Given that you are signed in to your OneDrive account, you may generally access the OneDrive files on your PC without any problem.
However, you can see the error message “make sure onedrive is running on your pc then try again” when accessing an online-only file.
While the message can seem daunting, just opening or restarting the OneDrive application generally solves the problem. However, you may sometimes require additional fixes.
So, without further delay, let’s get into the article to resolve the error message and avoid getting it in the future by tweaking several OneDrive settings.
How to Fix the “Make Sure Onedrive Is Running on Your PC Then Try Again” Error
Before you move on to the fixes below, you can try restarting the application.
For this, click the OneDrive cloud icon on the taskbar. If you don’t find it there, expand theShow hidden icon. (up arrow icon on the taskbar) and click it.
Now, click the gear icon and selectQuit OneDrive.
Also, ensure you aren’t trying to access the files while the sync is paused. You can resume it by selecting theResume syncingoption. See if it works.
Otherwise, you can go through the various fixes mentioned below in the article.
Disable Files on Demand
OneDrive has an on-demand feature that allows you to make your files only available online to save space on your local drive.
Therefore, when you try to access an online-only file when OneDrive is closed, you will get the above error message.
you may look at the icons on the OneDrive files to know their status. A file with a blue cloud icon means the files areonline-onlyand aren’t available on your device unless you open it. Also, you should be connected to the Internet to download them.
You can turn off the file on-demand feature and enable theAlways keep on this deviceoption to access them even when you are offline.
Nonetheless, here’s how you’re able to disable the Files On-Demand feature on Onedrive to avoid getting the error message.
Unlink the PC
You may get the error message if you have changed the OneDrive default location to a different location on the PC. So, unlink and relink theOneDrive account to avoid getting the error message.
However, copy its contents to another location and then continue to unlink your PC as follows.
Use the Onedrive Web Version
If you are having problems using the OneDrive desktop application, you can use the OneDrive from the web as an alternative.
For this, open a browser and log in to theOnedrive official website. Then, check if you are facing the same issue there.
Update OneDrive
An updated app comes with bug fixes and improvements; therefore, update the app to resolve your issues.
For a Windows system, OneDrive comes pre-installed, and it updates automatically.
However, if you have the OneDrive app installed on your mobile, you need to update them manually.
On iPhone
Reinstall OneDrive
As a last resort, you can reinstall the application to get rid of the error message. Here’s how you can do it for different devices.
