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I can't access my old Backup online, ever since I disable it when preparing to wipe my old laptop.
Scenario: I was preparing my old laptop (a Macbook Pro) for sale and I did not want Dropbox Backup to interpret my wipe / reset activities as a mass deletion of all my files, so I disabled Backup (and Sync) before doing so. My assumption was that the last known good backup would be retained.
Upon setting up my new MBP, I dutifully installed Dropbox and navigated to https://www.dropbox.com/backup/all to find my old backup — all my backups are usually listed here, and double-clicking one of them usually allows me to view the contents of that backup and to download individual files from it. To my horror, I found out on this occasion that THE OLD BACKUP HAD DISAPPEARED! The new backup (for the new MBP) as well as my other backups for my other devices were still in the list, but the old backup was conspicuous by its absence. I flew into a panic.
There is a 'Show/Hide deleted backups' button on that screen, and clicking it revealed my missing / disabled backup. Double-clicking this now-unhidden backup entry did nothing. Panic intensifies.
After a long discussion with Support, I noticed that if I hover over any of my backups, the URL shown is of the format "http://www.dropbox.com/backups/ {machine ID} ? {some querystring stuff}" and if I just use the first part up to and including the machine ID (i.e.: http://www.dropbox.com/backups/machineID ) then I could view my old backup just like the others.
TL:DR; Dropbox Backup will hide disabled backups and seemingly will not let you access them, but there's a workaround.
I think this is either a bug, or an unintentional side-effect of hiding disabled backups. I think there should still be an option to view the contents of a disabled backup, either through the existing double-click functionality or via the ellipsis menu.
In any case, a disabled backup should not be marked as 'deleted' and I hope this does not mean it will be automatically deleted from my account after 30 days.
2 Replies
- Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey quackingplums, thanks for posting here!
When you try the workaround that you mentioned in order to view your old backup, can you also access the files that way?
I'm assuming that the backup content isn't visible when you visit your account online either, right? Have you checked your events page to see what it reports?
One more thing: would you be able to send a couple of screenshots of what you see, in order for us to have a visual too?
Keep in mind that when disabling the feature, there will be a prompt that asks if you want to Keep content in folders on this Mac/PC or Leave content in Dropbox. Do you remember what you checked?
Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!
Hi Megan,
I already went through this with someone via Support, but am happy to describe it all again if it's helpful to you/others.
Firstly, I am talking about Dropbox Backup, not Sync. Backup activity does not show on my Dropbox Home page or on my Events page — the support agent I spoke to also seemed to struggle with this concept. The only interaction I have with Dropbox Backup is via the Dropbox Backup app, which then opens the Backup dashboard ( https://www.dropbox.com/backup/all ) for some features.
When I switched off automatic backups in the Backup app, there was no prompt to keep content on the local device. It simply told me that backups won't occur until I press the 'Backup now' button. I am aware of what happens when I disable Sync. This is not that.
I have a screenshot of the exact message but this editor won't let me attach them to this thread. It's basically a dialog that reads:
Turn off backup for {my device name}?
Backup will pause and your files won't update until you click 'Back up now'Once disabled, the backup no longer appears in my list of backups (the backup/all link above) UNLESS… I click the '👁️ Show deleted backups' button. This should not be regarded as deleted. At no point did it warn me that anything might be deleted. All I did was disable automatic backups.
Everything else is as per the links in my opening post.
