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External drive auto backup
Can anyone please advise how I set up external drive auto backup? I originally saw the box pop up, asking if I wanted Dropbox to automatically back up the drive, but I clicked No. Now I've changed my...
- If any other users are experiencing a similar issue, we recommend following this solution:Can you please first eject the external drive, then sign out of the Dropbox application, sign back in, insert the external drive, then check to see if you receive that original prompt? This should help resolve the issue.Instructions on how to sign out of the Dropbox desktop application can be found below:
- Open your Dropbox desktop app preferences.
- Click the Account tab.
- Click Sign out.
DenisM5 : I sounds to me that you have *not* enabled external drive backup but you keep getting an annoying prompt. If that's the case, then try Dropbox app --> Preferences --> Backups as shown in the screenshot below. Uncheck External Drive Backups "Show setup notifications..." Maybe this will disable the annoying prompt. The irony here is that I reopened this thread 'cause I cannot get the prompt no matter what I do!
Steve D, thanks for the suggestion. I am reluctant to uncheck "Notifications" because, if I am not notified, and thereby able at least to postpone the backup (whereas I want to cancel the option), then I may find myself again in the position of having vast quantites of unnecessary files starting to transfer to Dropbox, and needing to be removed, tediously, bunch by bunch. (This suggests that I have accidentallyi enabled downloading, that is what I want to change.) I am looking for a permanent solution in which Dropbox does not try to download external drives that have nothing to do with it.
DenisM5 Okay, then it sounds like you have indeed enabled the external drive backup and now want to disable it permanently. Unfortunately, we have seen that the Dropbox design for external drive backup is half-baked at best. There appears to be no direct way to enable it through configuration (only by the elusive prompt when you plug in the device) and then no clear way to disable it. The instructions say you can "pause" backup by right-clicking on the "backup" (whatever that means) and selecting Pause. Perhaps that will work for you. Another solution might be to reinstall Dropbox and if the prompt to backup appears when you plug in the external device, say NO! BTW, I've seen posts where people have done that and were never again able to enable external drive backup - which in your case seems to be desirable result.
Thanks for following up, Steve.
"Right-clicking on the backup ?" I see no trace of anything resembling this (in French) when I inset an external drive, just the possibility of clicking to have the backup "Later".
I might, when I find the patience, dis-install and re-install Dropbox.
I cannot imagine where I was ever asked to enable these cumbersome and, for me, completely unnecessary and tedious backups.
