Windows 10 version 2004: OneDrive cannot connect to Windows issue

Martin Brinkmann
Jul 3, 2020
Windows, Windows 10
|
17

Some devices with the newest version of Windows 10, Windows 10 version 2004, experience issues with Microsoft's OneDrive file synchronization service that is baked into the system.

Microsoft confirmed the issue on a new support page on the company's official website.

The company notes that "some older devices or devices with certain older apps installed that use legacy file system drivers" may not be able to connect to the OneDrive service via the OneDrive app. Microsoft OneDrive displays the error message "OneDrive cannot connect to Windows"

onedrive cannot connect to windows

The error text provides the following information:

Files On-Demand requires a connection to Windows in order to show your files without taking up space on this device. OneDrive can keep trying to connect to Windows or you can choose to download all your files. You won't be able to use online-only files until this is fixed.

Options are provided to "try again" or to download the files. The issue affects files on-demand, a relatively new feature of OneDrive that Microsoft introduced some time ago. Files On-Demand displays all available files in the OneDrive folder on the device even if the files are only available in the cloud and not locally.

Microsoft has published two workarounds to fix the issue on affected system. The first workaround relies on the new Files On-Demand Troubleshooter, the second provides manual steps to address the issue.

Workaround 1: The Files On-Demand Troubleshooter

  1. Open the Start Menu, type troubleshoot, and select Troubleshoot Settings from the list of suggestions.
  2. Select View History on the page that opens. You may see either that the Files On-Demand troubleshooter ran successfully, in which case the issue should be resolved, or that it did not run successfully and needs to be run. The system needs to be restarted after a successful run of the troubleshooter.
  3. Users should then verify that Files On-Demand is still enabled by right-clicking on the OneDrive icon in the System Tray and selecting Settings > Settings tab and making sure that "Save space and download files as you use them" is enabled.
  4. The process needs to be repeated for each account.

Workaround 2: The manual option

  1. Open the Start Menu, type cmd, right-click on the Command Prompt suggestion and select "run as administrator" from the context menu.
  2. Run the following command: reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cldflt\instances /f /v DefaultInstance /t REG_SZ /d "CldFlt"
  3. Restart the device afterwards.
  4. Following instructions 3 and 4 of the first workaround above to verify that Files On-Demand is still active.

Now You: Do you use OneDrive or another file synchronization service? (via Born)

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Windows 10 version 2004: OneDrive cannot connect to Windows issue
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Windows 10 version 2004: OneDrive cannot connect to Windows issue
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Some devices with the newest version of Windows 10, Windows 10 version 2004, experience issues with Microsoft's OneDrive file synchronization service that is baked into the system.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. Sebas said on July 5, 2020 at 8:14 pm
    Reply

    One Drive was never used on my new system. Neither is Skype. HP did something good :)

  2. Harro Glööckler said on July 4, 2020 at 4:33 am
    Reply

    I’ve had no Windows issues at all and i’m on 2004 since march or april (release preview channel). The only problem was some Easeus Todo Backup Workstation driver that caused bsods when trying to make full backups to an external drive, which they (Easeus) fixed a week after official 2004 release.

    Like i said at the previous feature update when Intel’s wifi drivers gave me headaches – no problems with MS, many with other lazy devs that don’t bother to test their drivers/software…if we, the commoners, can play with insider previews months or years before release, why can’t they too?

    1. Gerold Manders said on July 4, 2020 at 2:49 pm
      Reply

      If you only knew how conservative developers get after they have their development computer setup just right. And nowadays I get the impression that a lot of them barely know (or have an interest in) the hardware they work with.

      And I don’t have any trouble imagining that their developer computers get images spooled back onto them, so the systems at Microsoft remain safe/secure, without any unwanted or undesirable software, not to hamper production.

      The “eating your own dog food”-concept doesn’t appear to fly at Microsoft anymore.

