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The app is filling up my system drive, but not uploading to Dropbox
Help please. Long time drag and drop Dropbox user without the app, but finding it grindingly slow and now constantly crashing.
I installed the app, but deliberately without syncing. I need a big chunk of space short term (max three months) but I don't want to sync huge swathes of my storage drives (D and E).
When I started using the app to upload files, it didn't send it to the Dropbox cloud (where I expected it to go), it just dumped the files on my C drive (system), and filled it up.
There's no on-screen app manager separate from my standard Explorer window(s) ... which surely there should be, and I can still only actually upload files to my Dropbox cloud space using drag and drop.
I've now uninstalled the app for a second time. Can anyone help me overcome these problems please?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Barney D.
You seem to be a tad confused as to how Dropbox works I'm afraid.
Dropbox is just a regular folder on your machine like every single other one - meaning it uses space and is managed/controlled by your OS. The only difference is that the Dropbox program than syncs that folder to the cloud. There is no way (via the software), or ever has been actually, to upload directly to Dropbox on a computer without using quota. The ONLY way would be to upload via the website.
14 Replies
- Mark
Super User II
Hi Barney D.
You seem to be a tad confused as to how Dropbox works I'm afraid.
Dropbox is just a regular folder on your machine like every single other one - meaning it uses space and is managed/controlled by your OS. The only difference is that the Dropbox program than syncs that folder to the cloud. There is no way (via the software), or ever has been actually, to upload directly to Dropbox on a computer without using quota. The ONLY way would be to upload via the website.
Thank you. I'll stick to drag and drop and pray.
Having said even the drag and drop is missing a substantial number of files.
- Mark
Have you given drag/drop time to move (THAT bit is done by the computer itself) and then to upload? The upload takes time and is dependent upon your internet speed.
It's not that it is missing files at the end of the batch; it's missing random files right through the batch.
Down 30 Mbps, up 5 Mbps.
- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey Barney D., thanks for reaching out to Dropbox Community!
Would you mind clarifying exactly how you're using the Dropbox application?
You said you're using drag & drop, but at the same time, you turned off syncing? Or is syncing on now?
And if so, what's the sync status of the app? You can see that if you hover over the Dropbox icon in your system tray with your mouse.
- Thanks for the message. Sync is off. I want to decide what to upload and when. I use drag and drop, Windows 10 64-bit to my Dropbox space. During that transfer random files are missed, even when I leave the computer to do it with me inactive.
- Hannah
But are you allowing syncing to finish before you check which files have transferred?
And what about the sync status, please? That's where you can see if syncing has completed.
I have sync turned off as I wish to control what uploads and from which directories. This is a problem that has only recently started. I regularly upload as many as 2000 image files at once with never more than the odd one failing. The current situation is ridiculous with as many as 30% failing dotted through the complete set. What's more I cannot see any way of telling Dropbox to retry just those it missed. I have to spend time going through the two lists to try again.
- Jay
Hi Barney D., it sounds like there isn't enough time to upload files to the Dropbox site. 5 Mbps upload speed is 0.625 megabytes per second, which, if you have lots of files to upload, can take some time.
Any files dragged into the Dropbox folder should be uploaded, and it isn't possible for files to 'fail' uploading, unless you're referring to uploading via the Dropbox site directly.
