Fix OneDrive Error Unable to Move Shortcut in Windows 11 or 10

There are times when you may want to share the OneDrive folders with someone else and to do this, you must add a shortcut to your file, suing the Add shortcut to my files option in the OneDrive app. The application would then create a shortcut in the root directory of the OneDrive of the person you want to share it with. While moving folders from one directory to another is a fairly mundane and normal process, sometimes you may come across an error message – “We’re currently unable to move shortcuts and moved the shortcut back to its original location.

The error message shows up as a pop up whenever you try to move a file or folder to the OneDrive app or within the app. In fact, you may also come across this error while opening documents. Some of the major reasons why you may see this error are, when there are no shortcuts in the folder, when you try to move a folder shortcut shared by another person, there may be glitch in the root directory, an issue with the file and folder permissions, etc.

Whatever may be the reason, there are a couple of methods that may help you fix the OneDrive error “Unable to Move Shortcut” on your Windows 11 PC.

 

Method 1: Check if the Shortcut Target is Still Available

 

Sometimes, you could see the error because the shortcut of the target must have got deleted accidentally or you do not have access to the shared folder anymore. In this case, launch a new tab on your browser and then sign in to your OneDrive account. Now, select the shortcut that’s creating the issue and hit Delete.

Wait for sometime and the shortcut should be deleted from the File Explorer also.

You can now create a new shortcut and should not come across the OneDrive error anymore.

Method 2: Unlink your PC

You can also unlink the PC to check if this helps you get rid of the “unable to mode shortcut” error. Let’s see how:

 

Step 1: Click to open the OneDrive app on your Taskbar.

Next, click on  Gear shaped Settings icon

Step 2: Click on Settings in the menu.



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Step 3: In the Microsoft OneDrive Settings window, go to the Accounts tab.

Here, click on Unlink this PC link.

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Wait for a while and then link your PC again.

You can now try to move shared folders within the OneDrive app and you should not encounter the error again.

Method 3: Update OneDrive

If you are running an outdated version of the app, that can be a major reason why you see the OneDrive shortcut error. Therefore, updating the app can help fix the issue. Here’s how:

 

Step 1: Click to open the OneDrive app on your Taskbar.

Next, click on  Gear shaped Settings icon. Now, Click on Settings.

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Step 2: In the Microsoft OneDrive settings window, select the About tab.

Here, check the current OneDrive version under the About Microsoft OneDrive app.

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Step 3: Now, click on the below link to visit the official OneDrive website:

 

OneDrive Webpage

 

Here, look for the latest version available and if there is one, click on the Download OneDrive for Windows option to download and finish the update.

Once the OneDrive app is updated to the latest version, you should get rid of the shortcut error.

Method 4: Reset OneDrive

You can also try resetting OneDrive using Command Prompt and check if this helps resolve the error and allow you to move the shortcut:

 

Step 1: Go to Start, right-click on it and select Run to open the Run command window.

Step 2: In the Run command window, type cmd in the search field and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard to open the elevated Command Prompt.

 

4 Run Cmd Optimized

 

Step 3: In the Command Prompt (admin) window, type the below command and hit Enter:

 

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

 

Once executed, close the command prompt window and restart your OneDrive app and the error should not show up again.

 

*Note – However, if the command returns an error message “Windows can’t find the path you mentioned“, then run the below commands:

 

  • C:\Program Files\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset

 

Now, check if the issue is resolved.

 

Method 5: Re-establish the Sync

 

While restarting the PC sometimes helps resolves a lot of issues, you can also try syncing the OneDrive app again. Simply close the app and wait for a while.

To close the OneDrive app follow the below process:

 

Step 1: Click to open the OneDrive app on your Taskbar.

Next, click on  Gear shaped Settings icon.

Step 2: Now, in the system tray, right-click on the cloud icon and click on Close OneDrive.

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Once the app is close and few minutes are over, you can restart the PC and as the PC starts, OneDrive should connect again and you should not see the error again.

Method 6: Move the shortcut back to the root folder

 

The error could also show up if you have copied the shortcut from the root directory in OneDrive. Hence, moving the shortcut back to he root directory may sometimes help fix the issue. Once you have done that, you can then try to move the shortcut again to another location.

You can identify the name of the target shortcut mentioned in the error message or you can type the folder name in the search bar to pull up the problem shortcut.

Stop syncing the folder and delete the shortcut

In this method, you must stop the folder from syncing and then delete its shortcut. Let’s see how to stop the folder from syncing:

 

Step 1: Click to open the OneDrive app on your Taskbar.

