How to turn Groove and OneDrive into a music streaming tool

Dropbox and Google Drive may be more modern cloud storage services to use, but they can't reduce the value of OneDrive from Microsoft. The seamless integration of OneDrive with Windows 10 and other Windows versions makes it an excellent cloud storage option. Microsoft also offers deep integration with Groove, the default music player in Windows 10, allowing you to stream your music collection online on all your own devices.

The way OneDrive works

Before you get started, you need to know about the restrictions that OneDrive sets up for music streaming collections. Microsoft limits music playback to 50,000 songs. Before you start uploading, make sure you don't add more specified files.

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Also, remember that you are limited by the amount of memory you have in OneDrive. Free users will only have 5GB of storage, but if you sign up for Office 365 Home or Personal, you will get 1TB of storage. That number is more than enough to hold 50,000 songs, in addition to Office files or anything you need.

Once you're done archiving, you need to determine if OneDrive already has a music folder ready to use. To check this out, visit OneDrive.com and sign in. You won't check based on the OneDrive folders that have been synced to your PC, in case the OneDrive folders are not available on your computer.

When you sign in, scroll down to the " M " section in your OneDrive folder list to see if the music folder is there.

If there is a folder called Music, go to the section titled " Syncing with OneDrive ". If not, proceed to the next step.

No Music folder

If you don't have a music folder, go back to the desktop on Windows 10 and create a folder inside the OneDrive section. To do this, press the Windows + E key to open File Explorer. Click OneDrive in the left navigation panel, then on the File Explorer menu , select the Home tab and click the New folder button . This creates a new folder in OneDrive on your computer. Now make sure you name it Music.

Sync with OneDrive

Now you have a music folder in OneDrive, but you have to make sure it has been synced between OneDrive.com and your PC. To do this, click the upward arrow to the right of the Windows 10 taskbar taskbar. Right-click the OneDrive icon (small cloud) and select Settings. Then click Account> Choose folders. This will make a window open with all the folders you can save to OneDrive. Make sure Music is selected. Now, click OK twice to close the OneDrive installation window.

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Add music files to the Music folder

Now that your folder is set up, it's time to add music files. Click and drag all music files from your PC to the "Music" folder in OneDrive. You can do this by opening the main Music folder in Windows Explorer and pressing CTRL + A. Select all items in the directory. Now, just drag all the album folders and selected artists into the "Music" folder in OneDrive.

It takes some time for music files to be uploaded to OneDrive, depending on your collection size. Smaller libraries can be uploaded within a few hours, while large collections may take weeks or longer.

After your music collection is uploaded to OneDrive, you will be able to access that collection on all your devices. On your PC, you don't have to worry about waiting for uploading anymore because music files are available on the local memory. All you have to do is open Groove and your music collection will be ready to turn on.

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Mobile devices running Windows 10 with Groove are built-in, and Microsoft also offers Groove on Android and iOS. Just log in to those mobile apps with the same Microsoft account on your computer. After that, your music collection will be ready to transfer to those devices - when the file has been uploaded to the cloud.

If you are using an older version of Windows, you can still take advantage of OneDrive's ability to save music files. Microsoft offers a Groove Web application that can playback your music collection. However, on your primary PC, all you have to do is point your favorite music player, like iTunes or Windows Media Player, to your music collection in OneDrive.

That's all there is in the OneDrive-Groove combo. If you encounter problems, Microsoft has a help page to manage your music files in OneDrive.

Good luck!

See more:

1. Word 2013: Instructions for using Microsoft and OneDrive accounts
2. How to transfer photos from OneDrive to Google Drive
3. How to enable OneDrive Files On-Demand features on Windows 10 Fall Creators