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Forum Discussion
All files randomly started syncing and now I can't save anything
Application Affected Dropbox app Device Dell inspiron 15 Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Windows 11
Dropbox App Version (if using the app) Can't find this information-- I don't s...
Rich
Super User II
Super User IIa popup message appeared telling me about new dropbox icons ... (they don't look new to me...), and then my entire account started to resync all my files.
It sounds like you received the prompt to update to the Dropbox for Windows update. The key sentence in that help article is this:
Throughout the process, all files and folders that are being migrated will show the syncing status icon.
Basically, your files appeared to be syncing while they were being migrated to Microsoft's new Cloud Files API.
That's horrible! I would never want anything to do with any kind of Microsoft Cloud. How do I get rid of it??
- Rich
I would never want anything to do with any kind of Microsoft Cloud. How do I get rid of it??
It's not what you think. You're not using Microsoft's cloud. Microsoft created an API (application programming interface) for cloud storage companies, such as Dropbox, to use to better integrate into with the Windows operating system. It's just a programming interface for Windows, which Microsoft called the Cloud Files API, because it deals with files being stored in the cloud (any cloud, not Microsoft's).
I guess it's renaming everything and syncing EVERYTHING all over again. WHY?????? Surely this isn't how this is supposed to work?
If you went through a sign out/sign in, then yes, it's going to sync everything again, or at least re-index all of your files if you told it to use the existing Dropbox folder. You signed out. The database used to store information is removed, so Dropbox doesn't know what files are on the computer anymore. When you sign back in it either has to sync everything again or, if you use the same folder, re-index the existing files so it can rebuild its database.
You're likely moving too fast, expecting certain results that don't come instantly, then trying something else and making it worse. The best thing you can usually do is to just let Dropbox work. If it has to sync or re-index, there's nothing you can do to stop it or speed it up, and anything you try will likely cause it to start over again, or worse, stop working.
If it has stopped working, then you'll probably want to uninstall and reinstall, and yes, this means you'll need to sync or index all of your files. I'd recommend not opting out of the Dropbox for Windows Update. Even if you opt out now, it's only temporary and you'll eventually be updated again later. It's not an optional update and Dropbox is slowly rolling out the update to everyone.
If you have a Dropbox folder that's complete, as in it was fully synced with no changes, then I'd suggest an advanced reinstall. Pay attention to the prompts during the install portion and you should see an Advanced Options link at some point. Clicking this will allow you to select a location for your Dropbox folder.
If it again tells you to chose another location or rename the existing folder, choose rename. At that point you have two options; a) let it sync everything into a new folder and LET IT WORK, or b) when the install is complete and it starts to sync, exit the Dropbox application, copy all of your files from your renamed Dropbox folder into the newly created Dropbox folder, and then launch Dropbox again only after the copy process is complete.
With option A, you obviously need to wait for everything to sync, but with option B you'll also have to wait for everything to re-index. It's faster than syncing, but still takes a while if you have a lot of files.
Of course I'm moving too fast! I'm in the middle of a major project, and this update happened right while I was in the middle of it without prompting me to even save my work beforehand or asking if I wanted this update! I just looked down, there was a popup (that didn't even pop up) in the bottom task bar and I saw that my icon was showing a sync when I hadn't done anything to disrupt it. I've spent my weekend trying to fix this instead of working on the project (which I had to cut/paste into an email so I could continue working on it on my other computer. Now all my files are set to online only (I definitely didn't authorize THAT!).
How do I fix it so it's back to normal? How do I prevent this from happening on my other computer?
- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey Laura888, thanks for keeping us updated on the situation.
I completely understand your frustration over this and I've made sure to pass your feedback along to our team.
As for the situation, can you let us know where you stand at the moment? Did you make a choice about the Dropbox folder and did it work out okay?
Regarding your files switching to "online-only", if you'd like them to be downloaded and available on your computer, you'll need to select them, right-click on them and then choose the "make available offline" option.
