OneDrive for Business Windows startup troubleshooting for new profiles: uses the wrong account

When a new user profile logs into Windows for the first time, OneDrive for Business may start with the wrong Microsoft 365 account. Instead of using the account assigned to the new profile, OneDrive uses a cached account from a previous user or the device-wide Windows credential manager. This causes sync failures, file access errors, and confusion about which files are actually available.

The root cause is that OneDrive stores sign-in tokens in the Windows Credential Manager under the user’s profile. When a new profile is created, OneDrive may reuse a cached token from a shared device or from a previous profile that was not properly signed out. Additionally, Group Policy settings or registry keys that force a specific tenant can override the new user’s intended account.

This article explains why OneDrive picks the wrong account on new profiles, provides step-by-step instructions to force the correct sign-in, and covers related issues like persistent credential conflicts and domain-joined device policies.

Why OneDrive Uses the Wrong Account on New Profiles

OneDrive for Business stores authentication tokens in the Windows Credential Manager under the current user’s profile. When a new Windows profile is created, OneDrive tries to reuse existing tokens from the credential store. If the device was previously used by another user who signed into OneDrive, or if the new profile was created from a shared system image, those old tokens remain and are presented during startup.

On domain-joined or Microsoft Entra ID joined devices, Group Policy can enforce a specific OneDrive tenant or account. If the policy is set to Silently sign in users to the OneDrive sync app with their Windows credentials, OneDrive will attempt to sign in using the Windows user principal name. If the Windows account does not match the intended Microsoft 365 account, the wrong account gets used.

Another scenario occurs when a new profile is created from a roaming profile or a mandatory profile. In these cases, OneDrive’s UserConfig registry key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive\Accounts\Business1 may contain stale account identifiers from the source profile. OneDrive reads this key at startup and uses the stored account without prompting the user.

Steps to Force OneDrive to Use the Correct Account on a New Profile

These steps assume you are logged into the new Windows profile where OneDrive is showing the wrong account. Perform them in the order listed.

1. Sign out of OneDrive completely
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray notification area. Select Help & Settings then Sign out. If the icon is not visible, click the arrow (Show hidden icons) to expand the system tray. Wait for the confirmation that you are signed out.
2. Remove cached credentials from Windows Credential Manager
   Press Windows Key + R, type control keymgr.dll, and press Enter. In the Credential Manager window, click Windows Credentials. Scroll to the Generic Credentials section. Look for entries that contain OneDrive or MicrosoftOffice16 followed by a user name. Select each matching entry and click Remove. Confirm the removal. This forces OneDrive to prompt for a new sign-in on the next startup.
3. Clear the OneDrive account registry key
   Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, and press Enter. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive\Accounts\Business1. Look for a string value named UserEmail or UserName. Right-click the value and select Delete. Close Registry Editor. This prevents OneDrive from reusing a stored email address.
4. Restart OneDrive manually
   Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Under the Processes tab, find Microsoft OneDrive. Right-click it and select End task. Then press Windows Key + R, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe, and press Enter. OneDrive will start and display the sign-in window. Enter the correct Microsoft 365 work or school account credentials.
5. Set OneDrive to start with the correct account automatically
   After signing in with the correct account, right-click the OneDrive cloud icon and select Settings. Go to the Settings tab. Under General, ensure Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to Windows is checked. Click OK. Restart Windows to confirm the correct account is used on startup.

If the Wrong Account Keeps Returning After Restart

If OneDrive reverts to the wrong account after a restart, the device may have a Group Policy that forces a specific tenant. Check the following registry location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\OneDrive. Look for SilentAccountConfig or EnableADAL values. If SilentAccountConfig is set to 1, OneDrive will automatically sign in with the Windows user’s UPN. Contact your IT administrator to disable this policy for devices with multiple user profiles.

Related Issues After the Main Fix

OneDrive Still Shows the Old Account Name in the Sync Icon

After signing in with the correct account, the OneDrive system tray icon may still display the old account name or email. This is a display caching issue. Right-click the OneDrive icon, select Help & Settings, then Pause syncing for 2 hours. After pausing, right-click again and select Resume syncing. The icon should update to the correct account. If it does not, sign out and sign back in using the steps in section 2.

OneDrive Requests Credentials on Every Startup

If OneDrive prompts for credentials each time the new profile logs in, the credential removal in step 2 may have been incomplete. Open Credential Manager again and check for any remaining OneDrive entries under Windows Credentials. Also check under Certificate-Based Credentials. Remove any entries that reference OneDrive or Microsoft Office. Then restart Windows.

OneDrive Does Not Start Automatically for the New Profile

If OneDrive does not start after sign-in, the startup shortcut may be missing. Press Windows Key + R, type shell:startup, and press Enter. In the Startup folder, ensure there is a shortcut named OneDrive.lnk. If it is missing, create a new shortcut with the target %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe. Right-click the new shortcut and select Properties. On the Shortcut tab, click Advanced and check Run as administrator only if required by your organization’s policies.

OneDrive Account Selection: New Profile vs Existing Profile Behavior

Item	New Windows Profile	Existing Windows Profile
Default sign-in behavior	Uses cached credentials from Credential Manager if available	Uses the account that was last signed in
Credential Manager impact	Old tokens from previous user may be reused	Tokens are tied to the current user
Group Policy effect	SilentAccountConfig can force a tenant mismatch	Policy applies but account is already set
Registry key persistence	UserConfig from roaming profile may contain stale account	UserConfig matches the current sign-in
Fix method	Remove credentials, delete registry key, restart OneDrive	Sign out and sign in with correct account

You can now force OneDrive for Business to use the correct account on any new Windows profile by clearing cached credentials and registry keys. After applying the steps in section 2, verify the fix by restarting Windows and checking that OneDrive starts with the intended account. As an advanced tip, use the OneDriveMapper PowerShell script from the Microsoft 365 admin center to pre-configure the correct account during profile creation on shared devices.