Step 2 – Next, click on  Gear shaped Settings icon. Now, Click on Settings.

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Step 3: In the Microsoft OneDrive settings dialogue box, under the Accounts tab, go to the Choose folders section and click on the Choose folders button.

 

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Step 4: In the Choose folders window, uncheck the folder that contains the shortcut that’s creating the issue.

Press OK to apply the changes.

Step 5: Now, go to the folder and delete the shortcut.

 

Once done, create the shortcut again and try moving it without seeing the error again.

Delete the shortcut using OneDrive Web

If you are unable to delete the shortcut from the OneDrive app, you can try deleting the shortcut from the web version of OneDrive. Follow the below instructions and see if this helps fix the issue:

 

Step 1: Open your browser, visit the OneDrive website and log in using your Microsoft log in user id and password.

Step 2: Now, in the OneDrive web interface, look for the problematic shortcut or find it using the search bar above.

Step 3: Once you have identified the problematic shortcut, select it and click on the Delete icon.

Step 4: Now, go to the left side of the interface and click on the Recycle bin option.

 

Now, you can move the shared folder easily within OneDrive and not see the error again.

Remove shared folder shortcuts from your OneDrive

 

Chances are, that the file or folder you want to move within the OneDrive app is a shared folder which does not exist anymore or you do not have access to the folder anymore, and hence, you encounter the “unable to move shortcut” error on your Windows 11 PC. Here’s how you can delete the shared folder shortcuts:

 

Step 1: Go  to your browser and open the web version of the OneDrive app.

Step 2: Next, navigate to the left side of the window and click on Shared to open the shared folder list.

Step 3: Now, on the right side of the pane, select the problematic file or folder.

Next, click on Remove or Remove a shortcut option on the top.

 

This will remove the shortcut or delete the folder from the shared list.

If the shared folder is no more available, it will be deleted from your OneDrive app. However, if you want to get access to the shared folder again, you can request the owner of the folder to share it again.

While this will delete the folder from the OneDrive app, you will still have access to it through the shared folder.

Switch off the Office Upload

 

Sometimes, you may encounter the error while moving a file within OneDrive due to a glitch in the automatic office upload option. Let’s see how to fix this issue and possibly get rid of the OneDrive error:

 

Step 1: Go to the right side of the Taskbar and expand the system tray.

Now, right-click on the OneDrive app (cloud icon) in the system tray and select Settings from the menu.

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Step 2: In the Microsoft OneDrive settings dialogue box, select the Office tab and under the File collaboration section, uncheck the box next to Use Office applications to sync Office files that I open.

Press OK to save the changes and exit.

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Now, open the OneDrive again and check if the issue is now resolved.

Select the folders to be synced

In this method, you will be resyncing the folder with which you are facing the problem. Let’s see how:

 

Step 1: Go to the bottom right side of the Taskbar and right-click on the cloud icon (OneDrive app).

Select Settings from the menu.

Step 2: In the Settings window, under the Accounts tab, click on the Choose folders button.



Step 3: In the Choose folders pop-up window, select few folders to sync.

At the same time, uncheck the box next to the folder that’s creating the problem.

Press OK to save the changes and allow OneDrive to sync.

Step 4: Now, repeat the Steps 1 and 2, and then in the Choose folders pop up, also select the problematic folder to let it sync.

Press OK  to save the changes and let OneDrive sync again.

Now, check if the OneDrive error still persists.

 

Manage OneDrive Storage

 

Make sure that you clean any junk files and folders from the OneDrive at regular intervals to have enough storage in your OneDrive. This is because, less storage space can also lead to may issues and that includes the error message while moving files from one directory to another within the app.

Since cleaning the junk is recommended, the best way to clean and make space would be through the OneDrive web version.

Step 1: Launch your browser and open the OneDrive web page.

Now, navigate to the bottom left side of the window and you should see the available storage space out of the total space. If you find that the storage is reaching its limit, it’s time you should delete some files or folders. Once you have deleted the files, the OneDrive shortcut error should be resolved.

*Note – You can download these files and folders (deleted ones) separately and save it on your PC and once the problem is fixed, you can save them in OneDrive.

At the same time, make sure that your hard disk is also free of junk files and has enough storage space.

 

Sometimes, simply closing the OneDrive app and then restarting again, helps fix the shortcut error.

However, if nothing helps, you can contact the Microsoft support to get help off-hand.