Forum Discussion

cjohnston22's avatar
cjohnston22
New member | Level 2
3 years ago

Desktop not in default location

Recently merged filed from old computer to new computer.  Downloaded DropBox to new computer and when attempting to setup automatic backup for new device, the following error message is received...  

 

6 Replies

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

    Hey cjohnston22, thanks for reaching out to the Dropbox Community.

     

    When you say you merged files from an old computer, are you referring to files in the 'desktop' folder or your Dropbox folder?

     

    What is currently the location of both the 'desktop' and the Dropbox folder? Can you send us a screenshot of the folder paths?

     

    Thanks in advance.

  • alitchfi's avatar
    alitchfi
    Helpful | Level 6
    3 years ago

    I have the same issue. New computer and setting up back up for the first time (Mac OS 13.2.1). Presuming Apple know how to set up directories on their systems, my guess is that Dropbox is missing something.

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

    Hi alitchfi, according to Finder, when you right click the Desktop and Documents folders, and then choose 'Get info', where is the exact location of these folders?

  • alitchfi's avatar
    alitchfi
    Helpful | Level 6
    3 years ago

    OK, this is a bit weird but it looks as though Dropbox has created symlinks to all the standard local user account directories. For example:

    /Users/[username]/Desktop -> /Users/[username]/Dropbox/[computerName]/Desktop

     

    But the Finder reports an Alias pointing to

    /Users/[username]/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox/[computerName]/Desktop

     

    This applies to the following folders in the user folder: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Dropbox, Movies, Music, OneDrive, and Pictures.

     

    How is this resolved please?

  • alitchfi's avatar
    alitchfi
    Helpful | Level 6
    3 years ago

    And yes, Dropbox has symlinked itself to itself.

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

    Thanks for the info, I'd recommend contacting the support team to look into this matter further.

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