How can I access an old OneDrive folder in an old hard drive?

Question

1. I used to store my documents in the OneDrive folder of an old laptop (LaptopA).
2. The OneDrive folder in LaptopA would sync with the online storage, however, because of the capacity limit, not all the files in LaptopA would sync with the online storage. So some files were synced, while most were not.
3. Then, LaptopA broke. I removed the hard drive of LaptopA and used another laptop (LaptopB) to access said hard drive.
4. However, I am unable to access the OneDrive folder in the hard drive of LaptopA and would get the message 'the file cannot be accessed by the system'
5. I tried downloading the OneDrive app in LaptopB, and signing in with the same microsoft live account used on the old One Drive folder.
6. Then, I tried to use the OneDrive folder in the hard drive of LaptopA as the synced folder in the OneDrive app in LaptopB, but it wouldn't allow it.

What else can I do to access the files in the old OneDrive folder?

Answer 1

First, what do you mean by, "LaptopA broke?" What broke on the PC? If it was the HDD, then it might be possible to recover some data from it... or not.

Second, did you encrypt the OneDrive folder? If so, you'll need to unencrypt it.

Third, could you access other folders on the HDD? If not then it is likely the whole HDD is encrypted or damaged.

Fourth, if the issue is due to Windows preventing access, make a disk image, for example using Macrium Reflect Free or an alternative. Open the image file ("browse image") in the application, enabling access to restricted folders. Making a disk image is also useful, in case your attempts to access the removed HDD causes damage.,

Another way to access restricted folders is using another OS. For example, you can put Ubuntu on a USB flash drive and use it without needing to install Ubuntu, to copy the folder to the new PC drive.