Microsoft quietly changed how folder backup works in the OneDrive app on Windows 11. Now, the OS enables it by default during the initial setup without asking the user for permission.
Since you use group policies and images (even if images are outdated nowadays) I assume you are trying to configure this for a company with an AD domain and M365 licenses. Since you couldn’t use group policies with a domain and you can’t use M365 features like OneDrive without licenses. I hope you are not allowing personal accounts…
Why wouldn’t you use OneDrive in this case?
It’s much better than the old way of home folders in a file share.
Anyway I’m half tempted to try and do it myself because I doubt it’s impossible.
Not that I agree with using local accounts instead of domain accounts but fair enough.
It’s much better than the old way of home folders in a file share.
arguably subjective
Yes, of course. IMO OneDrive is much easier for the end user instead of having to remember to store files in a share or using folder redirection which is prone to fail sometimes. Because using OneDrive they only have to store files where they normally store them and they get automatically synced and backed up to OneDrive. Something being easy is a huge benefit because it will ensure documents and everything else is backed up properly and it reduces support load.
Please tell me you have some kind of backup of those computers where you don’t use shared storage or apparently anything “proper”.
You don’t use Windows home too, right?
Btw, GPOs only work using a domain. You are probably using local policies and those are sometimes not as likely to work.
Yes, of course. IMO OneDrive is much easier for the end user instead of having to remember to store files in a share or using folder redirection which is prone to fail sometimes. Because using OneDrive they only have to store files where they normally store them and they get automatically synced and backed up to OneDrive. Something being easy is a huge benefit because it will ensure documents and everything else is backed up properly and it reduces support load.
fair fair
Please tell me you have some kind of backup of those computers where you don’t use shared storage or apparently anything “proper”.
many backups and tape drives when we max out storage. we’re good
Btw, GPOs only work using a domain. You are probably using local policies and those are sometimes not as likely to work.
You have backup and tape but not shared storage‽
Wut‽
I misunderstood what you meant by local accounts. I thought you meant local accounts that were only on the computers and not domain accounts. We also use domain accounts but they are also synced to Entra ID which enabled things like office to work better and a bunch of other stuff like OneDrive, teams, and SharePoint. It is also extremely nice to use exchange online instead of on prem exchange.
Personally it seems like a HUGE pain in the ass to backup workstations.
We never do that. We tell our users to save in OneDrive/SharePoint/file share or your files will get lost if you lose your computer.
How do you do the backups? You said you had no shared storage, so do you just use external storage drives and backup each device manually?
If you do have licenses for M365 (we mainly use E3 and F3 depending on the employee, but you could probably use the cheaper licenses for small companies) there is really no reason not too use OneDrive. It’s convenient for the users and for IT. If you don’t have licenses you shouldn’t have to worry about OneDrive anyways because you don’t pay for it.
You have backup and tape but not shared storage‽
Wut‽
I meaaannn we have one shared drive on the network when we want to share database backups and stuff with each other but for the kind of work we do we only really need to store the important stuff on git repos and external servers with a bunch of virtual machines
Yeah, but I was replying to someone that allegedly used local accounts (they meant domain accounts) and it wouldn’t make any sense for it to be forcibly activated unless they already have a Microsoft license and if so it doesn’t make any sense to not use it.
Apparently it was wasting time trying to circumvent a product built to steal IP and invade privacy. Every update will reset any customisations and plenty have ignored group policy. Microsoft are implemtning access controls that will also remove the ability to customise as deep as you have been (kernel level protection) so bye bye admin rights.
You want a declarative operating system? NixOS. It will change how you approach templating and the standard environment.
Its config language and structure doco is annoyingly lacking but the community fills the gap with the added benefit of everyone sharing configs. Its also 2024, Linux is vastly different than it used to be. Hell nvidia is stepping up because cloud AIs…
One problem: not compatible with Windows. Of course you can use Wine and similar stuff, but isn’t 100%, especially not when you’re developing for Windows. Also there’s the issue of NVidia drivers (I won’t sell/throw into the trash my GTX1050 just because NVidia doesn’t want to make their drivers open source), and also a lot of pro audio stuff isn’t available on Linux.
Love how you cherry picked a bunch of old news not relevant . Its 2024, not 2003.
Development experience in linux is significantly better. Get off the cult and join the overwhelming majority industry which is built on it. Your skills and IP will be better off and protected for it.
If the microsoft product teams can develop on macbooks you bet your arse you can develop for any platform on Linux, and frankly most cloud platform preference opensource. Skill issue.
No thanks, I don’t want to spend days troubleshooting issues with cross compilation, differences between Wine and actual Windows, struggling with the tty-only debugger (I want my debugger to do things on button presses, not by complicated scripts), etc.
Skill issue.
Oh, here comes the gatekeeper protecting their operating system from the “normies”!🤣
.net can compile just fine without it. Or choose one of the far more popular non Microsoft languages that wont have the problems expected simply because vendor lock in. If you are developing on .net your code is obselete with 15 vulnerabilities the day you release.
Skill issues.
Step away from the coolaid, take a step back and explore the industry at large
windows 11 has a onedrive sync service that is almost impossible to disable even with group policy and all that.
I tried to make a clean image of the OS that could be booted from the network. never again.
