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Dropbox unable to sync folders but said folders don't exist when I try to access them.
For as long as I can remember Dropbox has notified my that 3 folders cannot be synced because I need to give dropbox permission to access the file.
The 3 folders it is trying to sync are "My music", "My pictures" and "My videos".
But when I click on 'go to folder' it takes me to dropbox/documents and there are no folders with the names dropbox has given
It seems it is trying to sync the 'library' files in windows but I didn't ask dropbox to, hence it not having permission, so why is it trying?
Any idea how I can clear this error?
6 Replies
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- Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi DavidAJDavies, welcome to our Community!
The first thing I'd like for us to check, is whether your Dropbox Backup is currently enabled.
Would you mind visiting your Backup page online, and letting me know what it reports?
I'll be waiting for your response!
Hello DavidAJDavies
This issue is caused by three hidden junction folders called "My Music", "My Pictures" and "My Videos" which are located in your C:\Users\Your_Username\Documents folder. The permissions issue message is misleading. This is not a permissions issue. The real issue is that those folders are junction folders, which Dropbox doesn't sync. Those folders being hidden also explains why you cannot locate them easily in Windows Explorer.
The good news is those hidden junction folders are only there for backwards compatibility reasons, but usually can be removed without any issues.
Here is how to fix this:
1. Open a Windows command prompt
2. The command prompt usually opens in your home folder (C:\Users\Your_Username) as its current directory so to get to your Documents folder you just type :
cd Documents
3. You should now have your command prompt switched to the "Documents" folder as its current directory. In there you can check for the existence of those three junction folders using this command:
dir /a:h
3. Then to remove those three folders you will use the following commands:
rmdir "My Music"
rmdir "My Pictures"
rmdir "My Videos"
4. Once those hidden junction folders are removed, you can restart Dropbox and it should no longer complain about them anymore.
Hope this helps.
Andrew (DBoxTips)
Hi, It comes up with a button 'try dropbox backup' so I assume I'm not using the backup function? I do sync folders across two laptops, a phone and a tablet though.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the reply, this sounds likely to be the issue but when I typed dir /a:h i got this response:
Volume in drive C is Windows
Volume Serial Number is E400-AF6CDirectory of C:\Users\david\Documents
File Not Found
Let me know if you have any suggestions.
- If you type the rmdir commands what does it report back?
Andrew (DBoxTips) Hi Andrew
It says "The system cannot find the file specified"