  3. Freeloader said on July 4, 2020 at 1:45 am
    Reply

    Do you use OneDrive or another file synchronization service?

    No.

    I backup all my media manually and own all my drive storage.

  4. Yuliya said on July 3, 2020 at 10:10 pm
    Reply

    I don’t have onedrive ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    1. John G. said on July 5, 2020 at 1:49 pm
      Reply

      Neither me, I have disabled OneDrive some time ago. :]

    2. Iron Heart said on July 4, 2020 at 5:49 am
      Reply

      Yes, you have. The LTSC file explorer has a OneDrive logo in it.

  5. pHROZEN gHOST said on July 3, 2020 at 6:07 pm
    Reply

    No big deal. It’s just Microsoft’s free beta testers who are having issues.
    The rest of us are patient. We have updates delayed.

    1. Gerold Manders said on July 4, 2020 at 2:37 pm
      Reply

      “We have updates delayed.”

      Don’t be so sure about that anymore. Since update 2004 Microsoft won’t respect your delay settings anymore. At least not in the way they did previously. Windows Home editions had never a choice in the matter, but Microsoft now applies the same mindset on Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise/Education editions as well.

  6. ali sade said on July 3, 2020 at 4:27 pm
    Reply

    does anyone have a issue with WiFi connection in this update? every time i disconnect my vpn, wifi gets disconnected…and i need reconnect manually.
    network reset doesn’t help and my driver are update.

    1. VioletMoon said on July 3, 2020 at 8:17 pm
      Reply

      One Drive all up-to-date. No problems with a connection.

      WiFi shouldn’t drop after disconnecting from the VPN; may want to check and make sure “Automatically Connect” is checked.

  7. The Equestrian said on July 3, 2020 at 3:18 pm
    Reply

    Doesn’t matter to me as this is part of the Windows 10 bloatware I remove after each fresh installation. If at least it sat quietly and waited to be called, instead of shoving itself everywhere – starts up in system tray, shows up in File Explorer…. It would’ve been so much better.

  8. kalmly said on July 3, 2020 at 2:50 pm
    Reply

    The ongoing nightmare of Windows 10. I see Linux or Mac in my future.

    1. Yuliya said on July 3, 2020 at 10:41 pm
      Reply

      >arm is the future
      yikes, i cannot wait to see mactoddlers starting to cope in a year or two.

      1. Iron Heart said on July 4, 2020 at 5:48 am
        Reply

        @Yuliya

        Apple will be releasing Intel Macs for quite some time and will continue to support them. But hey, must be frustrating, you thought a pirated LTSC is the gold standard and then realized that Windows 10 is not as stable and not as comfortable as macOS, no matter which incarnation you use.

        And as for the ARM Macs, I could see those having double if not triple the battery life of current Intel Macs.

      2. Gerold Manders said on July 4, 2020 at 2:30 pm
        Reply

        The ARM design can be made very energy efficient. But almost any type of processor that is energy efficient will not be as powerful.

        For Mac (and their software/hardware experience) to be as powerful as their Intel models, I don’t expect the battery life to increase by much.

        And the hardware designers at Apple are capable, but also hampered by the design team who have no room for thermal cooling, which is the bane of every processor. A battery that is hot, is also not as capable to provide as much energy as the same battery being cooled. Will be another reason for reduced battery life per charge.

        Their aversion against cooling fans, weight, their favoring of closed off cases (with MacBooks, iPads and iPhones) and having the thinnest portable device as possible, their devices will never have enough mass for proper passive cooling.

        What I do envision to be better in their future line-up of ARM devices, is that the surrounding electronics next to the hottest elements is suffering less, so Apple devices will either last longer or become cheaper to produce. But knowing Apple, cheaper production won’t be reflected in the consumer’s purchase price.

      3. mac daddy said on July 4, 2020 at 1:48 am
        Reply

        @Yuliya

        As you can’t wait, what are your other options?

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