Question Integrity of the OneDrive folder located in my Users directory, and the overall functionality of OneDrive, after using 'Reset this PC'

[ComputersOftenIrritateMe]

tl;dr: I messed up the OneDrive folder located at Users/Username/OneDrive in some way that resulted in registry stuff being displayed in an error popup, and am concerned that any 'damage' I caused to that folder, or it's deeper connection to the OneDrive application or OS, may have survived the 'reset this pc' I did because I used 'keep my files', thus retaining the Users directory.

Long version:

As I am in the process of implementing OneDrive into my workflow for file archiving, I am currently having concerns about the reliability of the service specifically on my PC.

To make a long story short, after uninstalling and reinstalling the OneDrive application, it messed OneDrive up so bad that I ultimately reinstalled Windows 10, using 'reset my pc' with 'keep my files' enabled.

Before resorting to the reset, though, I took a series of increasingly agitated (and stupid) steps to try and fix the problem. One of these steps was attempting to delete the OneDrive folder located at Users/Username/OneDrive. It prompted me to give administrative permission, and when I did it then displayed another, albeit different, administrative-type error, which seemed to show a string of characters resembling something from the registry.

Anyways, I didn't actually record what the error said, and reset my PC afterwards, keeping 'Keep my files' enabled. Now, OneDrive works after the reset, but I still feel concerned that it isn't necessarily reliable seeing as using 'keep my files' retains the Users directory, and thus anything I may have messed with the OneDrive folder (which must have some deeper connection in the OS given the issues I had when trying to delete it).

When people say the Users directory is maintained through a reset, do they mean only the files themselves are kept, with the directory structure (such as the Desktop folder, the OneDrive folder, etc.) being reconstructed, or is the entire directory essentially reconstructed exactly as it was pre-reset? For what it is worth, the OneDrive folder still shows its creation date as October of last year, whereas I ran the reset yesterday.

Genuinely, am I just overthinking this? I worry that there may be issues with the integrity of my files after I upload them as some sort of deeper system-type something or other may have been compromised by what I did.

 

[USAFRet]

Genuinely, am I just overthinking this? I worry that there may be issues with the integrity of my files after I upload them as some sort of deeper system-type something or other may have been compromised by what I did.

Do the files exist in your OneDrive space?
If so, good.

Do they also exist in some other space? (they should...a drive that you've created)

 

[ComputersOftenIrritateMe]

Do the files exist in your OneDrive space?
If so, good.

Do they also exist in some other space? (they should...a drive that you've created)

There was only one single local file in the directory at the time I did this, a text doc I put in as a test from earlier.

All of my important files were set to be online only at the time. I had also, I believe, unlinked and possibly even uninstalled the OneDrive application prior to attempting the deletion of the folder. At the time I did this, the folder still had all of the subfolders from my OneDrive, with the same structure, but they were all totally empty.

Again, my concern is less so with the safety of files I currently have uploaded, and more so with the reliability of the service's ability to accurately, 'correctly' upload and download files in the future, seeing as I was messing around with a folder that is apparently so deeply interconnected with the OS and OneDrive application.

 

[USAFRet]

There was only one single local file in the directory at the time I did this, a text doc I put in as a test from earlier.

All of my important files were set to be online only at the time. I had also, I believe, unlinked and possibly even uninstalled the OneDrive application prior to attempting the deletion of the folder. At the time I did this, the folder still had all of the subfolders from my OneDrive, with the same structure, but they were all totally empty.

Again, my concern is less so with the safety of files I currently have uploaded, and more so with the reliability of the service's ability to accurately, 'correctly' upload and download files in the future, seeing as I was messing around with a folder that is apparently so deeply interconnected with the OS and OneDrive application.

In daily use, OneDrive is mostly reliable.

Will your files survive a "Reset and Keep My Files"?
Yeah, probably.

Personally, I wouldn't trust it.

The standard backup routine is 3-2-1.
3 copies, on at least 2 different media, 1 offsite or otherwise unavailable.

I wouldn't rely on the OneDrive space to be the only repository of my data. No matter what I was doing.

 

[ComputersOftenIrritateMe]

In daily use, OneDrive is mostly reliable.

Will your files survive a "Reset and Keep My Files"?
Yeah, probably.

Personally, I wouldn't trust it.

The standard backup routine is 3-2-1.
3 copies, on at least 2 different media, 1 offsite or otherwise unavailable.

I wouldn't rely on the OneDrive space to be the only repository of my data. No matter what I was doing.

I do have my most important files on an external solid state drive, and intend to keep only archival files in Onedrive along with their local copies.

But my concern is not for my personal files and how the reset impacted them (because they are all where they should be), my concern is that whatever issues I caused to the main OneDrive directory survived the reset, as that directory is in the Users folder. Again, I got some registry-looking errors when I tried to delete that folder, and am concerned that it's connection to the OS or OneDrive application may be jeopardized.

I'm sure microsoft does a pretty good job on their end at keeping OneDrive files safe, but my concern is about my copy of Windows being able to safely upload and download them after I messed around with the aforementioned OneDrive folder

 

[USAFRet]

I do have my most important files on an external solid state drive, and intend to keep only archival files in Onedrive along with their local copies.

But my concern is not for my personal files and how the reset impacted them (because they are all where they should be), my concern is that whatever issues I caused to the main OneDrive directory survived the reset, as that directory is in the Users folder. Again, I got some registry-looking errors when I tried to delete that folder, and am concerned that it's connection to the OS or OneDrive application may be jeopardized.

I'm sure microsoft does a pretty good job on their end at keeping OneDrive files safe, but my concern is about my copy of Windows being able to safely upload and download them after I messed around with the aforementioned OneDrive folder

Technically, the "Keep my files" should preserve the connection to your OneDrive space.

But, sometimes things happen.