OneDrive stuck at “processing changes”: Troubleshooting tips

One of the issues that OneDrive tends to have, according to its users, is that it often remains stuck on “processing changes”. This can be quite a frustrating problem as it can prevent you from carrying out tasks on OneDrive. In this blog post, I will highlight four possible ways to fix this issue, which are explained in detail along with screenshots. 

Troubleshooting tips:

Ensure you have enough disk space:

If you don’t have enough disk space on your computer, then it is highly likely that you cannot sync your files to OneDrive. This may be the reason as to why OneDrive is stuck at “OneDrive processing changes”.

Restart the process:

Usually, when you restart the sync process, it fixes the “OneDrive processing changes” issue. You can simply restart the OneDrive client. This will also restart the sync process.

Check if OneDrive is connected to Windows:

OneDrive should automatically connect to your copy of Windows 10 as soon as you log into the OneDrive account. However, there may be times when this is not the case. If OneDrive is not connected to Windows, it causes the “OneDrive stuck on processing changes” issue.

Reset OneDrive:

If all the solutions above fail to fix the “OneDrive processing changes” problem, then it may be that you need to reset OneDrive.

Step by step processes to troubleshoot the issue:

Ensure you have enough disk space:

If you don’t have enough disk space on your computer, then it is highly likely that you cannot sync your files to OneDrive. Although OneDrive files are stored in the cloud, you need to store them on your hard disk when you access them through the client. This may be the reason as to why OneDrive is stuck at “OneDrive processing changes” 

Restart the process:

  1. Right click on the OneDrive client in the taskbar

At the bottom of the screen in the taskbar panel, right click on the small OneDrive icon

  1. Select ‘Close OneDrive’

When the small list appears, click one ‘Close OneDrive at the bottom

  1. Restart your computer 

Go to your start menu and restart your computer to give it a chance to process the changes. 

  1. Open up OneDrive to restart the sync process 

Then, restart OneDrive again to begin the sync process again

Check if OneDrive is connected to Windows:

  1. Press down the ‘Windows’ and ‘I’ key together

On your keyboard press the ‘Windows’ and ‘I’ keys at the same time to access the settings window

  1. When the settings open, click ‘Accounts’

When the setting page opens, click on ‘Accounts’

  1. Select ‘Email and accounts’

Then, from the panel of the left hand side, select the option for ‘Email and accounts’

  1. Click ‘Add an account’

When the page for email and accounts appears, click on ‘Add an account’

  1. Enter your login credentials to add your OneDrive account 
  1. Restart OneDrive

Make sure you restart OneDrive to ensure the changes made have a chance to be processed.

Reset OneDrive

  1. Press down the ‘Windows’ and ‘R’ key together

When you press down the ‘Windows’ and ‘R’ key together, the Run box will open up

  1. When the Run box opens, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset into the box

Copy and paste the text as shown above. 

  1. Click OK

Click on ‘OK’ located at the bottom of the window.

  1. The OneDrive icon will disappear from the taskbar and reappear after a couple of minutes 

The icon should reappear within 3-4 minutes.

  1. Restart OneDrive

Make sure you restart OneDrive to ensure the changes made have a chance to be processed.

Thanks for reading. If you have any questions about this blog post, then feel free to leave a comment and well be happy to help, or read some of our other blog posts about OneDrive:

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Siddra Afzal

Siddra Afzal has been a researcher and content writer at Business Tech Planet since 2021. Siddra formerly wrote newsletters for the NHS and was a PR and Communications Officer. She now combines her passion for photography and video editing with her knowledge of communications, writing, and research to the art of crafting the perfect tech guides for BTP. You can connect with Siddra on LinkedIn.

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