OneDrive - Map OneDrive in This PC in Windows 8.1

How to Map OneDrive in This PC in Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1​

   Information

SkyDrive is now called OneDrive instead.

OneDrive is Now Available Worldwide: Free Cloud Storage for Microsoft, iOS, and Android Devices | OneDrive Blog

OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service where you can view, browse, upload, and share the files you saved online to OneDrive.com. Store any file on OneDrive and it's automatically available to access or share from any device. .

In Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1, OneDrive is more deeply integrated at the system level. You need to sign in with a Microsoft account to browse your OneDrive and keep your files and settings in sync.

• If you sign in to Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 with a Microsoft account, your OneDrive folders are now displayed in the navigation pane of File Explorer for easier access and management while online or offline. In addition, the OneDrive app will still always be available on your Start screen for access since it can no longer be uninstalled. There's no need to map OneDrive in This PC when signed in with a Microsoft account unless you just wanted to.

• If you sign in to Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 with a local account, then you can only use the OneDrive app to browse your PC. To browse your OneDrive files while signed in to a local account in Windows 8.1, you'll need to go to OneDrive.com. Mapping OneDrive in This PC would give a local account another way to access OneDrive.

See also: OneDrive: FAQ - Windows Help

This tutorial will show you how map OneDrive to add it as a network location in This PC for your account in Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1.

   Note

• Files on a mapped OneDrive are available online only. You must be connected to the internet for the mapped OneDrive to be able to sign in to your online OneDrive.
• To make files on the mapped OneDrive available offline, you would need to manually copy them from the mapped OneDrive while online to another local folder on the PC.
• In Windows 8 and Windows RT, you could use the OneDrive Desktop app instead to be able have OneDrive files available online and offline.
• In Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1, the OneDrive Desktop app no longer works or does anything.

Here's How:

1. Open This PC in File Explorer, and click/tap on the Computer tab, and click/tap the Map network drive icon in the ribbon. (see screenshot below)

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2. Select a drive letter (ex: S) to be assigned to the mapped OneDrive, check the Reconnect at sign-in box, and copy and paste the address below into the Folder field. (see screenshot below)

https://d.docs.live.net/

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3. Sign in to your online OneDrive at OneDrive.com, click/tap on Files on the left side, and copy only your unique CID number after cid= in the address bar. (see screenshot below)

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4. Paste your CID number at the end of the address in the "Folder" field from step 2, and click/tap on Finish. (see screenshot below step 2)

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EXAMPLE:​

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Substitute ####CID#### in the folder address with your actual CID number from step 3.​

https://d.docs.live.net/####CID####

5. Windows will now attempt to connect to your OneDrive to map it. (see screenshot below)

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6. After a moment, you will be prompted to enter your OneDrive (Microsoft account) sign in credentials, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: If you like, check the Remember my credentials box to not have to sign in every time you open the mapped OneDrive in This PC.

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7. When Windows has finished mapping your OneDrive, you can rename it to what you like (ex: OneDrive). (see screenshot below)

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   Tip

If you ever wanted to remove the mapped OneDrive, then you could right click or press and hold on it, and click/tap on Disconnect.

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

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• How to Add or Remove OneDrive in This PC in Windows 8.1
• How to Enable or Disable OneDrive Integration in Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1
• Add or Remove "OneDrive" from Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 8.1
• Make OneDrive Files and Folders Available Offline or Online-only in Windows 8.1

 

[Coke Robot]

Question, once you do this, can you use File Explorer to manage things on OneDrive without going through the OneDrive folder?

For example, if you map it as a network drive, it'll show the contents of it in File Explorer. Can you then be able to just plop whatever folders you have/copy and paste over files into that networked drive just fine?

 

[Brink]

Hello Andy,

Yep, it'll behave just like any other network folder and sync everything between them.

 

[Coke Robot]

Very nice! I need to give this a shot because I've trying to set OneDrive up like that since the Windows 7 days! I don't want to chance screwing something up by moving the folder location and have two redundant copies of folders and files. Wow!

 

[jksanjose]

Thanks. Your detailed instructions worked perfectly. Exactly what I needed.

 

[topdogg2g]

Hi, Your skydrive mapping shows the exact same amount of total storage and available storage space as your local disk. This also happens on my Laptop. Is this normal? Shouldn't it show the amount of space you have available on skydrive not your local disk? This is causing me some issues as I cannot copy files and folders to it because it thinks my skydrive is full, when it isn't.
Thanks

 

[Brink]

Hello topdogg, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Sorry for the late reply, but I've been doing some digging on this to see why this may be so. No idea, but it appears that this is a known issue and has been happening for a long time now.

