How to Restore Files from OneDrive to PC: A Complete Guide

Introduction

OneDrive is a web-based storage platform that Microsoft offers to anyone with a Microsoft account, providing 5 GB of free space. It's like a hard drive in the cloud where you can back up and share your files freely. But after backing up files to OneDrive, do you know how to restore OneDrive files to your computer?

This article will focus on that issue and provide two solutions. But first, let's establish whether OneDrive is a trustworthy backup location.

Should I back up my files to OneDrive?

Of course, data protection has become even more important in today's digital age. However, regular and external storage devices are still prone to physical damage, especially since they're portable. Thus, if you want to ensure your data's safety, OneDrive is undoubtedly a good option.

Here's what you can do with OneDrive:

• Unlimited file access
• Support for multimedia
• Protection from physical damage
• Ease of backup and synchronization
• Effortless recovery of deleted files via trash

By the way, if you're curious about the difference between backups and sync, click here:

All these utilities make OneDrive a reliable backup location. After backing up files to OneDrive, how can I restore them? Read on.

How to recover files from OneDrive?

OneDrive is a trustworthy backup tool and storage location. It enables users to easily restore their backed-up files to their PC. Users have two options to choose from, either use the OneDrive application or the OneDrive website to perform the restoration. The next section will provide a detailed guide on both methods.

You can choose which one suits your needs, and I will now show you both methods.

How to Restore Files from OneDrive to PC - 2 Ways

We've established that OneDrive is an ideal backup location, but how do you restore files from OneDrive to your PC? This section will provide a detailed guide on how to do this using both the OneDrive app and the OneDrive website. First, let's see how to restore files from OneDrive to your PC using the OneDrive app.

Method 1: How to Move Files from OneDrive to Your PC Using the OneDrive App If you want to move files from OneDrive to your PC, you can do so using the OneDrive application by following these steps: 1. First, ensure that you have the OneDrive client installed and that you're signed in to your Microsoft account on your PC. 2. Open the OneDrive app. You can find it in the taskbar or Start menu. 3. Within the OneDrive interface, locate the file or folder you want to move. Click and hold (or right-click) to select them. 4. Once you've selected the files, drag them to the location on your PC where you want them, such as the desktop, Documents folder, or any other preferred spot. 5. Release the mouse button, and the files will begin downloading and moving to the chosen location. Depending on the file size, this may take some time. 6. After the transfer is complete, the files will now be on your PC, separate from their online version in OneDrive. Note: This method works for files that are already synced with OneDrive. If certain files aren't synced yet, you may need to click the "Sync" button in the OneDrive app to get the latest versions first.

Using the OneDrive app is a straightforward way to restore OneDrive files to your PC. As long as you have the OneDrive app installed on your device, you can do this. Let's take a look at the steps involved.

Step 1: Open the OneDrive app and sign in.

Step 2: Select the files you want to restore.

Step 3: Drag the files to where you want to save them.

This way, you can restore your backup to your PC. Besides the OneDrive app, users can also restore OneDrive files to their PC via the web version of OneDrive.

Method 2: How to Restore Files from OneDrive to Your PC via the Website 1. Open a web browser and visit the official OneDrive website (https://onedrive.live.com/). 2. Sign in using your Microsoft account. 3. In the OneDrive web app, locate the file or folder you want to restore. 4. Select the file, right-click on it, and choose "Download." This will save the file to your PC's default download location. 5. If you need to restore an entire folder, click on the folder, then select "Download" from the top menu. This will create a compressed file containing the folder's contents and download it to your PC. 6. Once the download is complete, open the saved file or extract the compressed file (if you downloaded a folder) and move them to the desired location on your PC. You have now successfully restored files from OneDrive to your PC. Make sure to check the file version before proceeding to ensure you have the correct one.

If you don't have the OneDrive app on your device, don't worry – you can still restore your files to your computer through the OneDrive website.

Step 1: Log in to your OneDrive account by opening it in a web browser.

Step 2: Choose the file you want to download.

Step 3: Right-click and select "Download."

Step 4: Choose the location to save your file.

Both ways can help you download or restore files from OneDrive. But if you're looking for an ideal alternative to OneDrive to back up and restore files with simple clicks, you may be interested in Todo Backup Home.

The ideal OneDrive Backup and Restore Alternative – Todo Backup Home

As an ideal alternative to OneDrive, [Todo Backup Home](/backup-software/tb-home.html) also enables users to back up files to the cloud and restore backup files with ease. Besides, it can even [back up OneDrive to external hard drive](/backup-utility/backup-onedrive-files-to-external-hard-drive.html) for data security. Most importantly, it is more user-friendly.

