We’re Still Here to Help (Even Over the Holidays!) - find out more here.
Forum Discussion
Online-Only Not Working?
Hi all, We're trying to move all files from a 2TB local networked hard drive to Dropbox. My first question is - Am I right in thinking that when I paste a file or folder into the local Dropbox fold...
Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorGlad to hear that and thanks for the update KeyBlue!
Now, in regards to your concern, note that syncing your files can take time if you have many or large files. Just because the files have been placed into the Dropbox folder doesn't mean the syncing has completed. You need to be patient and let the files sync -exactly as you did!
Spoiler
When Dropbox syncs the files it starts with all of the folders, then uploads files from smallest to largest. Thus, it may look like the folders are empty or incomplete if you look during the syncing process. Please be patient and the files will sync. Do not delete them from the Dropbox folder if the files haven't finished syncing.
Moreover, kindly note that the Dropbox servers do not set caps on the upload or download speeds from the Desktop client, but file sync is a complicated process that includes more than just the transfer of the data as each file is divided and compressed into hashed components, transferred via secure data transfer, and then encrypted and stored on our servers. During an upload, the transfer speeds are also dependent upon how quickly your computer can process and compress the components of the files to make them available for upload.
The Dropbox client will also batch upload smaller files into batches of 800 files. If you have 800 * 1 kB files the effective batch that's sent to Dropbox will be 800 kB in size. You may commonly see this behavior when Dropbox first starts syncing as the client starts with smallest files first and then progresses to larger files.
Thus, the initial sync of your data is going to be the most time and resource intensive period. However, the more you use Dropbox the more efficient syncing becomes:
- Once you upload a file to Dropbox, you never need to upload it again.
- When editing large files, the Dropbox app attempts to sync only the blocks of the file that have changed.
Spoiler
You can also check your connection speed through your ISP and local network by using the following link: http://www.speedtest.net/
Bear in mind that the actual sync speed you see may not match these speeds directly as we are including the hash, compression, and encryption process in our aggregate kB/s speed (that is kiloBYTEs not kilobits per second).
I hope this information clarifies matters further and I remain at your disposal should you have any more questions!
Hi,
I'm having issues wih this, my computer is now completely full even though I started with 'online only' from the beginning. I have manually set everything to online only again, and now my computer wont even sync because the dropbox took up all of my disk space.
Help? I really need the space and need my files to be "online only", and it seems like the dropbox app doesn't want to work that way.
- Walter
Hi DianaWilliams; sorry to hear about this.
Can you let me know your computer's exact OS and where you've spotted the discrepancy you mentioned? If possible, please send me a screenshot as well.
While at it, what's the desktop app's exact status as shown within your computer's system tray/menu bar?
Let me know what you find and we'll take it from there Diana!
