I'm more upset than I've been in a while.
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I'm more upset than I've been in a while.
Windows 11 sets the default documents folder to onedrive\documents. Anything that gets saved there gets backed up to one drive. This includes various save games, all my Reaper stuff, and various other odds and ends that I like to, you know, save.
To save disc space, OneDrive also defaults to files being online-only. They're not stored on your device, they're just listed there. So despite what they call it, this is in fact not a backup at all, because it doesn't create an extra copy. It is actually just transferring your most precious, irreplacible, personal files to Microsoft in the background, and trusting that nothing will happen. You can see where this is going, but just to underline the point with a bleeding fucking dagger, I did not ask for any of this, I just clicked save like I have done for the last twenty or so years of my life using Windows.
Since I don't care about and have never intentionally used onedrive, I signed out of it. Flash forward six months, the files that I thought were on my computer (because I can go see them there in the folder) are in fact gone from my hard drive, and also Onedrive nuked them from orbit.
Years of my life, gone without a trace. Thanks so much, Microsoft. Whoever came up with all those ideas probably got massive performance bonuses, because we're in the worst timeline.
Goodnight.
@prism FFS! I am so sorry. That really sucks.
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@altlazybear @prism They are not. Mac OS has other problems, but turning this sort of thing on by default is not one of them. It doesn't even force you to use an Apple ID if I am not mistaken, so if you don't use stuff from App Store you can easily set up a computer with an offline account.
For now, at least, that is. Apple is showing an interest in catching up to Microsoft in these matters it seems.
@librarysquirrel @altlazybear @prism They don't force an Apple ID (yet) but they do force cloud activation during the recovery/install phase. If you don't have a WiFi network, USB hotspot or ethernet bridge, you're screwed if you want to set up macOS. Lack of a network connection isn't so much the problem insomuch as Apple deciding they will no longer activate your Mac. Oh, and they activate iCloud without your consent too, so there's that. They all suck.
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@wpeckham I don't have that option. Accessibility on linux is a trash fire.
@prism I understand that because of accessibility issues, Linux may not be a solid option, but I still stand by the advice: Never trust Microsoft. Although, I guess the corollary would be if you care about it, back it up. Because if you don't have multiple backups it's only a question of when you will lose it, not if. Of course that doesn't help retrieve what you've lost after it's gone, but it helps prevent you from having to face that issue in the future.
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@librarysquirrel @altlazybear @prism They don't force an Apple ID (yet) but they do force cloud activation during the recovery/install phase. If you don't have a WiFi network, USB hotspot or ethernet bridge, you're screwed if you want to set up macOS. Lack of a network connection isn't so much the problem insomuch as Apple deciding they will no longer activate your Mac. Oh, and they activate iCloud without your consent too, so there's that. They all suck.
@jackf723 @altlazybear @prism Still not the same thing as Microsoft which is what I am talking about.
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I'm more upset than I've been in a while.
Windows 11 sets the default documents folder to onedrive\documents. Anything that gets saved there gets backed up to one drive. This includes various save games, all my Reaper stuff, and various other odds and ends that I like to, you know, save.
To save disc space, OneDrive also defaults to files being online-only. They're not stored on your device, they're just listed there. So despite what they call it, this is in fact not a backup at all, because it doesn't create an extra copy. It is actually just transferring your most precious, irreplacible, personal files to Microsoft in the background, and trusting that nothing will happen. You can see where this is going, but just to underline the point with a bleeding fucking dagger, I did not ask for any of this, I just clicked save like I have done for the last twenty or so years of my life using Windows.
Since I don't care about and have never intentionally used onedrive, I signed out of it. Flash forward six months, the files that I thought were on my computer (because I can go see them there in the folder) are in fact gone from my hard drive, and also Onedrive nuked them from orbit.
Years of my life, gone without a trace. Thanks so much, Microsoft. Whoever came up with all those ideas probably got massive performance bonuses, because we're in the worst timeline.
Goodnight.
@prism and it’s nearly impossible to get rid of and keep OneDrive off a Windows machine.
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@prism and it’s nearly impossible to get rid of and keep OneDrive off a Windows machine.
@horqua Yes it is foisted on their customers like a virus.
