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I was wondering if you can replace OneDrive with Dropbox. It looks like this right now:

Navigation pane

I would like Dropbox to appear where OneDrive is now, and perhaps uninstall and completely remove OneDrive.

and31415
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Maxim
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1 Answers1

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You need to install the dropbox client on your PC, and Dropbox will appear there too. You can get it on http://dropbox.com

You cant uninstall OneDrive, it is integrated into Windows 8.1 but you can disable it.

Completely Disable SkyDrive Everywhere (Home Edition)

The Home editions of Windows don’t have Group Policy, which is a lot easier to use than the registry editor. If you’re running Pro, skip down further and read those instructions. For everybody else, this is how you do it.

Open up the Registry Editor by using the WIN + R key combination, entering regedit.exe, and hitting enter. Then, navigate down to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows.

You will probably need to create the Skydrive key as shown on the left-hand side of the screenshot below by right-clicking on Windows and choosing New -> Key. Once you’ve done that, create the DisableFileSync key on the right-hand side, and give it a value of 1.

It’s pretty simple after that. Just restart your computer and Skydrive shouldn’t be available. If you just want to remove it from Windows Explorer, keep reading and follow the instructions below.

Completely Disable SkyDrive Everywhere (Windows Pro)

If you want to get rid of SkyDrive entirely, you can use Group Policy to remove it. This will get rid of it from everywhere on the system though, including the Metro apps.

Launch Group Policy Editor by pressing the Windows key and R simultaneously, typing gpedit.msc and hitting Enter.

Beneath the Local Computer Policy section, navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\SkyDrive and then double click the entry labeled Prevent the usage of SkyDrive for file storage to the right.

Select Enabled and then click OK.

The change will take immediate effect and you’ll see that the SkyDrive icon disappears from Explorer straight away.

Remove from the Explorer Side Panel

If you just want to remove SkyDrive from the side panel, you can use the registry editor to remove the library that provides that feature.

Press the Windows key and R at the same type, type regedit and press Enter. You then need to navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\ {8E74D236-7F35-4720-B138-1FED0B85EA75}\ShellFolder.

Before you can proceed, you will have to take ownership of this registry key, and when this is done you can make the necessary changes.

Double click the Attribute key and change its value to 0.

Should you ever feel the need to reverse the changes and reinstate SkyDrive, you can do so by either disabling the setting in Group Policy Editor, or editing the registry key again, this time changing its value back to the default of f080004d.

This great tutorial is provided by Howtogeek.com

NoNameProvided
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  • Are you saying you can't un-install it http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/onedrive/windows-app-faq – Dave Apr 09 '14 at 08:33
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    @DaveRook Correct. You can uninstall it in earlier versions of Windows, but starting with 8.1 it's integrated. – Indrek Apr 09 '14 at 08:34
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    Yes, it cant be uninstalled on windows 8.1, it is a part of it. The linked document stand for other versions of windows. – NoNameProvided Apr 09 '14 at 08:35
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    Also worth noting is that, even if you install Dropbox, it won't completely replicate all of OneDrive's functionality, like the backing up and syncing of Windows settings, IE favourites, Metro app data etc. – Indrek Apr 09 '14 at 08:35
  • Mark as answer if your question is answered. – NoNameProvided Apr 09 '14 at 09:52
  • Well, is there a way that you could integrate dropbox as you can integrate onedrive, i really like how onedrive is integrated but i just think dropbox is still superior to onedrive – Maxim Apr 09 '14 at 12:04
  • As I wrote, you need to install the Dropbox client for Windows, and your dropbox folder will appear there too with the name: Dropbox – NoNameProvided Apr 09 '14 at 12:26
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    @DaveRook Actually, you used to be able [disable 'skydrive' on windows 8.1](http://www.howtogeek.com/167058/how-to-disable-skydrive-integration-in-windows-8.1/), so I'm pretty sure it can still be done. – Shazvi Apr 09 '14 at 15:50
  • @NoNameProvided I just reinstalled dropbox, restarted explorer.exe but the dropbox is still not shown in the navigation pane. I was able to remove the onedrive – Maxim Apr 12 '14 at 09:58
  • Did you select the default location or do you set one manually? Didn't the tutorial show you integration feature? – NoNameProvided Apr 12 '14 at 20:11