Here we will see a detailed guide on how to use Todo Backup Home for restoring backups.

Step 1. Launch tools Todo Backup and click "Browse to recover".

Click “Browse” to restore

Step 2. Specify the location of your backups and select the backup file you want to restore (backup files created with Todo Backup are .pbd files).

Step 3: Choose a recovery location. You can choose to restore the data to a specific location or the original place.

Step 4. Click on "Start Recovery" to begin the process.

Users can utilize it to backup and restore files with simple click operations. Apart from backup and restore, it offers many other functionalities. Let's learn more in the next paragraph.

What else can Todo Backup Home do for you?

As a professional backup tool, Todo Backup Home has many other features.

Here is a list of its features:

• Clone SSD, hard drive, system
• Scheduled automatic backups
• 250 GB of storage space for free (30-day trial)
• Option to choose multiple storage locations
• Backup an external hard drive to another external hard drive
• Easily and securely back up files, folders, hard drives, partitions, and systems

If you're tired of handling backups, just download it and let this automatic backup software take over.

How to restore OneDrive files to your PC: Conclusion

OneDrive serves as a reliable backup location from where files can be easily restored. This article will provide a detailed explanation on how to recover files from OneDrive to your computer, along with two simple step-by-step guides.

Furthermore, the passage introduces an ideal alternative to OneDrive, called Todo Backup Home, which enables users to back up and restore files effortlessly.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Restore Files from OneDrive to PC

Here are three questions about how to recover files from OneDrive to PC. If you have the same doubt, this part might be helpful to you.

**1. How can I restore files from OneDrive to my desktop?** To restore files from OneDrive to your desktop, follow these steps: 1. First, open the OneDrive application or access the web version of OneDrive at https://onedrive.live.com and sign in with your Microsoft account. 2. Navigate to the folder containing the file(s) you want to restore. 3. Select the file(s) by clicking the checkboxes next to them; you can select multiple files. 4. Right-click on the selected files and choose "Download." This will save the files to your computer's Downloads folder. 5. Open the Downloads folder, locate the downloaded files, and move them to your desired location on the desktop. If you'd like to create a shortcut to a OneDrive folder directly on your desktop for quick access, do the following: 1. In the OneDrive app or website, right-click the folder you want to access from your desktop and choose "Create shortcut." 2. Drag the created shortcut to your desktop, or copy and paste it to the desired desktop location. Now, you can directly access and manage these OneDrive files from your desktop.

Restoring files from OneDrive to your desktop is quite straightforward. Follow these steps to achieve this: 1. Open the OneDrive application: First, ensure that you have the OneDrive client installed and you're logged in. On Windows, you can find the OneDrive icon in the taskbar; on a Mac, it will be in the Dock or the Applications folder. 2. Select the file or folder to restore: Navigate within the OneDrive interface to the location where the file you want to recover is stored. Use the search bar if necessary to locate a specific file. 3. Restore the file: Once you've found the file, right-click on it and choose "Restore" or "Restore This Version." This will place the file back in its original position in the cloud. 4. Download to the desktop: To put the restored file on your desktop, simply click on the file name and select "Download." The file will be saved to your computer's desktop. If synchronization is enabled, the file should also appear on your desktop automatically. 5. Verify the file: After downloading, check your desktop to confirm that the file has been successfully restored and is in the correct location. Please note that if the file was deleted more than 30 days ago, you might need to use OneDrive's version history feature to recover an earlier version. Right-click on the file, choose "Version history," and then follow the on-screen instructions. I hope this helps! Feel free to ask any questions if you encounter issues.

Step 1: Click to open OneDrive and select the file you need.

Step 2: Drag them to your desktop.

This will restore the file from OneDrive to your desktop.

**What should I do if OneDrive restore isn't working?**

If you're missing too many files to find them in the Recycle Bin, you can try restoring your entire OneDrive to a previous state. OneDrive lets you choose a specific point in time to restore, including suggested restore points, Yesterday, Three days ago, Two weeks ago, and a custom date and time.

Why isn't the OneDrive Recycle Bin showing up?

Possible reasons why the Recycle Bin may not be displaying include:

• You deleted the file by pressing "Shift" and "Delete."
• You deleted the file using Command Prompt.
• In Settings, you've configured files to not move to the Recycle Bin.
• You emptied the OneDrive Recycle Bin.
• The Recycle Bin is full or corrupted.