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Forum Discussion

Alan J's avatar
Alan J
Explorer | Level 3
2 years ago

Files added from one connected computer do not sync automatically to another

Hi all,    I need your advice if you have similar experiences. Thank you in advance. I'm using window system working from home, in my office, and using my two desktops, android phone, and ipad pr...
desktop
File access
sync
windows
Hannah's avatar
Hannah
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
2 years ago

Thanks for the update and the details, Alan.

 

The truth is that keeping the Dropbox folder on an external drive, has its risks.

 

If the drive gets disconnected for any reason, while the app is running, the app will detect this as a deletion and will subsequently delete the files from your account.

 

So, perhaps something like this happened in your case too and then upon re-connection, they got restored.

 

You'll need to be really careful with the external drive and always making sure the drive is connected to keep your files synced.

 

And let us know if the reboot doesn't help.

Alan J's avatar
Alan J
Explorer | Level 3
2 years ago

Are you an AI or a human? 

 

I wasn't supposed to rely on an external drive, but due to Dropbox's unreliable syncing, I had to purchase one to ensure offline access to my files. Despite Dropbox being set up for online access by default, it fails to address the syncing issue and instead checks my external disk.

It feels like the focus is solely on rebooting to resolve issues, which isn't an ideal solution. Constantly rebooting my computers to address problems isn't solving the issues. 

 

I'm looking for professional advice from Dropbox to address this issue. My files have intermittently disappeared and reappeared in Dropbox folders where I originally stored them. However, during these periods, I cannot locate them on my computers or in any other Dropbox folders. 

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    2 years ago
    Alan J wrote:

    Are you an AI or a human? 

    Hannah and everyone else here are all very much human.

     

    I'm looking for professional advice from Dropbox to address this issue.

    The best advice to give is don't place the Dropbox folder on an external drive. Unexpected things can happen, including data loss and syncing issues, as you're experiencing.

     

    The first step to troubleshoot this issue would be to move the Dropbox folder to a local drive and not use Dropbox with an external drive.

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