What is going on with CloudDrive? OneDrive target is almost full?

[Sonicmojo]

All

Have had Clouddrive connected to my main server for two years now - and it backs up to OneDrive for Business.

The OneDrive storage is a 1TB is size and my "CloudDrive" allocation for this 1TB is 600GB:

I have Cloud used = 317GB. Unused is 283GB.

But the real kicker is this - that I just received from MS:

If Cloud drive is only allocating 600GB of space - how it is possible to be out of space?

I have looked at every angle of this - and it all adds up correctly:

317 GB - exactly used by Clouddrive:

Exactly nothing - in all the other folders:

Yet - I am sitting on the cusp of running out of space

What is taking up the other 683GBs here?

S

 

[Shane]

Is it possible there are files in OneDrive's recycle bin online (checking via browser) that need to be deleted?

[Sonicmojo]

11 hours ago, Shane said:

Is it possible there are files in OneDrive's recycle bin online (checking via browser) that need to be deleted?

Nope. Turns out its "versioning". OneDrive thought it was a good idea to create 683 GB of "versions" - which are proving to be a pain in the balls to clear.

Working with MS now and all the Powershell (and rClone) muscle I can exert to try and dump all this useless crap.

Also doesn't help that Clouddrive wrotes 1MB chunks to Onedrive - which of course then turn into thousands of 1MB version files - which eventually eat all available space - with no way for the user to get it back - outside of completely torching the Clouddrive container, deleting all backed up data and starting over.

Which makes me wonder why I would use Clouddrive at all - or maybe I simply need to find a better provider.

S

[dval14sb]

On 8/23/2026 at 11:33 AM, Sonicmojo said:

Nope. Turns out its "versioning". OneDrive thought it was a good idea to create 683 GB of "versions" - which are proving to be a pain in the balls to clear.

Thanks for sharing. Would you be able to share too where this versioning is saved and how you're getting rid of them? My MS OD CloudDrives are set to 900GB thinking it will not go beyond that and hit the 1TB limit (nothing else on the OneDrive). So far it hasn't but dreading it doing so.

Is there a way to limit this versioning or eliminate it altogether? Also, is the versioning done by CloudDrive or MS?

 

[Sonicmojo]

2 hours ago, dval14sb said:

Thanks for sharing. Would you be able to share too where this versioning is saved and how you're getting rid of them? My MS OD CloudDrives are set to 900GB thinking it will not go beyond that and hit the 1TB limit (nothing else on the OneDrive). So far it hasn't but dreading it doing so.

Is there a way to limit this versioning or eliminate it altogether? Also, is the versioning done by CloudDrive or MS?

 

Sure - MS is very coy about their supposed "space" out there.

And they say nothing anywhere about versioning until you hit a scenario like this.

The versions are NOT visible anywhere (easily). The only way to see what is really going on is burrow deep inside thee MS Admin Center for Sharepoint until you hit Storage Metrics and you will eventually get to a view of a single "chunk" that CloudDrive writes out to your OneDrive space:

AND then finally - click Version History to see the damage being inflicted....

The only way - you and I can clear this crap is by clicking "delete all versions" - above.

But this deletes the versions for just this single chunk.

Cloud Drive has created 500 folders - with 500 1MB chunks in each folder. (25000 chunks total).

It would take you months to visit each 1Mb chunk and click Delete All Versions.

Some files in my stash oddly have 1 version. Others have 89. Still others have 132. No rhyme no reason to any of it.

The biggest joke is in what universe could ever somehow cobble use ANY of these "older" versions and have it makes sense.

At any give time - all 25000 of these 1MB chunks (assuming the last and latest version) go together in a single unique puzzle to form the overall "data" that is backed up in our cloud drives. 

If there was ever a more useless backup option than this - I have never seen it. 

All I know is once I get this sorted by MS - I am moving to BackBlaze B2. OneDrive (Business OR personal) was never designed to be used how I want to use it (Third level offsite deep cold storage) that will most likely NEVER be used for restoration purposes ever outside of a complete global emergency that wipes house and home over here.

Finally - versioning CANNOT be turned off by you or I regardless of admin access or what not. The best I could do is REDUCE versions from an unbelievable 500 to 100 AND have the system clip any versions older than 30 days. That is simply not an option that will work for 25000 1MB chunks.

Hello Backblaze - goodbye OneDrive.

S

 

[dval14sb]

Yikes! You weren't kidding. Hopefully mine won't get that bad. Mostly static. So far. Would hate to have to do that for 200 accounts. May need to find an automatic or scripted way. Thanks!