OneDrive for Business Known Folder Move troubleshooting for department pilots: creates duplicate folders

When you roll out Known Folder Move to a department pilot group, some users report duplicate folders in their OneDrive. For example, a user sees both “Documents” and “Documents – Your Organization” after the move. This problem occurs when the Group Policy or configuration service provider settings target the wrong folder redirection policy or when the user has existing redirected folders. This article explains why duplicates happen during pilot deployments and provides the specific steps to resolve them without losing data.

Why Known Folder Move Creates Duplicate Folders in Pilot Deployments

Known Folder Move redirects the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders from the local user profile to OneDrive. When the feature runs on a device that already has Folder Redirection via Group Policy, the user ends up with two copies of the same folder. One copy remains in the local profile, and OneDrive creates a second copy with the suffix “ – Your Organization” or “ – ”.

The root cause is a conflict between the Folder Redirection Group Policy and the OneDrive KFM policy. Folder Redirection moves the folder to a network share or a different location. OneDrive KFM then sees the folder as still in the original local path and attempts to move it again. The result is a duplicate folder in OneDrive that is not synced with the original redirected folder.

In pilot deployments, you might also see duplicates if the user manually moved files to OneDrive before the KFM policy applied. OneDrive treats the manually created folders as separate entities and does not merge them with the KFM-created folders.

Steps to Remove Duplicate Folders and Restore Correct Redirection

Follow these steps in order to remove duplicate folders and ensure Known Folder Move redirects only the correct folders.

1. Open OneDrive Settings
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray and select Settings. Go to the Sync and backup tab and click Manage backup.
2. Stop Backup on the Duplicate Folder
   In the Manage backup dialog, you see both the original folder and the duplicate folder listed. Click Stop backup next to the duplicate folder. For example, if you see “Documents – Your Organization”, stop backup on that entry. Do not stop backup on the folder that is already in the correct location.
3. Delete the Duplicate Folder from OneDrive
   Open File Explorer and navigate to your OneDrive folder. Locate the duplicate folder, right-click it, and select Delete. Confirm the deletion. The folder moves to your OneDrive Recycle Bin.
4. Empty the OneDrive Recycle Bin
   Open OneDrive in a web browser. Click Recycle bin in the left navigation. Select the deleted duplicate folder and click Empty recycle bin. This prevents the folder from reappearing during the next sync cycle.
5. Restart Backup for the Correct Folder
   Go back to OneDrive Settings > Sync and backup > Manage backup. Click Start backup for the correct folder. OneDrive now redirects the folder without creating a duplicate.
6. Verify the Folder Redirection
   Open File Explorer. Right-click the local folder, for example Documents, and select Properties. Go to the Location tab. The path should point to your OneDrive folder, for example C:\Users\\OneDrive - Contoso\Documents. If the path still shows the local profile path, click Restore Default and then Move to apply the change.

Alternative Method: Reset KFM State via Registry

If the above steps do not resolve the duplicate, reset the Known Folder Move state in the registry.

1. Close OneDrive
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon and select Close OneDrive.
2. Open Registry Editor
   Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
3. Navigate to the KFM Key
   Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive\Accounts\Business1. If you have multiple accounts, look for the key that contains your work account.
4. Delete KfmFolder Values
   In the right pane, locate values that start with KfmFolder, such as KfmFolderDesktop, KfmFolderDocuments, KfmFolderPictures. Right-click each and select Delete. Do not delete any other values.
5. Restart OneDrive
   Close Registry Editor. Press Windows + R, type onedrive, and press Enter. OneDrive starts and prompts you to set up Known Folder Move again. Follow the prompts to redirect the folders correctly.

If Duplicate Folders Persist After the Main Fix

Known Folder Move Still Shows “Documents – Your Organization” on a New Device

This happens when the user previously redirected folders on another device and the folder name is already taken in OneDrive. OneDrive appends the organization name to avoid a naming conflict. To fix this, rename the existing folder in OneDrive to something else, then run the KFM setup again. For example, rename “Documents” to “Documents_old” in the OneDrive web interface. Then on the new device, start backup for Documents. OneDrive creates a new folder named “Documents” without the suffix.

Group Policy Conflict Between Folder Redirection and KFM

If your organization uses both Folder Redirection and KFM, the two policies conflict. Remove the Folder Redirection policy for the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders from the pilot group’s Group Policy Object. Apply only the OneDrive KFM policy. To do this, open Group Policy Management Editor, navigate to User Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Folder Redirection, and set each folder to “Not configured”. Then enable the OneDrive policy “Silently move Windows known folders to OneDrive” under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > OneDrive.

User Has Manually Moved Files to OneDrive Before KFM

If a user manually dragged files to OneDrive before the KFM policy applied, those files remain in a separate folder. OneDrive does not merge them. To consolidate, move the files from the manual folder into the KFM-created folder in File Explorer. Then delete the empty manual folder. After that, run the KFM setup again to ensure the redirection points to the correct folder.

Known Folder Move Policy Configurations: Silently Move vs Prompt User

Item	Silently move known folders to OneDrive	Prompt user to move known folders
Policy location	Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > OneDrive	Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > OneDrive
User interaction	No user prompt; move happens in background	User sees a notification and must click “Start backup” to proceed
Duplicate risk	Lower if Folder Redirection is disabled; higher if conflicting policies exist	Higher if user delays backup and manually moves files first
Best use case	Pilot groups with known clean device state	Broad rollout where users need to opt in

For department pilots, use the “Silently move known folders to OneDrive” policy. It reduces user confusion and prevents manual file moves that lead to duplicates. Ensure no Folder Redirection policy is applied to the same folders before enabling this setting.

After applying these fixes, your pilot users should see only one set of Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders in OneDrive. Next, verify that sync status shows a green checkmark on all folders. As an advanced tip, run the OneDrive KFM diagnostic tool by executing %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDriveDiagnostics.exe from a command prompt to generate a detailed report of folder redirection state and sync conflicts.