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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 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.
- Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi DenisM5, could you confirm that you deleted the external drive backup from the Dropbox site directly?
Any screenshots of the messages you're getting would also be helpful.
Jay , I had followed Nancy's link, finding general headings. I chose the one that seemed appropriate, but could find only the possibility of asking for synchronisation to be postponed, with other options that I did not understand or did not find on my screen.
However, I have just followed other instructions in order to describe what happens to you. I clicked on my icon on Dropbox, chose "Preferences", then "Safeguards", then "Manage safeguards" and found, at the bottom of the list "De-activate safeguards" (I work in French, so am translating these terms). Then on "Keep content in PC files". Then "De-activate". This seems to have worked. I have just inserted a USB key, and the message offering to copy all content to Dropbox no longer appears. That is what I wanted.
The instructions and advice I received from Nancy and Steve D were well-intentioned, but I could not follow them.
I look round the present screen and cannot find a link to say "Solved". Let me know how to do this. I have solved my problem after a bit of floundering.