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@mathew @prism
I'm wrong. You're right. Happy?BTW:
I don't use any Microsoft product or service. I'm full in on Apple. All my files are in iCloud, which also saves most of them only in the cloud. Never lost any file. Why? Backups (eg. BackBlaze and external drive).And now, I wish you both a nice day.
@allezhub @prism Microsoft tell people that OneDrive is a backup and that their files are "protected". People believe them, and lose their files as a result. I do not believe that it's appropriate to blame the customer in any way in this situation.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/back-up-your-folders-with-onedrive
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Blocked three people today, which is three more than my monthly average. Gotta love the internet.
@prism know the feeling, some people are just flat out assholes
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I'm more upset than I've been in a while.
Windows 11 sets the default documents folder to onedrive\documents. Anything that gets saved there gets backed up to one drive. This includes various save games, all my Reaper stuff, and various other odds and ends that I like to, you know, save.
To save disc space, OneDrive also defaults to files being online-only. They're not stored on your device, they're just listed there. So despite what they call it, this is in fact not a backup at all, because it doesn't create an extra copy. It is actually just transferring your most precious, irreplacible, personal files to Microsoft in the background, and trusting that nothing will happen. You can see where this is going, but just to underline the point with a bleeding fucking dagger, I did not ask for any of this, I just clicked save like I have done for the last twenty or so years of my life using Windows.
Since I don't care about and have never intentionally used onedrive, I signed out of it. Flash forward six months, the files that I thought were on my computer (because I can go see them there in the folder) are in fact gone from my hard drive, and also Onedrive nuked them from orbit.
Years of my life, gone without a trace. Thanks so much, Microsoft. Whoever came up with all those ideas probably got massive performance bonuses, because we're in the worst timeline.
Goodnight.
@prism Sorry to hear that. What's not mentioned to far I see is to look at the shadow copy feature of windows to try to recover something, in the hopes *something* was at least on the drive after all. Even in home editions of windows, you can use a software like shadowexplorer to look.
Might be worth a shot. -
I'm more upset than I've been in a while.
Windows 11 sets the default documents folder to onedrive\documents. Anything that gets saved there gets backed up to one drive. This includes various save games, all my Reaper stuff, and various other odds and ends that I like to, you know, save.
To save disc space, OneDrive also defaults to files being online-only. They're not stored on your device, they're just listed there. So despite what they call it, this is in fact not a backup at all, because it doesn't create an extra copy. It is actually just transferring your most precious, irreplacible, personal files to Microsoft in the background, and trusting that nothing will happen. You can see where this is going, but just to underline the point with a bleeding fucking dagger, I did not ask for any of this, I just clicked save like I have done for the last twenty or so years of my life using Windows.
Since I don't care about and have never intentionally used onedrive, I signed out of it. Flash forward six months, the files that I thought were on my computer (because I can go see them there in the folder) are in fact gone from my hard drive, and also Onedrive nuked them from orbit.
Years of my life, gone without a trace. Thanks so much, Microsoft. Whoever came up with all those ideas probably got massive performance bonuses, because we're in the worst timeline.
Goodnight.
@prism This is an absolute nightmare. The last time I set up a Windows 11, I also noticed that everything in the home drive was being saved to OneDrive, and I remember being baffled that the default was cloud storage. But it was even more frustrating that it wasn't straightforward to disable. And now, through your story, we see the impact of this awful design. Thank you for sharing, and hopefully it prompts everyone that uses Windows 11 to take a closer look at how theirs is set up.
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@prism Sorry to hear that. What's not mentioned to far I see is to look at the shadow copy feature of windows to try to recover something, in the hopes *something* was at least on the drive after all. Even in home editions of windows, you can use a software like shadowexplorer to look.
Might be worth a shot.@norad Yeah so this is where it gets funny. Now that I've opened OneDrive, the files are gone completely. I do have a shadow copy backup from a couple days ago. I can restore it, which will restore the *indexes* to the files. So they appear to be present when I open the folder on my hard drive. But in fact, when I go to open these files, I am told they are not there. This was what prompted me to sign back into onedrive in the first place--only to discover that they are gone from there as well.
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@acerbt Everyone, literally everyone: I'm so sorry for your loss.
You: well, what you should have done is...
Jesus Christ dude.
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@norad Yeah so this is where it gets funny. Now that I've opened OneDrive, the files are gone completely. I do have a shadow copy backup from a couple days ago. I can restore it, which will restore the *indexes* to the files. So they appear to be present when I open the folder on my hard drive. But in fact, when I go to open these files, I am told they are not there. This was what prompted me to sign back into onedrive in the first place--only to discover that they are gone from there as well.
