Ubuntu migrate existing onedrive folder to insync client (with solution)

#1

Some months ago I changed my Windows PC to an all new Ubuntu Linux Desktop to see whether I can stay in this ecosystem for the time coming.

As a long term Microsoft user I have quite some stuff in OneDrive. I currently have installed the “usual” OneDrive on Ubuntu and have synced all my stuff in my home/OneDrive folder. This “works”, however I do miss the GUI stuff and especially file manager integration that I was used to in Windows and that’s where insync comes handy.

However I do NOT want to resync all those gigabytes again over my slow internet connection to just another folder but I look for a solution to keep the old sync location and have this recognized as already synced by insync.

Someone had a similar problem with insync on Windows that I do not want to reproduce. Unfortunately this problem was not marked as “solved”. And certainly I don’t want insync to sync my online OneDrive with an empty folder, dumping all my files down the drain as some other guy noticed. :grimacing:

So what is the correct method to upgrade my current OneDrive implementation to insync without loading terrabytes of redundant data? Just point to that directory?

Migration from Windows usually does not start with an empty OneDrive. :man_shrugging:

#2

Hi @smallfreak!

To avoid downloading data and having redundant copies on your filesystem, I would suggest to point Insync to that existing OneDrive directory. Insync will not download, but instead file-match the local contents with what’s on the cloud. It will use some bandwidth in scanning the contents but it will not download your files again.

How many TBs of data are you going to handle, by the way?

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#3

Thank you for this quick reply. I did as you suggested and crossed my fingers. The directories went “green” quickly with just a moderate amount of traffic. For now it looks fine.

Being a long term M$ User with a big photo library, OneDrive is still the most affordable online backup storage, even the web service is acquard - as usual with Microsoft, compared with DropBox for instance. But it’s essentially for free with the family Office license.

It’s not “a dozen of terrabytes” but way beyond the 100 GB. No problem if you fill it over the years. A big problem if you have to resync it via a wireless internet gateway in rural areas that levels out at 0.2-10 MBit, depending on the neighborhood and daytime. Even with a flat rate. I’m awaiting a fiber optic connection hopefully by end of the year but for now …

As it seems I picked a lucky time to opt for a license, as there currently is a rebate voucher available for a couple of days. :slight_smile:

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#4

@smallfreak Glad to know that it is behaving as expected. If you notice anything out of line, please don’t hesitate to update me here or send me an email (support@insynchq.com) linking this Forums thread. :slight_smile: