OneDrive Icon Is Missing On Your Computer

There are various reasons to prompt the Microsoft OneDrive icon to be missing.  In this article, I will show you how to restore your Microsoft OneDrive icon on your computer.

There are several tips or solutions you can follow to restore the OneDrive back.

Reinstall OneDrive using Registry

Step 1- Open the Run dialogue box by pressing Windows Start button + R key button on your keyboard and typing in "regedit" and click Enter key.

Step 2 - When the Registry opens, navigate to the following registry directory: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Policies/Microsoft/OneDrive

Step 3 - Here, right-click the registry entry “DisableFileSyncNGSC,” click Modify, then enter “0” into the Value data box. Then click OK.

Step 4 - Next, open Command Prompt as an administrator and enter the following commands on separate lines:

%SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe /uninstall
%SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe /install

Your OneDrive should now be reinstalled, which should fix the missing icon problem.

If you did not find this solution helpful, kindly look into the next solutions.

Enable Icon in System Tray 

Step 1- Right-click on your taskbar and select the “Taskbar settings” option.

Step 2 - In the taskbar settings window, scroll down to the “Notifications area” Click the “Select which icon appears on the taskbar” option.

Step 3 - Check the toggle switch beside the Microsoft OneDrive. If it is off, make sure to change it to On.

Unhide the OneDrive icon

Step 1 - Click the Up Arrow  on your Taskbar to show all hidden running applications.

Step 2 - Find your OneDrive icon, drag and drop out of the hidden icon box.

If the above solutions did not work for you, there is a third step to try. Resetting OneDrive will fix the issue if it is caused by a broken OneDrive cache. Follow these steps to reset your OneDrive.

Reset OneDrive

Step 1 - Press the Window icon key + R key on your keyboard to open the Run window. Copy and paste the text below and click OK. 

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

Step 2 - Wait for about two minutes to see if the OneDrive icon appears. If it does not, repeat the process using the path below this time.

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe

This fix should display the OneDrive icon again.

Check Policy Setting

If resetting did not work, one last step is to check the policy settings. It could sometimes be a problem caused by third-party applications or anti-tracking programs. These often have the effect of making modifications to the OS and may disable the OneDrive icon. Checking your policy settings becomes necessary if this is the case.

To check the Windows 10 Group Policy Editor and find and resolve any modifications caused by third-party programs on OneDrive, follow these steps.

Step 1 - Type gpedit.msc in your Run window.

Step 2 - Navigate to “Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components.” Double-click on the OneDrive option in the right pane.

Step 3 - Right-click “Prevent the Usage of OneDrive for File Storage” and click Edit.

Step 4 - Make sure either “Not Configured” or “Disabled” is chosen for the policy setting. Click Apply and OK.

Step 5 - Restart your PC, and the issue should be resolved.

While the missing OneDrive icon could be a frustration to many, it can be resolved easily with any of the methods above.