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chopchop's avatar
chopchop
New member | Level 2
5 years ago
Solved

Missing desktop files after deleting dropbox

Hi  a while ago (6 months ago) I downloaded DropBox app and checked syncing with my personal Desktop files (although I think I disabled that immediately). It synced, but because I was using free ver...
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  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    5 years ago

    Hi chopchop, sorry to hear about this. 

    It sounds like you enabled the computer backup feature at some point. 

    If that's the case, you can find the steps to disable it here. 

    As per your missing files, do you see any signs of them in your deleted files page or the events page?

    If not, they never made it to our servers, so you may need to be looking for them locally on your device, be it in their original locations or your trash can. You could also try enabling hidden files to show in Finder to see if you can find any of them that way.

    Keep me posted anyhow!

     

    Mod note: updated links in post [last update 2023]

sam321's avatar
sam321
New member | Level 2
4 years ago

Hello @Walter

 

Unfortunately since I disabled the backup feature for Dropbox back in 2021 i didn't activate it after. 

 

I deleted a file named "Dropbox" from my hard drive which in return deleted all of my files and disabled  my desktop, what I am asking is was that file created by dropbox ? and if it is, why it didn't go to trash, instead it got deleted completely. 

and is there a way i can find it or an original copy of it locally ?

 

Thank you for your help 

Hannah's avatar
Hannah
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
4 years ago

Sorry to jump in here, sam321.

 

The Dropbox folder is a folder created on your computer when the Dropbox application is installed.

 

In the Dropbox folder, the application syncs all the files saved in your Dropbox account.

 

If you had enabled computer backup, that's also where all your desktop files would be.

 

Have you searched your account online, to see if you can maybe find them there? They'd be in a folder named 'Mac' or 'PC', depending on your OS.

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