Can't open files from File Explorer folders or from Desktop

Question

Can't open files from File Explorer folders or from Desktop

William King 10

I'm trying to open files, any files (Word, Excel, PDFs), from a folder using the File Explorer or saved to my desktop and they fail to open (time out) or they open several minutes after I have clicked on them.

This problem just started happening within the past 4-5 days. I also noticed a "State: Shared" icon now appears next to certain folders in File Explorer.

I tried to open a file from my Downloads folder in File Explorer and it opens IMMEDIATELY. That folder does NOT have a Shared icon.

I can also open Word or Excel and click on any of the Recent files and they also open automatically.

I have logged into OneDrive and the files are in the cloud.

It appears the system is trying to retrieve a copy of the file I want to open from somewhere else and not from the local copy I have saved on my hard drive. My guess is it's trying to download it from the OneDrive and that is causing the major delay or for the file to never open. I have no idea how to force it to open my local copy and not constantly try to access the archived copy saved in the cloud.

I would appreciate any help anyone could provide.

Thanks!!

Calvo, Audra 0 Reputation points

2025-08-11T17:34:51.6666667+00:00

Have been seeing this in an enterprise environment at work with many Windows 10 users affected. Devices are for the most part hybrid domain/Intune joined. Last week we moved local files to the cloud to help alleviate local file indexing lag, un-linked OneDrive and resynced. The issue resolved for a couple of days but then returned again today. Curious if there is a known issue with Microsoft or OneDrive. We noticed it started happening after Copilot and Office updates were pushed so it makes me wonder what was changed and what was broken in the process.

6 answers

Your answer

Calvo, Audra 0 Reputation points

2025-08-11T17:34:51.6666667+00:00

Have been seeing this in an enterprise environment at work with many Windows 10 users affected. Devices are for the most part hybrid domain/Intune joined. Last week we moved local files to the cloud to help alleviate local file indexing lag, un-linked OneDrive and resynced. The issue resolved for a couple of days but then returned again today. Curious if there is a known issue with Microsoft or OneDrive. We noticed it started happening after Copilot and Office updates were pushed so it makes me wonder what was changed and what was broken in the process.

Answer 1

Hi there,

I’m Cherrelyn, and I’m here to help.

Please try these suggestion:

Right-click the affected folder or file in File Explorer
Select “Always keep on this device” this will download the files for local access
Avoid using “Free up space”, which removes the local copy
If needed, open OneDrive settings > Sync and backup > Manage backup, and turn off syncing for folders you don’t want cloud-managed

This should make your files open instantly again.

I hope this helps, and if you have any questions, feel free to reply to this post.

Warm regards,

Cherrelyn

Answer 2

William King 10

Thanks for the answer, but it did not work.

I selected "Always keep" and it put green check marks next to all my files in the Document folder; however, I still can't access them.

I went to OneDrive - Manage backup and the Document folder and chose NOT to Sync that folder, but it is continuing to Sync even after I turned it off.

Answer 3

Chen1018 9,835 Independent Advisor

Hi William,

Please try signing out of OneDrive completely after pausing sync. This should stop it from controlling access to your local files. Then try opening the files again directly from File Explorer.

Warm regards,

Cherrelyn

Answer 4

William King 10

Well logging out stopped the Syncing, but I can still only open a document about 50% of the time. The rest of the time the request times out.

ErrorcMix 0 Reputation points

2025-08-11T16:56:34.0666667+00:00

For me, I opened up task manager and force closed mircrosoft 365 copilot and it fixed it for me.
William King 10 Reputation points

2025-08-11T20:22:08.1+00:00

I did that a couple times and it didn't help.

Answer 5

Amber 0

I don't have an answer, but I have exactly the same problem that has started happening in the same time frame.

ErrorcMix 0 Reputation points

2025-08-11T16:56:45.6166667+00:00

For me, I opened up task manager and force closed mircrosoft 365 copilot and it fixed it for me.
William King 10 Reputation points

2025-08-11T20:21:25.2766667+00:00

It turns out I had a conflict between MS OneDrive and iCloud.

I've had iCloud on my PC for a couple years, but something happened to cause it to cause a conflict with OneDrive.

I deleted iCloud from my PC because I can access my content from its web page interface.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

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Can't open files from File Explorer folders or from Desktop

6 answers

Your answer