What would happen to your business if your computer died tomorrow? If your files live only on your hard drive, the answer is not good. There's a free OneDrive feature that fixes this automatically — and most people have never heard of it.
If your business uses Microsoft 365, you already have OneDrive — Microsoft's cloud storage platform — included in your subscription. Most people use it as a place to manually save files. But there's a feature built right into OneDrive that works silently in the background, automatically protecting the files on your computer without you ever having to think about it.
It's called Known Folder Move, and it might be the most valuable two-minute setup you've never done.
The Problem It Solves
Think about where most of your important files live right now. Chances are a good chunk of them are sitting on your Desktop, in your Documents folder, or in your Pictures folder — right there on your computer's hard drive.
That's a problem. Hard drives fail. Laptops get dropped, stolen, or spilled on. And when that happens, everything stored only on that device is gone — permanently. No warning, no recovery, no second chance.
Hard drive failure is the number one cause of data loss for small businesses — and most failures happen with no warning whatsoever.[1] If your files aren't backed up somewhere off your computer, they are at risk right now.
What Known Folder Move Does
Known Folder Move is a OneDrive feature that automatically syncs your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to the cloud in real time.[2] The moment you save a file to your Desktop — it's already in OneDrive. You don't have to move it, copy it, or even think about it.
Here's what that means in practice:
- Your computer dies? Log into any other device with your Microsoft account and every file is right there waiting for you
- You get a new laptop? Sign in to OneDrive and your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures are restored automatically — exactly as you left them
- You accidentally delete something? OneDrive keeps deleted files in its recycle bin for 93 days, giving you plenty of time to recover them[3]
- Working from your phone or tablet? Every file synced to OneDrive is accessible from the OneDrive mobile app on any device
Once it's set up, you never have to do anything differently. Save files exactly where you always have — your Desktop, Documents, Pictures — and OneDrive handles the rest silently in the background.
How to Turn It On (It Takes About 2 Minutes)
If you're on a Windows computer with OneDrive already signed in, here's all you need to do:
- Click the OneDrive cloud icon in your system tray — the small icons in the bottom right corner of your screen near the clock
- Click the gear icon (Settings) in the top right of the OneDrive panel that appears
- Select Settings from the menu
- Click the Sync and backup tab
- Click Manage backup and turn on Desktop, Documents, and Pictures
- Click Save changes — done!
OneDrive will begin syncing those folders immediately. Depending on how many files you have, the initial sync may take a little while — but once it's caught up, everything stays in sync instantly going forward.
If you don't see the OneDrive icon in your system tray, or you're not sure whether your Microsoft 365 account is connected, give us a call. Twilight I.T. can get everything set up and configured correctly across all your devices.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Known Folder Move is included at no extra cost with any Microsoft 365 subscription that includes OneDrive. If your business already has Microsoft 365, you have everything you need — you just need to turn the feature on.
Microsoft 365 Business plans include 1TB of OneDrive storage per user. For most small businesses, that is far more than enough to back up everything on your computer many times over. Exchange Online Plan 1 subscribers receive 50GB of mailbox storage but should check their specific plan for OneDrive storage details.
Yes. OneDrive for Business uses enterprise-grade encryption both when your files are being transferred and when they are stored on Microsoft's servers. Your files are private to you and your organization — Microsoft does not access or share your content. OneDrive also meets a wide range of compliance standards including HIPAA, SOC, and ISO certifications.[4]
OneDrive keeps deleted files in its recycle bin for 93 days before permanently removing them. You can restore any deleted file during that window by going to OneDrive on the web, clicking the recycle bin, and restoring the file. OneDrive also keeps version history, so you can even roll back a file to an earlier version if you made changes you regret.
Yes. The OneDrive app is available for Mac and supports folder backup for your Desktop and Documents folders. The setup process is similar — open the OneDrive app, go to Preferences, and look for the Backup tab to enable folder syncing. If you need help getting it configured on a Mac, Twilight I.T. can walk you through it remotely.
Need Help Getting OneDrive Set Up?
Twilight I.T. can configure OneDrive across all your devices, make sure your important folders are protected, and ensure your Microsoft 365 account is set up the right way from the start.
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