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Solved
Download folder unaccessible after installing Dropbox
Device
ASUS ROG Strix G712LV-BS71-CB laptop
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Windows 11
Dropbox App Version/Browser Version
237.4.5655
Question or Issue
I'm supporting a user that I installed Dropbox for and since I in
stalled it the user can't access it's download folder. This is the message (pardon the French) that appears:
Which basically says that the folder is not available. All downloads from the browser fails unless I redirect the default download location to somewhere else, like the desktop.
When inspecting the properties of the folder, the link for the folder location is blank.
It's been a reccuring problem for him and I can't find anyone online experiencing the same issue.
I tried replicating it on my computer but can't seem to be able to.
It's been happening for a couple of weeks now and the workaround I found was to restart the computer so because Dropbox didn't launch at startup, the download folder was available. Upon opening the Dropbox app, the download folder is not acessible until a restart.
That was for the last couple of weeks, but now even a restart doesn't temporarily solve the issue.
Steps taken:
- Restarting the PC.
- Reinstalling Dropbox
- Making sure there is no backup settings targetting the user's document folder.
- Changing Dropbox's location on the computer by putting it directly on a Folder in the C:\ drive, not in the user's document folder.
I'm at a loss here. Does anyone know where the issue might come from?
Hey there SillyGoose23 welcome to the community
It looks like Windows is trying to redirect your Downloads folder to a Dropbox Backup path like Dropbox\PC\Downloads, but that folder no longer exists. When this happens, Windows can’t resolve the folder location and downloads will fail until the folder path is restored.
Please check whether Dropbox Backup was ever enabled on this computer and turn it off if it’s active. You can find out more about that here https://help.dropbox.com/organize/how-to-use-dropbox-backup
Next, try restoring the Downloads folder location in Windows:
- Right click the Downloads folder in File Explorer.
- Select Properties then Location.
- Choose Restore Default, then apply.
Take a look at this and let us know the results
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- Dell_Dropbox
Community Manager
Hey there SillyGoose23 welcome to the community
It looks like Windows is trying to redirect your Downloads folder to a Dropbox Backup path like Dropbox\PC\Downloads, but that folder no longer exists. When this happens, Windows can’t resolve the folder location and downloads will fail until the folder path is restored.
Please check whether Dropbox Backup was ever enabled on this computer and turn it off if it’s active. You can find out more about that here https://help.dropbox.com/organize/how-to-use-dropbox-backup
Next, try restoring the Downloads folder location in Windows:
- Right click the Downloads folder in File Explorer.
- Select Properties then Location.
- Choose Restore Default, then apply.
Take a look at this and let us know the results
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