Working on a brief that is due tomorrow. Time is of the essence. I changed the names of many files & folders containing court forms. Very tedious but had to be done. When I finished & now ready to work on those forms: THEY'RE ALL GONE! What? 1000s of court forms--simply disappeared. I finally stumbled online & figured out that, according to Dropbox, I deleted those folders & files. No way could I have accidently deleted so many files & folders! So, instead of working on my brief that is due tomorrow, I then had to figure out how to restore 1000s of files to my computer--still not sure I did it right--the interface was not overly user friendly--& wasted too many precious hours in the process--including writing this message. Just now, I finally got back to real work--I renamed a folder & AGAIN, it disappeared!! WTF? I do NOT want any fancy new features; I don't have time to figure out what local, online or smart sync means nor do I care. I just want everything to work like it always did. I cannot be wasting time being hijacked by features I didn't ask for nor do I want. I don't want a new learning curve. Don't ruin a good thing. The simplicity & reliability of Dropbox were its best features. Add all the new features you want but give us the option about whether or not we want those new features. I feel like the victim of a bait & switch.

Hi again, HollisHoHo, I’m sorry that you’re experiencing this again. I still believe that it is related to using a non-stable build of our application. In order to get to the bottom of this, I’m having a member of our support team reach out to you via email, so they can further troubleshoot with you. Please have a look for their email, and get back to them when you can. Thanks!

Missing files after folder renaming.

15 Replies

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Sanchez
Dropbox Community Moderator
8 years ago
Hey HollisHoHo,

I’m really sorry to hear about this, and I think that we can come up with an explanation.

When you make changes like these to your files/folders, these changes need to sync to your account and connected devices. For instance, if you rename files or folders on your computer, from within the local Dropbox folder, the changes will need to sync to your online account, and then to any other computers that are connected (that you use to access this same account).

If you move files from one location in your Dropbox to another (perhaps you create a new folder to organize some files), these will show up as deletions, from the old location, and additions in the new location.

If you move files from inside your Dropbox folder, to a location outside (for whatever reason), these will also show as deletions. Then if you add these files back to the Dropbox folder, they will show as additions.

Is it possible that you've made some changes as described above, and that they just hadn’t synced yet?

Keep in mind that if you need assistance in recovering content from your account, our support team can help with restorations, and full account rollbacks.

Also, we don’t make any changes mandatory when it comes to Selective Sync and Smart Sync. You are if full control over these, and by default, all your content will sync to your computer!

Cheers

[Edit]

Another thing to check is that you’re using a stable version of our desktop app. If you’re making changes through our app on your computer, issues like the one you’re experiencing can be caused by non-final releases of our app, know as betas. A beta version is denoted by a xx.3.xx, instead of the xx.4.xx. If you are on a beta build, it means that you have opted in to Early Releases in your online account settings. I recommend that you switch this off, and then install our stable build. Current version is 43.4.50, and you can get the offline installer here.
HollisHoHo
Helpful | Level 6
8 years ago
I didn't do anything to cause this massive deletion. I have been using Dropbox for several years & I never had this problem before. I did upgrade to the most current stable version as you recommended. I only hope that it doesn't happen again. Oh, apparently, this sudden & massive file deletion issue is not new. For example, see: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Installation-and-desktop-app/files-are-being-deleted-but-i-don-t-know-why/td-p/53179/page/2
Sanchez
Dropbox Community Moderator
8 years ago
Hey again, HollisHoHo,

We can have our team look into these deletions, to figure out what happened. If you’d like for us to do that, please write in to our support team here.

Concerning our desktop app, you must switch off the Early Releases option in your account settings online, before installing our stable app. Otherwise, you’ll be updated to the latest beta again automatically.

If you submit a support ticket, let me know, and I’ll be happy to look it up and get an agent on it right away.

Thanks!
HollisHoHo
Helpful | Level 6
8 years ago
IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ENTIRE FOLDERS ARE DELETED!!!!!!!!!!! I GUARANTEE YOU, I DID NOT DELETE THEM. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING????
Wexlei
Explorer | Level 3
8 years ago
Hello HollisHoHo.

Is your Dropbox app syncing while you rename those files? Is it open?

Also, do you have enough free space to hold, for example, twice the size of these files?

Usually, if you rename files with Dropbox opened, it will replace the file normally.

The original file is deleted, and the renamed one is uploaded.

If you don't have more free space, Dropbox won't be able to upload de renamed file, but will delete the old one.

Make sure you have enough space and you Dropbox app is running and syncing.

Hope this helps.
HollisHoHo
Helpful | Level 6
8 years ago
I have no idea what you're talking about.

I didn't delete or change the name of one file out of the 1000s of files that are now missing.

I get an error message when I try to find deleted files on your web site.

This is not the first time this happened & I am disgusted beyond belief.

I did what you told me the last time, I reinstalled the software--but it's taking forever to sync the files again.

Dropbox used to work like a dream. It doesn't anymore.
HollisHoHo
Helpful | Level 6
8 years ago
Why do you keep giving canned responses? You're not even trying to find out why this is happening to me.
Sanchez
Dropbox Community Moderator
8 years ago
Hi again, HollisHoHo,

I’m sorry that you’re experiencing this again. I still believe that it is related to using a non-stable build of our application. In order to get to the bottom of this, I’m having a member of our support team reach out to you via email, so they can further troubleshoot with you.

Please have a look for their email, and get back to them when you can.

Thanks!
cammcm
New member | Level 2
7 years ago
Same thing has happened to me..... lost hundreds of files.
cammcm
New member | Level 2
7 years ago
I changed a folder name and every file within every folder of the root folder has disappeared.... the folders are all still there but the files are gone. I've checked deleted files and they've not been deleted (not that I could delete that many anyway) but I just can't find them

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Missing files after folder renaming.

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