January 2025: Unfortunately, it seems that code changes in the latest builds
of OneDrive (or a recent Windows update) can cause OneDrive to fail in Session 0.
So far the problem seems to affect mostly Windows Server 2019
and 2022 installations but we've gotten a few reports of trouble on Windows 11 and Server 2025
as well. Strangely, not all machines on those operating systems exhibit the problem.
When the problem occurs, AlwaysUp reports this error:
"OneDrive has no network connections to the cloud.
It may not be synchronizing your files."
If you see that message — and no other problems are reported —
you've likely fallen victim to the issue.
We're actively trying to work around the failure and craft a solution in our test
environments but so far we're not had any breakthroughs. The harsh reality is
that our small development team is at a disadvantage because
Microsoft doesn't provide any documentation or support to help us troubleshoot.
It's been an uphill battle.
In any case,
this blog article
details the situation and the only known workaround —
setting up automatic logon and running OneDrive in the auto-logon session.
We'll update the blog article (and this guide) if we find a way to fix OneDrive in Session 0.
To install the OneDrive desktop application as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp:
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Download and install OneDrive if necessary.
Start it, enter the library you want to synchronize and ensure that everything works as you expect.
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Download and install AlwaysUp, if necessary.
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Start AlwaysUp.
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Select Application > Advisor to launch the Application Advisor:
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Click Next to move past the welcome screen:
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Choose OneDrive from the list of applications and click Next:
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AlwaysUp will spend a few minutes analyzing your OneDrive installation.
Afterwards, it will warn you about the restrictions Microsoft introduced in the latest releases (mentioned at the top of this page):
Click Next to move on.
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Enter the user name and password of the Windows account where you installed and set up OneDrive.
OneDrive must run in this account so that it can find the libraries and other artifacts you've configured.
Note: Do not enter your OneDrive login and password here.
Your Microsoft account won't work either.
Please specify credentials used to login to a local account on this Windows PC:
Click Next to move on.
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As the screen says, the AlwaysUp has composed the best settings to run OneDrive as a Windows Service.
Click Next to open the Add Application window with all the details:
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At this point, the Add Application window contains all the recommended settings for running OneDrive 24/7 whenever your machine boots.
Feel free to cycle through the tabs and review the options that have been chosen.
When you're ready, click Save to proceed:
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The next window reviews the adjustments you should make to OneDrive when it's running in the background.
Since we'll cover those later on in this guide, dismiss that window by clicking the Done button:
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In a few seconds, a new entry for OneDrive will appear in the AlwaysUp window.
At this point, OneDrive is installed as a Windows Service but the state is "Stopped" because it isn't running yet:
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Now that OneDrive is configured to start as a Windows Service whenever your computer boots, let's turn off a few
settings that could interfere with smooth 24/7 operation. To do so:
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Start OneDrive, if necessary.
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Click the OneDrive cloud tray icon (
),
click the gear icon in the upper-right, and select Settings from the menu:
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First, let's turn off the Files On-Demand feature.
We recommend doing so to ensure that all your files are available on your PC at all times — even when OneDrive is running in the background.
On the Sync and backup tab, open the Advanced settings section:
Scroll down to Files On-Demand and click the Download all files button:
OneDrive will ask you to confirm. Click Continue:
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Next, let's deactivate notifications from OneDrive.
We do that because you won't be able to see any notifications when OneDrive is running invisibly as a Windows Service.
But even more importantly, we don't want any silly prompts to hold up file synchronization, waiting for you to click an OK button!
Anyway, move to the Notifications tab and turn off all the entries:
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We're done adjusting OneDrive so close the settings window to save your changes.
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Finally, close OneDrive. Click the tray icon, then the gear, then select Pause syncing > Quit OneDrive from the menu.
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Now back to AlwaysUp.
Normally we'd just start the OneDrive entry, which would launch OneDrive in the background.
But as we mentioned before, that won't work with the latest versions of OneDrive.
The only alternative is to set up automatic logon and run OneDrive in the auto-logon session.
Follow those instructions to complete the setup.
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That's it. Next time your computer boots, Windows will automatically log on and OneDrive will start up immediately in that account.
We encourage you to edit OneDrive in AlwaysUp and check out the many other settings that may be appropriate for your environment.
Send an email when OneDrive stops unexpectedly (or someone accidentally shuts it down), set up a weekly restart to cure memory leaks, and much more.
