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Forum Discussion
joshbreindel
12 months agoNew member | Level 1
There's a .canary file causing syncing issues on my Dropbox app.
Hey all! My local backup software failed out yesterday - it reported that there was a file in use in Dropbox. I poked around and found that ".canary" in my Dropbox cache was marked with the syncing...
- 6 months ago
Johnxi wrote:
This problem, the canary file and folder can't be backed up because they're not accessible ... Has anyone come up with a simple effective solution to this problem.
You should be excluding the .dropbox.cache folder from your backups. There's no reason to back up this folder. It's a cache folder and contains no data that would be useful in the event of a restore.
Johnxi
7 months agoExplorer | Level 4
This problem, the canary file and folder can't be backed up because they're not accessible and can't be deleted, appeared on my W11 system about a week ago running the free backup app, Syncback. Has anyone come up with a simple effective solution to this problem.
Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
7 months agoHi there Johnxi - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
Can you clarify the status and version of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your taskbar ?
Also, where exactly would you like to back this up and what error are you getting if you try to delete it somehow?
- Johnxi6 months agoExplorer | Level 4
Essentially, I have the same problem and indications everybody has mentioned previously.
Dropbox is level 225.4.4896 and is up to date.
There is a file in dropbox called "C:\Users\xxxxx\Dropbox\.dropbox.cache\.canary"When I try to back up Dropbox using syncback to a removable hard disk I get an error.
When I search for the .canary file on online Dropbox, it says file not found.When I search my local drop box folder, it does find it.
It also shows two circular arrows under the status column.But when I try to delete it:
see belowWhen try again and I click yes, the System thinks for about 5 seconds and then returns to file explorer. and the file still exists. No errors are indicated. In other words, the file cannot be deleted in normal ways.
I tried File Locksmith to unlock the file but no luck.
So, there you have it Walter, Any ideas?
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