One of the best things about using OneDrive is that it is built into Windows and makes it easy to back up your important files. However, what if the files backed up to OneDrive are corrupted? Thankfully, OneDrive gives you two ways to recover corrupted files. In this guide, we’ll walk you through these methods in simple steps. Let’s get started.
Recover Corrupted OneDrive Files Using Version History
You can use the Version History feature in OneDrive, available to all users via the web interface, to recover corrupted, overwritten, or replaced files. Here’s how:
First, open the OneDrive website and log into your account. Once logged in, navigate to the folder where the corrupted file is located, right-click on it, and choose Version History.
For supported file types, such as Word, Excel, and so on, OneDrive opens a new tab with a preview of all the versions of the file. Select the version of your choice on the sidebar and click the Download link under it. This action will download the file to your computer.
If OneDrive doesn’t support a file type, it instantly displays a list of all the older versions of the selected file on the same page with timestamps. Click the More icon (three vertical dots) next to the version of your choice and select Open File. This action will download the file to your computer.
And there you have it, you’ve successfully recovered a corrupted file in OneDrive. If you have more files to recover, follow the same steps for all those files.
Use the ‘Restore Your OneDrive’ Option
Microsoft 365 subscribers (paid service) can use the Restore your OneDrive option to quickly recover corrupted files. The best thing is that this option lets you recover files in bulk. Here’s how:
First, open the OneDrive website and log into your account. After that, click on the Settings (looks like a gear/cog) on the top right corner and select Options.
Click Restore your OneDrive option on the sidebar.
OneDrive will show you an overview of all the file activities in the last 30 days. You can select a date range using the Select a date dropdown menu to filter the activity. Next, click Restore to recover all the files in that timeline.
Note: You cannot restore select files using this option. For that, you have to follow the first method.
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