Lost BLW Downloads

[MSTS lifer]

One Drive isn't my friend either but like it was said above, you can't pitch it. I suppose you could, but your system would really get jacked up. MS Windows 10 and above is a pain. I got apps so I could override Microsoft and other programs/apps from messing with stuff. Microsoft or any other programs or apps can run a update without notifying me. Sure you can argue updates are good and and a must, but I'll disagree. Long ago that was the case. Now a days these those update mess stuff up more that they do any good. Microsoft and TSC updates are prime examples. Many are not plagued by this type of stuff. But it DOES happen. To the guy with the BLW problem. Backup your files on external drives. This goes for ANYTHING important on your computer! Back it all up on more than one drive if you can. Stay away from installing train simulator files into the x86 folder. Maybe things have changed with Windows 10 and above, but with old MSTS it was a huge NO-NO to put files there. No idea about the standing rules regarding OR. Haven't messed with it in years.

[crstagg]

You can get rid of one drive. Backup to USB drives.

I disagree. I have used both Dropbox and OneDrive since they were first released. Never had a problem with them. I primarily use OneDrive as I have the family plan of Micro$oft 365 which provides 5 accounts of M$ Office. Each account can install Office on 3 platforms and gets 1TB of storage.. Mine is on my desktop, my M$ Surface Go tablet and my smartphone. My data files for Office Quicken and other apps are accessible which ever one I am using. The other 4 accounts are used by my wife, son, daughter and son-in-law. Plus OneDrive allows us to "share" folders. Go on vacation as daughter and family are now. They take pics of grandsons in pool at hotel save to Shared folder. Send us an email "New pics in folder". We open OneDrive and look at pics.

A couple of years ago I finally got around to digitizing all the 35mm slides I had inherited from my parents. As I digitized I saved the picture files in C:\Onedrive\My Pictures\Dads 35mm. After finishing I copied the files to a USB connected drive for "safe" storage. I then right clicked on the \Dads 35mm folder and chose the OneDrive option "Free up space". This left just the file "pointers" on my PC and the actual files stored in the Cloud. Some months later I wanted to look through the pictures but did not want to cause OneDrive to download all the pictures back to my PC. So I got out the USB drive to thumb through them from it. Could not access the drive it was now a brick. Files gone. Except they were still on the Cloud. I had not lost them.

[R. Steele]

I disagree

Don't be ridiculous Charles, you cannot disagree with my true statement "You can get rid of One Drive. Backup to usb drives." I said nothing about difficulties, or any experience I had....simply that one could get rid of One Drive. ( for all you know I could be using One Drive --- as I said nothing about my use or non-use ).

You are just being reflexively contentious. Quirkily Quarrelsome?

Isn't that obvious, anyone can certainly get rid of One Drive..stop using it....nothing to prevent them from doing so. You may do so, if you wish, however, you have chosen to use One Drive.

Good for you, ..... your experience was smooth and easy.

[eric]

Unfortunately, Microsoft's integration with OneDrive into the OS and apps like O365 is pretty tight. Once you've "opted in" to using it, it's not the easiest to untangle yourself from. It's also been known to re-appear on Windows Update.

That said, I use it for all the reasons Charles mentioned, but have isolated the working copies of all my OpenRails and other train-simming content & projects from it. I'll back things up for archival purposes, but can't be missing a file here or there simply because OneDrive thinks it hasn't been accessed enough.