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Forum Discussion
"Dropbox folder missing" error after replacing hard drive
Hi,
I had to replace a failed secondary internal drive (not system drive C:) which contained the Dropbox folder (K:\Dropbox). I planned to download the folder from the online copy, which I confirmed was present before replacing the failed drive.
After drive replacement, the existing Dropbox application software could no longer find K:\Dropbox, so it offered to relink.
Just before accepting the "relink" option, I created a new K:\Dropbox folder on the new drive, thinking I would have an option to point to its correct location. However, the relink processing seemed to get lost -- I never had any options, and application seemed hung.
I rebooted, then uninstalled Dropbox altogether, rebooted again, and reinstalled it.
Somewhere in the installation process (likely through the Chome browser I used to download it), Dropbox acquired the Gmail address associated with my browser ([removed]), rather than the email address ([removed]) for my paid Dropbox-Plus plan. The newly installed Dropbox app offered to upgrade me from the "free" 2GB plan, so I knew I was in trouble. The Dropbox application showed that it was a free plan associated with [removed], and I could find no way to switch accounts.
I attempted to uninstall/reinstall Dropbox several times, but could not disassociate the [removed] email address.
I eventually got Dropbox uninstalled completely. There was no sign of it in the registry either, other than for a "Dropbox" folder under WOW6432Node, which I also deleted.
I deleted the K:\Dropbox folder and started all over again with a clean install. This time took a screenshot of the "Dropbox Folder Missing" message, which clearly states that "This computer was previously linked to [removed]'s account." It doesn't seem matter whether I choose Relink or Exit, because either way the account will not be correctly associated with my [removed] account.
How can I overcome this conflict with email addresses, so that Dropbox no longer believes that "This computer was previously linked to [removed]'s account."
Thanks in advance,
Dave
[removed]
[personal information removed per the Community's Guidelines]
2 Replies
When I replaced a failed drive containing my Dropbox folder, I got stuck in a loop where Dropbox insisted on using a Gmail (address [removed]) that was NOT the email address associated with my paid account. The message was "This computer was previously linked to [removed]'s account."
Reinstalling Dropbox did not help, but it would have been very nice to just be able to switch accounts, like I can do at Amazon.com with two clicks
(one to request the switch, and one to select the target account). This problem is still unsolved, so at the moment I cannot reach my 2TB plan through my desktop app.
Also, sometime people's email addresses change, and it should be easy to update that as well.
[personal info removed per the Dropbox Community Guidelines]
- Rich
Super User II
Perform an advanced reinstall. Don't create the Dropbox folder on your own. If you do, and then select K:\Dropbox during the install, you'll end up creating K:\Dropbox\Dropbox. Just select K:\ as the location and Dropbox will create the folder folder you. The option to specify the location is found in the advanced options during the install, after you sign in to your account.
