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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 version, only 2GB from my 60GB desktop were stored, the rest was not. Some time ago i uninstalled Dropbox (but now I am confused if i really did) and everything was fine. I kept on living like that since then, no issues, but today when I found I still have some remaining of files with 'Dropbox' in their names, I deleted them and all my Desktop files are now gone + I cannot save anything on my Desktop as it is just gone
also, when I check what is my Desktop is pointing to it says "Desktop -> /Users/chopchop/Dropbox/My Mac (iMac (Chop))/Desktop"
So I assume I just deleted my Dropbox directory today, and by deleting it, I deleted my desktop files which were not stored in Dropbox unfortunatelly.
Should I just reinstall dropbox? When I try, it says that original dropbox directory is missing or relocated. Should i just create new directory and move app there?
do u have any idea how to resolve lack of Desktop + this referencing, or do u recommend any files-recovery software which could help?
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]
40 Replies
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- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Sorry to hear about this, cento.
It sounds like you had enabled the Dropbox backup feature on your computer, before deleting the Dropbox folder.
Is the Dropbox application still installed on your computer?
Are you able to see your desktop folders here?
i was cleaning up my mac, i saw a folder with the title "dropbox" which had 30GB so i deleted it from disk utility, i went ahead with my day and later found out that my DESKTOP,DOCUMENT AND DOWNLOAD folders were missing from my mac. i cant dowmnload things anymore because the dowmloads directory doesn't exist anymore, i suspect its from the dropbox folder i deleted, and i cant restore it from the Trash, it doesnt give an option for " thank you.
I experienced this problem and resolved it by going to Macintosh/users/"username" where "username" is the account name you are logged in under.
There is a Desktop shortcut which points to the missing Desktop. Delete this file. Empty the trash. Your Desktop folder should be recreated.All right, Hannah, thank you for your suggestion.
- Hannah
Hey Weifang5, I hope you had a great weekend.
I'm afraid that if you deleted the Dropbox folder from trash and you cannot find the files in the deleted files page or the events page, then they are not recoverable through Dropbox.
I'd suggest looking into a third party app that could perhaps help you restore the files from the trash.
Thank you, Hannah, for your suggestion. The Page you you linked yesterday gives me 224mb document folder which is stored long time ago. I checked and found it the next day after the deletion. As for the trash, nothing there. I deleted the 50G Dropbox folder in the trash, and could it be possible for me to retore 50G in the trash?
Could the 50G be stored in the cloud of the Dropbox?
- Hannah
I deleted on the afternoon of August 13, and I have been struggling with the event since then. I enabled the Finder to show the hidden files and some hidden files shows huge unknown documents entitled by numbers and letters like"1-3c-18-64d5f9ib" as large as 4kb, or "fdb49491-302f-4eb3-9a5c-be9184fb72d2-start.dbt" as large as 1kb. Are they my lost documents? How can I open them?
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