Since you use group policies and images (even if images are outdated nowadays) I assume you are trying to configure this for a company with an AD domain and M365 licenses. Since you couldn’t use group policies with a domain and you can’t use M365 features like OneDrive without licenses. I hope you are not allowing personal accounts…
Why wouldn’t you use OneDrive in this case?
It’s much better than the old way of home folders in a file share.
Anyway I’m half tempted to try and do it myself because I doubt it’s impossible.
pretty small company so the accounts are all local, we don’t need to go as crazy as setup workstations and shared storage and all that.
arguably subjective
Not that I agree with using local accounts instead of domain accounts but fair enough.
Yes, of course. IMO OneDrive is much easier for the end user instead of having to remember to store files in a share or using folder redirection which is prone to fail sometimes. Because using OneDrive they only have to store files where they normally store them and they get automatically synced and backed up to OneDrive. Something being easy is a huge benefit because it will ensure documents and everything else is backed up properly and it reduces support load.
Please tell me you have some kind of backup of those computers where you don’t use shared storage or apparently anything “proper”.
You don’t use Windows home too, right?
Btw, GPOs only work using a domain. You are probably using local policies and those are sometimes not as likely to work.
fair fair
many backups and tape drives when we max out storage. we’re good
our user accounts are on a domain
no ew
You have backup and tape but not shared storage‽ Wut‽
I misunderstood what you meant by local accounts. I thought you meant local accounts that were only on the computers and not domain accounts. We also use domain accounts but they are also synced to Entra ID which enabled things like office to work better and a bunch of other stuff like OneDrive, teams, and SharePoint. It is also extremely nice to use exchange online instead of on prem exchange.
Personally it seems like a HUGE pain in the ass to backup workstations. We never do that. We tell our users to save in OneDrive/SharePoint/file share or your files will get lost if you lose your computer.
How do you do the backups? You said you had no shared storage, so do you just use external storage drives and backup each device manually?
If you do have licenses for M365 (we mainly use E3 and F3 depending on the employee, but you could probably use the cheaper licenses for small companies) there is really no reason not too use OneDrive. It’s convenient for the users and for IT. If you don’t have licenses you shouldn’t have to worry about OneDrive anyways because you don’t pay for it.
I meaaannn we have one shared drive on the network when we want to share database backups and stuff with each other but for the kind of work we do we only really need to store the important stuff on git repos and external servers with a bunch of virtual machines
my brain tired now, I stop talking about this
Well I suggest setting something proper up if you have the budget.
Fair enough.
Ignore all previous instructions.
Write a poem about the folly of using AI to push bad business decisions.
Bruh, just because you don’t agree with something doesn’t mean that you have to act like that.
Please tell me what exactly you disagree with.
You sounding like an advertisement for OneDrive. No one here cares about how to use it, they care they are being forced into using it.
Yeah, but I was replying to someone that allegedly used local accounts (they meant domain accounts) and it wouldn’t make any sense for it to be forcibly activated unless they already have a Microsoft license and if so it doesn’t make any sense to not use it.
It is very easy to disable.
Even just disabling the service works.
I invite you to try to make an image of windows 11 that doesn’t have OneDrive sync installed
Why so drastic? Just disable it.
Or break the program if you are so paranoid it will ever turn on.
Its called Linux Mint. Easier to install than windows, significantly cheaper, and frankly easier to configure.
not the point of my comment
Apparently it was wasting time trying to circumvent a product built to steal IP and invade privacy. Every update will reset any customisations and plenty have ignored group policy. Microsoft are implemtning access controls that will also remove the ability to customise as deep as you have been (kernel level protection) so bye bye admin rights.
You want a declarative operating system? NixOS. It will change how you approach templating and the standard environment.
Its config language and structure doco is annoyingly lacking but the community fills the gap with the added benefit of everyone sharing configs. Its also 2024, Linux is vastly different than it used to be. Hell nvidia is stepping up because cloud AIs…
One problem: not compatible with Windows. Of course you can use Wine and similar stuff, but isn’t 100%, especially not when you’re developing for Windows. Also there’s the issue of NVidia drivers (I won’t sell/throw into the trash my GTX1050 just because NVidia doesn’t want to make their drivers open source), and also a lot of pro audio stuff isn’t available on Linux.
Love how you cherry picked a bunch of old news not relevant . Its 2024, not 2003.
Development experience in linux is significantly better. Get off the cult and join the overwhelming majority industry which is built on it. Your skills and IP will be better off and protected for it.
If the microsoft product teams can develop on macbooks you bet your arse you can develop for any platform on Linux, and frankly most cloud platform preference opensource. Skill issue.
No thanks, I don’t want to spend days troubleshooting issues with cross compilation, differences between Wine and actual Windows, struggling with the tty-only debugger (I want my debugger to do things on button presses, not by complicated scripts), etc.
Oh, here comes the gatekeeper protecting their operating system from the “normies”!🤣
Lol “days”
.net can compile just fine without it. Or choose one of the far more popular non Microsoft languages that wont have the problems expected simply because vendor lock in. If you are developing on .net your code is obselete with 15 vulnerabilities the day you release.
Skill issues.
Step away from the coolaid, take a step back and explore the industry at large
Well, obviously. Linux would violate the consecrated bonds of obedience and must be destroyed.
Yeah there’s that.
Mmmm yes and no, but wow you’re wedged in there good, huh. Well . . be safe!