Pre-Provisioning User OneDrives with PowerShell Made Easy

Before we touch the scripts, we need to ensure your environment is ready. This involves having the right permissions and the necessary PowerShell modules installed.

Prerequisites:

Step 1: Verify Your Permissions You must have one of the following administrative roles in your Microsoft 365 tenant:

• Global Administrator

• SharePoint Administrator

Step 2: Install the Required PowerShell Modules These scripts rely on two key modules to interact with your tenant. If you've never run these commands before, or if it's been a while, it's best to run them to ensure you have the latest versions.

Open PowerShell as an Administrator and run the following commands:

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -Force

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph -Force

Scenario 1 - Provisioning OneDrive for ALL users

This is the script you'll use for initial tenant setups, preparing for a company-wide migration, or ensuring every existing user has a OneDrive site ready to go.

# --Created by Jack @ jackdjd.com--

# 1. CONNECT TO MICROSOFT 365 SERVICES

# Connect to SharePoint Online
try {
    $sharePointAdminUrl = Read-Host -Prompt "Enter your SharePoint Admin Center URL (e.g., https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com)"
    Connect-SPOService -Url $sharePointAdminUrl
}
catch {
    Write-Host "Error connecting to SharePoint. Please check the URL and your permissions." -ForegroundColor Red
    return
}

# Connect to Microsoft Graph
try {
    Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.Read.All"
}
catch {
    Write-Host "Error connecting to Microsoft Graph." -ForegroundColor Red
    return
}


# 2. GET AND VALIDATE USERS (CLIENT-SIDE FILTERING METHOD)

Write-Host "Retrieving all users to filter locally. This is the most reliable method." -ForegroundColor Green
try {
    # Step 1: Get ALL users and the properties we need to check.
    Write-Host "Step 1: Fetching all user objects from Microsoft 365..."
    $allUsers = Get-MgUser -All -Property "UserPrincipalName,DisplayName,UserType,UsageLocation"

    # Step 2: Filter the results locally using PowerShell's Where-Object.
    # This avoids server-side filter errors entirely.
    Write-Host "Step 2: Filtering for 'Member' accounts with a Usage Location..."
    $usersToProcess = $allUsers | Where-Object { $_.UserType -eq 'Member' -and (-not [string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($_.UsageLocation)) } | Select-Object UserPrincipalName, DisplayName
    # --- END OF CORRECTION ---

    if ($null -eq $usersToProcess -or $usersToProcess.Count -eq 0) {
        Write-Host "No users found matching the criteria after filtering. Exiting." -ForegroundColor Yellow
        return
    }

    Write-Host "Successfully found $($usersToProcess.Count) users to process." -ForegroundColor Green
    
    # Diagnostic Step: Display the first few users found to ensure they are valid.
    Write-Host "--- Checking the first 5 users found ---" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    $usersToProcess | Select-Object -First 5 | Format-Table
    Write-Host "------------------------------------" -ForegroundColor Cyan

}
catch {
    # This catch block will now only trigger for major issues, like being unable to connect.
    Write-Host "A critical error occurred while retrieving users: $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red
    return
}

# 3. PROVISION ONEDRIVE FOR EACH USER

Write-Host "Starting the OneDrive provisioning process..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

foreach ($user in $usersToProcess) {
    # Sanity Check: Verify the user object is not null before proceeding.
    if ($null -eq $user -or [string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($user.UserPrincipalName)) {
        Write-Warning "Skipping an invalid or empty user object found in the collection."
        continue # Skips to the next user in the loop
    }

    $userPrincipalName = $user.UserPrincipalName
    $displayName = $user.DisplayName

    try {
        Write-Host "Sending provisioning request for $displayName ($userPrincipalName)..."
        Request-SPOPersonalSite -UserEmails $userPrincipalName -NoWait
        Write-Host "  -> Success: Request has been queued for $userPrincipalName." -ForegroundColor Green
    }
    catch {
        Write-Host "  -> Info: An issue occurred for $userPrincipalName. They may already have a OneDrive, lack a license, or another issue occurred." -ForegroundColor Yellow
    }
}

# 4. DISCONNECT

Write-Host "OneDrive provisioning script has completed." -ForegroundColor Green

Step-by-Step Guide to Running the Script

1. Save the Code: Copy the script above into a text editor (like VS Code or Notepad) and save it as

2. Open PowerShell: Launch PowerShell as an Administrator.

3. Navigate to the File: Use the cd command to navigate to the directory where you saved your script. For example: cd C:\Scripts

4. Run the Script: Execute the script by typing its name: .\Provision-AllOneDrives.ps1.

5. Follow the Prompts:

   • First, you will be prompted to enter your SharePoint Admin Center URL.

   • Next, browser windows will pop up asking you to authenticate to SharePoint and Microsoft Graph. Sign in with your administrator account.

6. Monitor the Output: The script will provide real-time feedback, telling you it's connecting, how many users it found, and a sample of those users. It will then loop through each user and print a status message.

Scenario 2 - Provisioning OneDrive for a single user

This script is your go-to for targeted tasks: onboarding a single new employee, fixing a provisioning issue for a specific user, or simply testing the process. It takes the user's email address as a direct parameter.

# --Created by Jack @ jackdjd.com--

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true, HelpMessage="Enter the User Principal Name (email address) of the user.")]
    [string]$UserPrincipalName
)

# Section 1: Connect to Microsoft 365 Services
Write-Host "Connecting to Microsoft 365 services..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
try {
    $sharePointAdminUrl = Read-Host -Prompt "Enter your SharePoint Admin Center URL (e.g., https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com)"
    Connect-SPOService -Url $sharePointAdminUrl
    Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.Read.All"
}
catch {
    Write-Host "A critical error occurred during connection: $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red
    return
}

# Section 2: Validate the User and Provision
Write-Host "Validating user '$UserPrincipalName'..." -ForegroundColor Green
try {
    $user = Get-MgUser -UserId $UserPrincipalName
    if ($null -eq $user) {
        Write-Host "Error: User '$UserPrincipalName' not found." -ForegroundColor Red
        return
    }

    Write-Host "Sending provisioning request for $($user.DisplayName) ($($user.UserPrincipalName))..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
    Request-SPOPersonalSite -UserEmails $user.UserPrincipalName -NoWait
    Write-Host "  -> Success: Request has been queued." -ForegroundColor Green
}
catch {
    Write-Host "  -> An error occurred for $UserPrincipalName. They may already have a OneDrive, lack a license, or the UPN is incorrect." -ForegroundColor Red
    Write-Warning $_.Exception.Message
}


# Section 3: Disconnect
Write-Host "Script has completed. Disconnecting from services." -ForegroundColor Green

Step-by-Step Guide to Running the Script

1. Save the Code: Copy the script above and save it as Provision-SingleOneDrive.ps1

2. Open PowerShell: Launch PowerShell as an Administrator.

3. Navigate to the File: cd C:\Scripts

4. Run the Script with a Parameter: This is the key difference. You must provide the user's email address (User Principal Name) using the -UserPrincipalName parameter.

.\Provision-SingleOneDrive.ps1 -UserPrincipalName "john.doe@example.com"

5. Follow the Prompts: Just like before, you will be prompted for the SharePoint Admin URL and to sign in. The script will then target only the user you specified.

Automating OneDrive provisioning is a fundamental skill for any modern workplace administrator. By leveraging the power of PowerShell, you move from a reactive to a proactive stance, ensuring your users have the tools they need right when they need them. These scripts provide a reliable, robust, and efficient foundation for managing your Microsoft 365 environment at scale. Keep them in your toolkit—they're bound to come in handy.

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