After migrating your OneDrive account to a new tenant, domain, or user profile, you may notice that the Recent Files list in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint no longer shows your previously opened documents. This happens because Office apps store file references using the old account’s unique identifier. When the identifier changes during migration, the app cannot resolve the old paths and shows an empty or outdated list. This article explains the root cause of the broken recent files list and provides step-by-step fixes to restore it without losing access to your documents.
Key Takeaways: Fixing Recent Files After OneDrive Migration
- Office Trusted Documents registry key (HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Trusted Documents): Deleting this key forces Office to rebuild the recent files list from the new OneDrive account.
- OneDrive account switching in Office: Signing out and signing back into Office with the new credentials reconnects the file references.
- Windows Credential Manager: Removing stale credentials for the old OneDrive account prevents Office from using outdated authentication tokens.
Why OneDrive Migration Breaks the Recent Files List
When you open a file from OneDrive in an Office app, the app stores the file’s path using the tenant’s unique identifier. This identifier is a GUID that links the file to your account. During a migration — such as a tenant-to-tenant migration, domain change, or user profile rebuild — the GUID changes. Office cannot find the file using the old GUID, so the Recent Files list becomes inaccessible.
The broken references are stored in two locations:
Office Trusted Documents Registry
Office maintains a list of trusted file locations in the Windows Registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Trusted Documents. Each entry includes the file path and the GUID of the OneDrive account. After migration, the GUID no longer matches, so Office skips those entries.
Office MRU (Most Recently Used) Cache
The MRU cache stores the last 50 to 100 files opened in each Office app. This cache lives in the user’s AppData folder: %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Office\Recent. Each file is referenced by its full URL, including the old tenant domain. After migration, the domain is different, so the app cannot open the file from the cached URL.
Steps to Restore the Recent Files List
- Sign out of Office apps and sign back in with the new account
Open any Office app such as Word. Go to File > Account. Under User Information, click Sign Out. Wait 10 seconds, then click Sign In and enter your new OneDrive credentials. This refreshes the authentication token used to resolve file paths. - Delete the Office Trusted Documents registry key
Press Windows + R, typeregedit, and press Enter. Navigate toHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Trusted Documents. Right-click the Trusted Documents folder and select Delete. Confirm the deletion. Restart your computer. Office will rebuild the trusted documents list the next time you open a file from OneDrive. - Clear the Office MRU cache
Close all Office apps. Press Windows + R, type%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Office\Recent, and press Enter. Delete all files and folders inside the Recent folder. Do not delete the Recent folder itself. Restart your computer. Office will repopulate the recent files list as you open documents from the new OneDrive location. - Remove stale OneDrive credentials from Windows Credential Manager
Open Control Panel and go to User Accounts > Credential Manager. Click Windows Credentials. Look for entries containing OneDrive or the old tenant domain. Click the arrow to expand each entry, then click Remove. Confirm the removal. Restart your computer. - Reconnect OneDrive to the new account
Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray and select Settings. Go to the Account tab and click Unlink this PC. Follow the prompts to sign out. Then click Sign in and enter your new OneDrive credentials. Choose the folders to sync and finish the setup. - Open a file from OneDrive to rebuild the recent list
In any Office app, click File > Open > OneDrive. Navigate to a document you frequently use and open it. The app will add the file to the recent list using the new tenant GUID and URL. Repeat this for other important files.
If Recent Files Still Show Old or Broken Links
The Office Recent list shows a file but clicking it gives a 404 error
This means the file URL still points to the old tenant domain. Open the file manually from OneDrive by navigating to File > Open > OneDrive. Once opened, the app will update the cached URL to the new domain. The 404 error should stop appearing.
The Recent Files list is completely empty after migration
Office may have failed to rebuild the MRU cache after you cleared it. Open a few documents from OneDrive and close them. The list will populate gradually. If it remains empty after 10 minutes, run the Office Repair tool: go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Microsoft 365, click the three dots, and select Modify > Quick Repair.
OneDrive sync shows errors after migration
The migration may have left the sync client in a broken state. Right-click the OneDrive icon, select Settings > Account > Unlink this PC, then sign in with the new account. If errors persist, reset OneDrive by pressing Windows + R, typing %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset, and pressing Enter. Wait 2 minutes for the reset to complete.
Before Migration vs After Migration: Recent File Behavior
| Item | Before Migration | After Migration |
|---|---|---|
| File path format | https://oldtenant-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user_oldtenant_com/… | https://newtenant-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user_newtenant_com/… |
| Office Trusted Documents GUID | Old tenant GUID | New tenant GUID after rebuilding |
| MRU cache entries | Old URLs work | Old URLs return 404 until replaced |
| Recent list population | Full list of recently opened files | Empty list until files are opened again |
| Credential Manager tokens | Token for old tenant | Token for new tenant after removal |
After completing the steps above, the recent files list will show files from the new OneDrive account. The old entries will no longer appear because Office cannot resolve the old tenant GUID.
To prevent this issue in future migrations, run the OneDrive Migration Preparation Tool before the migration. This tool exports the current trusted documents list and MRU cache. After migration, import the data to preserve the recent files list. The tool is available in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Migration > OneDrive Migration.