Microsoft OneNote is an excellent software for gathering information and collaborating with multiple users. The software has been updated and gets better over time – but nothing is perfect at the end of the day, and there may be times when you will have to troubleshoot OneDrive errors & problems. This post runs you through some of the issues which you may face at some point.

OneNote problems, errors & issues

If Microsoft OneNote is not working, then this post will help you troubleshoot & fix OneNote problems, errors & issues in Windows 10, and suggest workarounds too.

Open Notebooks created in earlier versions of OneNote

The later versions of OneNote support documents in the 2010-2016 format. If a user tried to open a document created in OneNote 2003 or OneNote 2007, it would open directly. However, the documents could be converted to the appropriate format, so they work well with the later versions of OneNote. This could be done as follows:

1. Open the notebook on OneNote 2016 or 2013, (even though it might not display properly).
2. Select the File tab and click on Info.
3. Next, to the name of your notebook, click on settings and then on properties.
4. In the window that opens, choose Convert to 2010-2016.
5. The converted file could be opened on Windows mobile as well.

OneNote can’t open my page or section

If you see “There’s a problem with the contents in this section,” error message, open the notebook in the desktop version of OneNote, which provides notebook recovery options.

SharePoint related errors with OneNote

Most errors reported on OneNote are with sites shared on SharePoint. Please log on to the system as an administrator before proceeding with the steps.

Syncing issue with My SharePoint Notebook

OneNote supports versions of SharePoint that are newer than SharePoint 2010. Older versions won’t be supported and that is a part of the built.

TIP: This post will show you how to enable or disable syncing of files from OneNote.

Turn off  Check-in/Check Out in SharePoint Document Library

1. Open the document library in SharePoint.
2. In the ribbon for Library Tools, select Library, then Library settings and then Versioning settings.
3. Change the value of Require Check Out to No.

Turn off Minor Versions in SharePoint Document Library

1. Open the document library in SharePoint.
2. In the ribbon for Library Tools, select Library, then Library settings and then Versioning settings.
3. Change the value of Document Versioning History to No Versioning.

Turn off Required Properties in SharePoint Document Library

1. Open the document library in SharePoint.
2. In the ribbon for Library Tools, select Library, then Library settings.
3. Find the table titled Columns on the window and check if any of the items under the Required column have a check mark.
4. Should you find any item marked as required, then set its value to No.

OneNote Quota errors

Storage issues might also be a problem for those working with OneNote. Some of the issues with exceeded quota limits could be mitigated as below, says Microsoft.

To start with, figure out if the notebook is stored on OneDrive or SharePoint. The difference could be analyzed by observing the URL. OneDrive URL’s will have some variant of OneDrive in them. SharePoint URLs are company specific.

1. If your notebook is on OneDrive, check if you could free space on the OneDrive or else you could buy more space as well.
2. If you have exceeded the limit for SharePoint, you might need to contact the SharePoint administrator for help.

OneNote is not working

If the OneNote desktop software is not working, you may Repair your Microsoft Office installation via the Control Panel. This will reinstall the Microsoft OneNote software too.

If the OneNote Windows Store app is not working on your Windows 10 PC, then you may uninstall using our 10AppsManager for Windows 10. Once done, you may install it again by searching for in the Windows Store.

More OneNote help topics: