Hans Brender's Blog

So you know: The Next Generation Sync Client (NGSC), that’s the OneDrive.exe is working properly. It syncs from all document libraries in Office 365 without any issues, if you know the limitations of the sync client. And with the availability of SharePoint Server 2019 you may able to sync the doc libs from this OnPremise Server too.

But what is happened with the many installed SharePoint Servers with Version < 2019?

For these versions, there will be no support with the new Sync Client. A simple answer would be to perform an update (migration) to SharePoint Server 2019 or switch to SharePoint Online. You will rightly answer: it is not that easy.

Microsoft would love to "bury" the old synchronization client, but the many OnPremise variants of the SharePoint server still require the old synch client for synchronization. (And we will keep this for a few more years, for different reasons).

In my OneDrive workshops, but also by mail, often I hear the question: Where can I download the old Groove.exe. Only the Groove.exe. Not a whole office package. For a migration must be done tests that can do the automatic takeover. A Windows 10 installation always contains the new sync client (OneDrive.exe), but where do I get the old Groove Client?

I already wrote in August 2016 about a download (in German language), and it contains the still valid pages, for manual download including the license key, 3V9N8-W93CC-FQPB8-Y9WVF-TVGJ3 you need to enter.

The Groove.exe can only be installed in one language, 40 languages are available. So if you want to install a different language, you will find the right version under links to installation programs, both in 32 bit and 64 bit versions. (or in the table below)

Note, however, that these are Click to Run (C2R) installation of Groove.exe

After the installation, please download the latest update (KB4022226) for Groove and then you can start testing. This prepares Groove.exe for automatic migration and raises it to version 15.0.5055.1000.

And now you can start with the tests.