In addition to monthly reminders to use Microsoft Edge and Microsoft 365, Windows 11 now recommends using OneDrive. A recent Windows Update triggers a full-screen pop-up for OneDrive, which looks like the OOBE (out-of-the-box experience) that typically pops up when you install Windows 11 for the first time.
First spotted by Windows Latest, Windows 11 has a new pop-up titled “Let’s back up your files,” which appears automatically when you start your PC.
It’s worth noting that OneDrive’s free storage is limited to 5GB, so you need to buy storage to use the Windows Backup feature. It isn’t practically possible to backup your complete PC to OneDrive in the long run unless you have empty folders.
Also, if you do manage to skip the OneDrive pop-up when booting Windows, you’ll see another notification that warns your PC that it is not fully backed up with an alert icon.
It isn’t possible to pause or remove these alerts and full-screen pop-ups in Windows 11 if you live outside the European Union.
For better or worse, I have a school account linked to my OneDrive (makes it easy to hop on a school computer to work on stuff), so at least I probably won’t see this.
One of the first things I did was remove OneDrive when I installed W11.
I have yet to see any of this new malarky, and I am not in the EU.
From a admin command prompt: winget uninstall Microsoft.OneDrive
If you have linked an account to OneDrive, I’d advise you unlink it first.
Friendly reminder that Linux is free and respects your ownership of your computer.
Windows free since XP
It’s been so nice. My wife and I have really appreciated the steady, stable consistency of our home desktop doing exactly what we want it to do without distractions, all the time.
It’s a simple pleasure, like owning a TV that’s not smart, or visiting a website with no ads. It just does what it’s supposed to do. I want more technology like this in my life.
Funnilly enough getting Linux properly back in my home again (used if for a NAS with a laptop ages ago and been “playing” with it since the 90s) was making my TV smart the right way using a Mini-PC with Lubunto and Kodi to make a TV Media Player (which also does other usefull stuff like be my home’s NAS and Torrent Server over Always On VPN) and replace my ISP’s set up box which had become enshittified.
It’s a great way to bring back true ownership and control of electronics in this day and age of enshittification without having to sacrifice anything.
Look, this is horrible and everything, but how are people pretending this is new? Occasional updates since Windows 10 have been showing these annoying pre-boot configuration screens even if you’ve skipped them before including ones wanting you to use OneDrive.
I’ve never had that happen on windows 10, and I have three win 10 machines here that get daily use.
Good for you, so you’re from the EU or any other country that forces MS to stop this bullshit (or at least your installations believe you are).
If you spend the time and effort and find the half dozen different places to turn off Microsoft ads it probably stops them.
You shouldn’t have to do that and they probably made it even more of a hassle in Windows 11, because they don’t care that you own the computer, they really don’t like you having control over it.
Uninstall OneDrive, Never had a popup. Not that fucking hard jesus christ.
