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EnAr's avatar
EnAr
Explorer | Level 4
3 years ago

Can't backup a folder because it's not in default location (it is, I think)

I had used Dropbox before, worked great. I had to reinstall it to today because of reasons. When I wanted to set it up again, I checked to backup the Documents folder but got the message below. Also, in my File Explorer, the option to "Backup to Dropbox" is no longer there.

 

10 Replies

  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hi EnAr, happy Monday, let's look into this! 

     

    Can you clarify the app's current syncing status, along with the version of the app that you're using there? We want to make sure that the app is using the latest stable version, and that it is up to date.

     

    Also, what do you see when you visit your Backup page online

     

    Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!

  • EnAr's avatar
    EnAr
    Explorer | Level 4
    3 years ago

    The Dropbox icon in the taskbar is clean, when I open the small window it says Your files are up to date

    I'm using version 173.4.6706

    This is the image of the page that opened when I clicked your link:

     

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    3 years ago

    EnAr wrote:
    Can't backup a folder because it's not in default location

    What is the exact path of your Documents folder? The default location on a Windows system would be C:\Users\[your username]\Documents. If that's not where the folder is located, you'll need to move it back before Dropbox can back it up (which actually just moves it to the local Dropbox folder so it can sync).

     

    Go into Properties for your Documents folder and check the Location tab.

     

     

  • EnAr's avatar
    EnAr
    Explorer | Level 4
    3 years ago

    So my Documents folder was in here actually: C:\Users\Ento\Dropbox (Old)\PC\Documents

    The reset to default location button didn't work, so I followed this guide

    Now, MY DOCUMENTS FOLDER IS EMPTY! Where are my files??? I have really important documents in my documents folder.

     

    It's still kind of fine because my important files that I was syncing are in my Dropbox, I have a Dropbox's "Documents" folder, however it is not a proper replacement. While my most important files that I was syncing are in that folder, I can't find the other files from the original Documents folder that I wasn't syncing.

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hey EnAr, have you searched your hard drive for the files, to find where they might be located?

  • hejlightyear's avatar
    hejlightyear
    New member | Level 1
    11 months ago

    I have the same issue.. My laptop is Macbook Pro M3 Max. Can you let me know if you found a solution to this? Thank you very much

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    11 months ago

    Sorry to see that you're having this issue, hejlightyear.

    Can you let us know where your Dropbox folder is currently located?

    What's the exact error message that you're getting? Can you send us a screenshot?

    Thanks.

  • EnAr's avatar
    EnAr
    Explorer | Level 4
    11 months ago

    Hello.

    Unfortunately as this was 2 years ago and I stopped using Dropbox, I don't remember the details.

    I think that, for some reason, probably for being previously a user of many other drives (i think the main cause of the issue was onedrive, but possibly the mega app too), I had different "Documents" folders. One in the Documents location, and one or two in other locations.

    I don't remember how I fixed the issue. First, I probably reinstalled the dropbox app (try both before and after these steps). But, it was probably one of these two:

    • Instead of backing up the Documents folder, i left it unchecked, and manually set the folders I wanted to back up to back up (go to file explorer, right click, youll find there, at least in windows).
    • Playing around with the Documents folders I had. Renaming some, replacing, deleting, until only one remained in the default docs location, but I DON'T think this is what I did. If remember correctly, all the months I was using Dropbox, I was syncing from the randomly located "Documents folder."
    • I jist remembered this one, I think this couldve been it, along with the reinstalling: Deleting OneDrive and Mega completely from my system, not just disabling them. I think Onedrive caused a lot of issues.

    I don't use Mac, never did. Perhaps the issue for you is iCloud (instead of OneDrive), or another default way the system is backing up files. Good luck.

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    11 months ago

    Hi hejlightyear, thanks for the image. In order to look into this matter in more detail, I'd recommend contacting the support team directly for them to investigate further.

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