OneDrive Admin Checklist: Known Folder Move creates duplicate folders for device refresh projects

When you run a device refresh project, users get new computers and you reconfigure Known Folder Move. A common problem appears: OneDrive creates duplicate folders named Desktop, Documents, and Pictures with suffixes like Desktop – LAPTOP-ABC123 or Desktop (1). This wastes administrator time and confuses users. The root cause is that OneDrive treats the old device folder path as still active and creates a new folder for the new computer instead of redirecting to the original. This article explains why duplicates happen during device refresh and provides a checklist to prevent them before you deploy new machines.

Why Known Folder Move Creates Duplicate Folders During a Device Refresh

Known Folder Move redirects the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to OneDrive. When a user signs in on a new computer, OneDrive checks whether those folders are already redirected in the tenant. If the old device still shows an active redirection, OneDrive does not merge the new computer into the existing folder. Instead, it creates a new folder with a suffix that includes the old computer name or a numeric increment.

The technical cause is the device registration state in Azure AD. Each device that participates in Known Folder Move stores a unique device identifier in the user’s OneDrive settings. When the old device is not properly decommissioned, OneDrive treats it as a separate known folder owner. The new device then creates its own folder because it cannot overwrite the redirection owned by the old device.

Another contributing factor is the timing of the Group Policy or Intune policy application. If the policy to enable Known Folder Move applies before the user signs in with the correct credentials, the folder redirection may not complete cleanly. The result is a duplicate folder that the user must manually clean up, which defeats the purpose of a seamless refresh.

Checklist to Prevent Duplicate Folders on Device Refresh

Follow these steps in order before you deploy new computers. This checklist assumes you have Global Admin or SharePoint Admin rights and access to the Microsoft 365 admin center and Azure AD.

1. Verify current Known Folder Move state per user
   Open the Microsoft 365 admin center and go to Users > Active users. Select each user who will receive a new device. Under the OneDrive tab, check the Known Folder Move status. If it shows Redirected, the folders are active. Note the device name listed there.
2. Remove old device redirection from Azure AD
   Sign in to the Azure portal at portal.azure.com. Go to Azure Active Directory > Devices > All devices. Find the old computer name. Select the device and choose Delete. This removes the device registration that OneDrive uses to identify the old known folder owner.
3. Disable Known Folder Move on the old device if still accessible
   If the old computer is still reachable, sign in as the user. Open OneDrive settings by clicking the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area and selecting Settings. Go to the Sync and backup tab. Click Manage backup. Under Desktop, Documents, and Pictures, click Stop backup. This severs the folder redirection from the old device.
4. Configure the Known Folder Move policy for the new device
   Use Group Policy or Intune to apply the policy. In Group Policy, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > OneDrive > Known Folder Move. Set the policy to Enabled and select the folders to move. For Intune, create a device configuration profile using the OneDrive administrative template and enable the same settings.
5. Enable silent account sign-in on the new device
   Apply the Group Policy setting at Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > OneDrive > Silently sign in users. Set it to Enabled and enter the user’s UPN. This makes OneDrive sign in automatically when the user logs into Windows, which triggers Known Folder Move without extra clicks.
6. Test the folder redirection on one pilot user
   Deploy the new computer to one user first. After the user signs in, open File Explorer and verify that the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders point to OneDrive. Check that no duplicate folders appear in the OneDrive root. If duplicates appear, repeat steps 2 and 3 for that user.
7. Roll out to remaining users in batches
   Use a phased deployment. Deploy to a small group, wait 24 hours, and review the OneDrive admin sync summaries. Look for any devices showing Redirected status for multiple computers. If duplicates appear for any user, stop the rollout and fix the stale device registration.

What to Do If Duplicate Folders Still Appear

Duplicate folder named Desktop – OldComputerName

This means the old device still has an active Known Folder Move redirection. Go back to Azure AD and confirm you deleted the old device. Also check if the user has a second device registered that you missed. Delete all devices except the new one. Then ask the user to sign out of OneDrive and sign back in. The duplicate folder should merge into the original.

Duplicate folder named Desktop (1) or Documents (2)

This indicates that OneDrive created a new folder because the original folder name was already taken by a folder that is not a Known Folder Move target. For example, a user may have manually created a Desktop folder in OneDrive before the policy applied. In this case, rename the original Desktop folder to Old Desktop, then restart OneDrive. Known Folder Move will redirect to the correct folder.

User sees both folders after refresh but old device is offline

If the old device is offline and you cannot run the Stop backup step, use PowerShell to remove the folder redirection remotely. Run Connect-SPOService and then Set-SPOSite -Identity -EnablePinning $false. This disables folder pinning and allows the new device to take over the redirection.

Manual Cleanup vs Automated Prevention: Key Differences

Item	Manual Cleanup After Duplicates Appear	Automated Prevention Before Refresh
Time required per user	15 to 30 minutes	5 minutes per user in planning
User impact	User must move files and rename folders	No user action needed
Tools needed	OneDrive desktop app and File Explorer	Azure AD portal and Group Policy or Intune
Risk of data loss	Medium if user deletes wrong folder	Low because redirection is clean
Repeatability	Must repeat for each duplicate	Works for all users in the batch

The automated prevention approach saves time and reduces errors. Use the checklist above before any device refresh project to avoid the manual cleanup path entirely.

You can now run a device refresh without creating duplicate Known Folder Move folders. Before you deploy new computers, delete old device registrations in Azure AD and apply the Silently sign in users policy. For advanced control, use PowerShell to check all users for stale redirections with Get-SPOSite and Remove-PnPUser.