WebDav mapped drive reports incorrect drive capacity

If you update to Windows 8.1, OneDrive will be fully integrated in Windows and File Explorer to use instead.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/32995-windows-8-1-update-windows-8-a.html​

Otherwise, you could install the OneDrive desktop app in Windows 8.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/24733-onedrive-desktop-app-install-uninstall-windows.html​

 

[topdogg2g]

Thanks. I'm actually on win8.1 but Im using a local account. Logging in with my Microsoft account isnt an option because its a shared laptop. I really think this decision by Microsoft is such an awful one forcing us to use a microsoft account to get those features. Really wish I could go back to win 7 due to this.

 

[Brink]

In that case, you could also still sign in to your OneDrive online at OneDrive.com, and share files from.

 

[questorfla]

Just wondering if having OneDrive for business matters. My reply string does not contain a CID # exactly as that but does show a CTID# in a similar format. The full prefix is more like: "https://netorgxxxxx-my-SharePoint" etc..
When I first tried your layout it did seem to connect and ask me to login but when I tried to login with the same account name and password I normally use to access the account it failed and further attempts only got worse.
The usual errors have to do with telling me to first add the site to my Safe Site List (done and further attempts tell me it is already there) and set to login automatically. This I tried both for that specifically as well as anonymously etc.
I am sure it is something I am doing wrong but not sure what and would appreciate any pointers. I THINK (hard to remember now after so may failed tries) that I was able to map this on a single system in some way but since then I have had no success.

Also, I am not near the size limit, there is some kind of "total number of files and folders" limit that I have reached or exceeded. In one of the "Onedrive" displays it shows my folder (which is in Documents) is taking up 98% or so of the available allotment for Documents but.. only a small percentage of the total available space on the Drive
This file collection has approx. 50K items but only uses 12GB space. I need to be able to get the whole thing accessed as a single drive letter . If this can be done as a collection of subfolders to pass the 20k number of files limit I don't know how to do it.

The "prefix" you gave of using https://d.docs.live.net/### was unlike anything I have seen but it did seem to connect to something. Is there a reason for the "d.docs.live.net"

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Brink]

Hello Questorfla,

Since you have Windows 8.1, you should also be able to use the already included OneDrive folder in File Explorer to share/sync files between the PC and online OneDrive.

 

[mikolajek]

Is it possible to see the actual used & free space of my OneDrive folder?

What I see at the moment are in fact numbers matching my primary HDD drive on my machine , not numbers reflecting OneDrive capacity.

 

[Brink]

Hello Miko,

I'm afraid not with the mapped version. It shows the same size as the C: drive as a bug.

You could always check as needed using the usual method to see how much space you have available on OneDrive though.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/36555-onedrive-storage-space-manage-buy-more-storage.html

 

[bacord]

Great tutorial but I could use some help with a little wrinkle. I have a Surface 3.0 Pro with an external 1 TB hard drive. I would like to sync OneDrive with my external hard drive AND map a "no-sync" drive to the surface. I'm hoping that will allow me to have all the access to my files when I am not docked with my external hard drive and still retain a synced copy of the data on the external hard drive and the One Drive cloud.

I have managed to move the OneDrive folder to the external hard drive and it appears to be working fine but I don't know how to create a mapped drive for the Surface without either 1) changing the synced folder back to my Surface hard drive or 2) creating a third copy of all the data.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[joshpabst]

So it is a bug to report the available space the same as the C:/ drive or whatever drive windows is installed on. My question is, what happens when you reach that capacity? Will files continue to sync? I have several TB available on OneDrive, but my local disc is only 500 gb?

 

[Brink]

Hello Josh, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Yep, it's a bug for the available space.

As long as your drive actually has enough space, it will continue to sync despite the false size.

 

[cocoda]

I don't understand the term "map".

 

[Brink]

I don't understand the term "map".

Hello,

It means to create a shortcut to a network drive. In this case, a shortcut to your online OneDrive.

 

[engellion]

Is it possible to map a OneDrive shared folder?

The folder is shared with me. I want to be able to access this from Windows File Explorer, not have to use the web browser.

Thanks.

Win8.1 Surface Pro 3

 

[Brink]

Not sure, but this would map all of OneDrive to be able to access the same shared folder.