@prism
jfc -
@prism
jfc@norad This is why I'm losing my shit completely at the morons who can't read (not you! This was the most on point suggestion anyone has had yet) and tell me I should have backed it up. The backup was one drive. You fucking fools.
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I'm more upset than I've been in a while.
Windows 11 sets the default documents folder to onedrive\documents. Anything that gets saved there gets backed up to one drive. This includes various save games, all my Reaper stuff, and various other odds and ends that I like to, you know, save.
To save disc space, OneDrive also defaults to files being online-only. They're not stored on your device, they're just listed there. So despite what they call it, this is in fact not a backup at all, because it doesn't create an extra copy. It is actually just transferring your most precious, irreplacible, personal files to Microsoft in the background, and trusting that nothing will happen. You can see where this is going, but just to underline the point with a bleeding fucking dagger, I did not ask for any of this, I just clicked save like I have done for the last twenty or so years of my life using Windows.
Since I don't care about and have never intentionally used onedrive, I signed out of it. Flash forward six months, the files that I thought were on my computer (because I can go see them there in the folder) are in fact gone from my hard drive, and also Onedrive nuked them from orbit.
Years of my life, gone without a trace. Thanks so much, Microsoft. Whoever came up with all those ideas probably got massive performance bonuses, because we're in the worst timeline.
Goodnight.
@prism How is this not outsight theft? They stole files from your PC without your consent.
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@prism How is this not outsight theft? They stole files from your PC without your consent.
@xorbit First off, there's the reality of the situation, which is that law exists to serve corporations not the other way around. But also, assuming I were to somehow sue Microsoft and win, how to calculate the damages? They are priceless to me, worthless to anyone else.
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@norad This is why I'm losing my shit completely at the morons who can't read (not you! This was the most on point suggestion anyone has had yet) and tell me I should have backed it up. The backup was one drive. You fucking fools.
@prism Yeah people on the internet read a few words and then put their keyboard warrior capes on.
Next time I visit my grandparents I'll check these settings so the same won't repeat for them. -
@allezhub @prism Microsoft tell people that OneDrive is a backup and that their files are "protected". People believe them, and lose their files as a result. I do not believe that it's appropriate to blame the customer in any way in this situation.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/back-up-your-folders-with-onedrive
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@prism Good to know. There's a market void for making Linux and Unix BSD distros accessible for blind users.
@kimcrawley @prism If I may, here's a series of blog posts describing why blind people really can't use Linux reliably, as unfortunate as it is. I really wish things were different so I could run far away from Windows. https://fireborn.mataroa.blog/blog/i-want-to-love-linux-it-doesnt-love-me-back-post-1-built-for-control-but-not-for-people/
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I'm more upset than I've been in a while.
Windows 11 sets the default documents folder to onedrive\documents. Anything that gets saved there gets backed up to one drive. This includes various save games, all my Reaper stuff, and various other odds and ends that I like to, you know, save.
To save disc space, OneDrive also defaults to files being online-only. They're not stored on your device, they're just listed there. So despite what they call it, this is in fact not a backup at all, because it doesn't create an extra copy. It is actually just transferring your most precious, irreplacible, personal files to Microsoft in the background, and trusting that nothing will happen. You can see where this is going, but just to underline the point with a bleeding fucking dagger, I did not ask for any of this, I just clicked save like I have done for the last twenty or so years of my life using Windows.
Since I don't care about and have never intentionally used onedrive, I signed out of it. Flash forward six months, the files that I thought were on my computer (because I can go see them there in the folder) are in fact gone from my hard drive, and also Onedrive nuked them from orbit.
Years of my life, gone without a trace. Thanks so much, Microsoft. Whoever came up with all those ideas probably got massive performance bonuses, because we're in the worst timeline.
Goodnight.
@prism That's terrible - what an awful thing to have happened to you, and what a stupid set of decisions from Microsoft.
Do you mind if I ask about how your computer decided to delete your local copies? I would like to be able to usefully advise members of my family who use Windows.
I'm mainly interested in how it was deciding to switch files over to being online only - could you tell if it was a disk space issue, or just files over a certain age, or was there no apparent rhyme or reason?
