You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

DioNik's avatar
DioNik
Explorer | Level 3
3 years ago

Stop syncing a drive but keep the files in Dropbox

Hi,

I backup my D:\ drive in Dropbox (a 1tb ssd, only for media) but as it is full now, I want to delete most of the files, but keep them in my Dropbox account. Is there a way to stop syncing this particular drive, keep it hooked up to my pc, and retain the files in the Dropbox account?

Just to be clear, the Dropbox folder is on my other drive (C:\ ) and in Dropbox the backup of D:\ appeas as an external "New Volume"

  • Sorry to jump in, DioNik, how are you today?

     

    I'm afraid that if the drive remains plugged in and the backup feature is still enabled, the drive will keep syncing.

     

    Alternatively, you could copy the files into your Dropbox folder, allow them to sync and then remove them with selective sync, like Walter suggested.

     

    I hope this helps!

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hi there DioNik, welcome to the Community and happy Monday!

     

    Can you please clarify how exactly are you backing up this drive to your Dropbox account?

     

    Are you, for instance, using the Dropbox Backup feature or you've copied or moved your drive to Dropbox and have it syncing through the desktop app from within your Dropbox folder? Do you see in your account's homepage or on this page perhaps?

     

    Apart from that, do you happen to be familiar with our selective sync feature?

     

    Let me know what you find and we'll take it from there. 

    • DioNik's avatar
      DioNik
      Explorer | Level 3

      Hi Walter, I used the Dropox backup prompt that appear when I attached teh drive for the first time. I guess that selective sync could be an option, but I do not want to keep syncing this particular drive.

      • Hannah's avatar
        Hannah
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

        Sorry to jump in, DioNik, how are you today?

         

        I'm afraid that if the drive remains plugged in and the backup feature is still enabled, the drive will keep syncing.

         

        Alternatively, you could copy the files into your Dropbox folder, allow them to sync and then remove them with selective sync, like Walter suggested.

         

        I hope this helps!