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If I'm logged in via browser does it affect hard drive space?
On my new laptop I installed the Dropbox app and found that my HDD space was in the red, I uninstalled it and find the HDD space is changing, but not by much (I have around 90Gb on Dropbox). ...
Hey Niall D., thanks for posting your question to the Dropbox Community.
When you install the Dropbox desktop app on your computer and login to your account, the app syncs all your files to a local "Dropbox" folder.
That means that your Dropbox files take up space on your hard drive.
Uninstalling the app doesn't free up your space, though. Do you intend to use the Dropbox application?
If so, you can make your files online-only, or use selective sync to free up hard drive space.
Using Dropbox from the website, does not affect your hard drive space at all.
I hope this helps, but let me know if you have any questions.
Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorThanks, given that the icon is still visible, this means that the app isn't uninstalled from your machine, so you won't be able to delete this folder, since it is in the system itself.
Please could you ensure that you've fully uninstalled the app from Windows using these steps.
I'm not off work until Monday so won't be able to access the laptop until then, but I remember uninstalling the app (it's no longer in ''add or remove programs' and doesn't appear in a search of my laptop), it was previously installed without admin privileges, meaning I couldn't access preferences.
If I were to install again with admin privileges and change 'storage of new files' to 'online-only' would that sort things out?
When I was on the work laptop yesterday I opened Dropbox in the sidebar and deleted a file to see if it remained on my home laptop and via the browser, it did remain - but I am very concerned about the possibility of losing anything!
- Walter
Hey Niall D. - sorry to jump in here and happy Monday!
Did you have the chance to check the affected computer if the desktop app is completely uninstalled indeed?
As for your additional concern, yes, that would be a way to go. Apart from setting your files to be online only, another thing you could do is use the selective sync feature to free up some hard drive space by un-syncing some folders from your computer.
In any case, please keep us posted.
Thanks for getting in touch Walter
I searched 'Dropbox' and found no results, though when I look up the storage settings on the laptop it tells me there is a folder on my C:/ drive called 'Dropbox'.
I haven't had a chance to reinstall the app with admin privileges to test out the 'online-only' preference, but I'll respond here once I do.
Thanks again!
Absolutely 100% + infinity sure it's fine to do so without losing anything? lol
- Walter
You can test it out with a sample file or folder Niall D.
If it ends up being deleted, it means you're still running the desktop app and the deletions synced. You'll be able to restore any deleted files or folders via the events page though.
I hope this helps!
I tested with a sample file and it was only removed on the work laptop - I then removed everything and now have my 108Gb back - thanks so much for your help!
