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TheAtanaGroup's avatar
TheAtanaGroup
New member | Level 2
8 years ago
Solved

Can't sync due to low disk space

Very annoying. Dropbox is giving me the 'can't sync due to low disk space' message - this is on a new system with a 1TB drive with 260G available. We have a 50G biz account, and we're using about 4% ...
sync
  • Sanchez's avatar
    Sanchez
    8 years ago
    Hey everyone (TheAtanaGroup & Roryb), 

    We’ll be glad to take a closer look. If you would you like for our team to investigate this further, you can either submit a ticket here, or I can get one going for you from my end. Let me know. 

    Thanks
Walter's avatar
Walter
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
8 years ago

Hey TheAtanaGroup - welcome to the Dropbox Community!

Sorry to hear about this - let's have a look into it now. 

The low disk space error you see is likely coming from your computer's OS and is referring to your local hard disk space. If you see that you are still well below your quota on the web, it is probably because the hard drive you store your Dropbox Folder is out of free space and won't be able to accommodate all of your data. Since files stored in your Dropbox are also stored on your computer, your hard drive must have enough space to store the files that are in your account. 

Also note that you can alsways use our Selective Sync feature which comes in handy in situations where you have files which you would like to keep but don't need them taking up space on your hard drive.

Last but not least, have you considered using our Smart Sync feature which will enable you to set files to be ‘online-only’?  In this way, the files will be removed from your computer and will take up practically no space.

I hope this helps and please keep me posted. If this problem persists, feel free to include a screenshot of the exact error you get to have a better look or even better log a ticket with our team and let me know a ticket ID so I can follow up with more info about this internally. 

  • TheAtanaGroup's avatar
    TheAtanaGroup
    New member | Level 2
    8 years ago

    Did you even read what I posted?  Re: "The low disk space error you see is likely coming from your computer's OS and is referring to your local hard disk space." -- This is incorrect.  But make sure you guys vote it up as a solution, at least until you get it fixed.

    • Mark's avatar
      Mark
      Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
      8 years ago
      It is accurate and correct information TheAtanaGroup, but, if thats NOT happening for you as has been requested can you log a ticket and post screenshots.

      Remember as well that if your Dropbox folder is not on the main drive (i.e. C usually) it could be one of the two drives thats causing the issue.
      • Roryb's avatar
        Roryb
        Explorer | Level 4
        8 years ago

        It was not accurate for me and it would appear for the earlier poster. There is a lot of space on my chance with a single drive and Dropbox keeps complaining. It would appear that the issue is realted to either the Dropbox cache or the Drive Cache and Dropboxes inability to measure this accurately after a recent update leading to a false warning about low disk space. 

         

  • frustrateduser0's avatar
    frustrateduser0
    New member | Level 2
    8 years ago

    I've got plenty of space on my MBP but cannot download the file using the app, when while using Selective Sync. Tried thrice already. Very frustrating. Screenshots attached for reference. 

     

    • Jane's avatar
      Jane
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      8 years ago
      Thanks for sharing what you’re experiencing frustrateduser0, TheAtanaGroup & Roryb, 
       
      Let me briefly summarize what I gather from your descriptions & frustrateduser0’s screenshot, as I’m under the impression that you’re all experiencing the same behavior: 
       
      To my understanding, in the Dropbox notifications panel on your desktop you’re receiving a message that reads: 
       
      Your hard drive is full! Use Smart Sync to free up space.
       
      That all being said, I’m assuming that you all have the available space to sync on the drive your Dropbox folder is allocated (that is my understanding based on TheAtanaGroup’s last post here). 
       
      For that reason I’ve made sure to create 3 separate Support requests on our system on your behalf & I’ll make sure to check back with you there more closely once I receive your replies. 
       
      Thanks again for posting your findings & troubleshooting you’ve already done here & I’ll be awaiting your next messages. Happy May! 
      • Roryb's avatar
        Roryb
        Explorer | Level 4
        8 years ago

        This seems to come up whenever i start approaching 80 Gb of free disk space. Now popping up again when I am trying to sync  <1Gb of new files. 

         

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