensure that future files stay downloaded. This might use a lot of disk space, of course, depending on how many files you have stored in OneDrive but it can certainly be done.Youll find the Always keep on this device in File Explorers context menu on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.Chris Hoffman, IDGYou can monitor the progress of any downloads from the OneDrive system tray icon. Just click it, and youll see what OneDrive is doing.If you have a lot of files in OneDrive and you dont want them all to sync to your PC, you can first select Account in the left sidebar of that area, click Choose folders, and then choose exactly which folders you do want to sync. Any folders you uncheck will be ignored by OneDrive stored in the cloud, but not on your PC.OneDrive Windows fix #2: Turn off folder backupWindows offers to back up your important folders to OneDrive, and it can get pretty pushy about this. In fact, Windows might sometimes simply decide to use OneDrive folders for everything when you set up a new PC, without even asking.When you enable folder backup, that actually means moving your folders to OneDrive. In other words, when you enable folder backup for your Documents folder, Windows moves it from C:\Users\Name\Documents to C:\Users\Name\OneDrive\Documents. When you disable folder backup, Windows should move the Documents folder back to its original location.You can turn off backups for each individual folder, too. If you do, OneDrive wont automatically sync any other folders. It will only sync files you put directly in the OneDrive folder, giving you more control. This will also use less OneDrive storage space, as you wont have to sync every random file that ends up in your Documents folder that might be a big help if youre on the free tier of OneDrive and only have 5GB of storage.This is also a critical step to take before uninstalling OneDrive if you plan to remove it from Windows (more on that in a moment). It ensures your user data folders such as Downloads, Documents, and Pictures are all in their original locations.To turn off folder backup, open OneDrive settings from the system tray icon: Look for the cloud-shaped OneDrive icon, right-click it, and select Settings. Under Sync and backup, click the Manage backup button. You can turn off folder backup for a folder by flipping the switch to the right of the folder. If you dont want to use folder backup at all, disable it for each folder, one by one, and then click Save changes.OneDrive may bug you to enable folder backup, but you can turn it off.Chris Hoffman, IDGDisabling folder backup should move your Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music, and Videos folders back to their original locations outside of the OneDrive folder. But you might want to double-check to ensure this worked properly and all your files are where you expect them to be before you continue.OneDrive Windows fix #3: Stop automatic image syncingBy default, OneDrive also automatically pulls in photos and screenshots even if you have folder backup turned off for your Pictures folder.If youd like to stop this, ensure the Save photos and videos from devices and Save screenshots I capture to OneDrive options are turned off under Sync and backup.Theres a good chance you already store photos in Google Photos or Apple iCloud which means you may not want them in OneDrive, too.Chris Hoffman, IDGOneDrive Windows fix #4: Disable Office defaultsOffice apps such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint default to saving files to OneDrive. Its convenient if you want access to your documents across your devices, but its obnoxious if youd rather store them on your own PC or perhaps with another cloud storage service.To force Office apps to stop saving documents to OneDrive by default, open an Office app (like Word), click File on the ribbon, and click Options. Select Save in the sidebar, check Save to Computer by default, and choose the preferred folder where you want to save files.Theres no need to click away from OneDrive each time you save a file just change this setting.Chris Hoffman, IDGOne important note: The Office AutoSave feature only works when saving files to OneDrive or SharePoint. If you start defaulting to local storage, you wont have AutoSave anymore; instead, youll have to click the Save button yourself, as in older versions of Office.That said, Offices AutoRecover feature can still help. Itll automatically save backup copies of your documents so you can recover them if anything crashes. To ensure its activated, click File > Options > Save. Ensure the Save AutoRecover information option is checked and choose a frequency like five or 10 minutes.You can also quickly save a document to your computers local storage, even if you have OneDrive as the default save location. Just press the F12 key in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint to quickly open a traditional Save As dialog.OneDrive Windows fix #5: Eliminate OneDrive entirelyYou can just uninstall OneDrive if you dont use it on either Windows 10 and Windows 11. This wasnt always possible: In the early days of Windows 10, you ended up with a broken OneDrive entry in File Explorers sidebar if you uninstalled it normally and then had to edit the registry to fix it. Thats fixed; Microsoft has made the uninstaller work properly.Before you do this, be sure youve disabled folder backup with the instructions above. That way, your folders will be stored on your PC instead of in OneDrive. If you uninstall OneDrive without turning off folder backup, theyll remain in your OneDrive folder, and things can get messy.With that step out of the way, you can uninstall OneDrive as you would any other application. Just open the Settings app and find the list of installed apps or launch the Control Panel and choose Uninstall a Program. (If you ever change your mind, you can reinstall OneDrive by downloading the installer from Microsofts website.)Look for Microsoft OneDrive in the list and uninstall it. Thats it. OneDrive will vanish from File Explorer and your system tray. It wont be running in the background, starting at boot, or syncing files at all anymore.You can uninstall OneDrive in just a few quick clicks.Chris Hoffman, IDGAlso worth noting: When you uninstall OneDrive, you wont actually lose any files. Any files you have in OneDrive will remain accessible at onedrive.com and in OneDrive apps on your other devices.And any files youve locally downloaded that should be all of them, if you followed the steps above will still be stored on your PC. This process just unlinks OneDrive and your computer.Your OneDrive folder itself will remain on your PC, too, with any offline copies of your files, but it wont sync again unless you reinstall OneDrive.Want more Windows PC tips and tricks? Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter today. Ill send you three new things to try each Friday and free in-depth Windows Field Guides as a special welcome gift.