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Linux - Unable to change Dropbox directory
I'm using Fedora Workstation 25 with GNOME.
Trying to change the Dropbox directory results in the utterly useless message "Unexpected errors occurred. Your Dropbox is ok!".
Steps to recreate problem:
- Dropbox directory is currently ~/Dropbox
- Start Dropbox application by running ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd
- Right click sys tray icon and select Preferences.
- Click "Move…" button under Account > Location
- Select directory /local on which my user has write permissions.
- The message "Unexpected errors occurred. Your Dropbox is ok!" appears.
Observations:
- The directory /local/Dropbox is sucesfully created.
- One of the directories in ~/Dropbox is created in /local/Dropbox/ It's empty. Deleting that directory from ~/Dropbox before attempting the move doesn't help.
- Selecting other directories on which my user has write permissions results in the same behaviour.
- Permissions and ownership of my Dropbox directory and user's home directory are OK. (Troubleshooting advice for Linux at https://help.dropbox.com/desktop-web/move-dropbox-folder is pooly written. sudo is not needed on all those commands. "Internet menu" is not a thing in all (any?) desktop environments.)
- There's a log file in ~/.dropbox/logs/1 but it's a binary blob so useless without something to make it human readable and I can't locate such a thing.
- Deleting all my files from ~/Dropbox/ waiting for sync to complete and then attempting the move doesn't help.
- When attemping the move after deleting all my files from ~/Dropbox/ /local/Dropbox/.dropbox.cache/ is succesfully created. It's empty.
- Pausing syncing before attempting the move doesn't help.
- There don't seem to be any options that can be passed to ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd to get more info. (Adding --help prevents it running!)
I was having this same issue. I found a fix in creating a Dropbox folder in my home directory prior to connecting my account. This caused the installer to throw an error about a Dropbox folder already existing that prompted me to either delete the Dropbox folder or select a different location. Eureka! (for me at least...)
Guys solved, and the solution was the easiest and logic.
I expose my situation:
sda1 300GB --> /
sda5 8TB --> /home
As I explained, I wanted to install Dropbox below /home directory, but playing as "root" user, by default, it forced the installation on /root
So I just installed the daemon using the user who owns the home directory I want and it works properly, just remember to add the "user" to the root group.
If you need more details, don't hesitate to ask.
wrote:I was having this same issue. I found a fix in creating a Dropbox folder in my home directory prior to connecting my account. This caused the installer to throw an error about a Dropbox folder already existing that prompted me to either delete the Dropbox folder or select a different location. Eureka! (for me at least...)
This didn't work for me, but I did find a similar solution! I created a "work" dropbox account and set up a fresh installation of dropbox with that account, which places the "work" Dropbox folder in the defaut ~/Dropbox. I then deleted everything in ~/.dropbox* (with rm -rf ~/.dropbox* ), reinstalled dropbox and set it up using my personal account. Now since the folder in ~/Dropbox already contains the dropbox for the work account, I got the prompt that allowed me to either delete the Dropbox folder or select a different location for my personal account. Somehow this worked when simply moving the folder within dropbox wouldn't... I hope this helps somebody! (using Fedora 27 btw)
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Your reply is written as though I'm using macOS when I clearly stated I'm using Linux.
I stated in my post that I had tried deleting everything in ~/Dropbox/ prior to attempting to change the Dropbox direcory locaton and the error still occurs. The presence of symlinks in ~/Dropbox/ can't be the cause of the error if the error occurs when ~/Dropbox/ is empty.I don't have any symlinks in ~/Dropbox. I avoid using symlinks in stuff that I backup in Dropbox because I know symlinks won't be preserved.
Is there any way to get the Dropbox client to produce detailed error messages?
Is there any way to change the Dropbox directory location except using the GUI?
I've tried modifying the path value in ~/.dropbox/info.json (having first made sure no Dropbox processes were running), and then putting a copy of ~/Dropbox at the path I'd specified. On starting the Dropbox client the value of path in ~/.dropbox/info.json got changed back to what it was before. The only other suggestion of how to move the directory without using the GUI I can find online is to move the directory then create ~/Dropbox as a symlink, which is basically a bodge and not an acceptable solution.Before posting here I searched for a way to raise a ticket with Dropbox directly but was unable to find one.
I followed that link yo posted and maybe I raised a ticket and maybe I didn't. I don't know. I filled in the form, submitted it and got taken to https://www.dropbox.com/help and given absolutely no indication of whether what I'd entered in to the form was sent somewhere a human will read it or droped in to a void never to be seen again. Very poor user experience.
Why are you, someone who (I assume because "Dropboxer") works for Dropbox, using a third party url shortening service when posting links in the official Dropbox form to take people to another Dropbox webpage? Do you have absolute control over that short url and ensure that in future it never points somewhere other than where it currently does, say to a phishing site skinned to look like the Dropbox website?
I've now recieved an email telling me that I did open ticket. The form for raising a ticket should provide feedback though.
- Jane
Dropbox Staff
Dear Mike,
Did you solve the problem? Could you keep update some info?
I've got the same problem. When I want Dropbox Fedora sync file from a NTFS Share Drive.
Thanks
TuanNV
My support ticket has been passed on to different people at Dropbox several times, but the problem has not yet been solved.
I have established that moving the Dropbox directory to a subdirectory of my home directory, e.g. from ~/Dropbox to ~/Something/Dropbox does work which makes me think the issue is somehow related to moving the Dropbox directory to a different disk partition. However on openSUSE Leap 42.2 moving the Dropbox directory to a different disk partition does work. I haven't been able to work out why that works on openSUSE but not Fedora (using same version of Dropbox client). I've replicated the problem on Fedora 23, 25, 26. Haven't tried 24.
In my case, I think the problem is my Dropbox location is NTFS drive. If I move Dropbox to ext4, everything fine.
Hope Dropbox fix this problem soon.
Mike, do you know the location of Dropbox's log file? I can't find anything about dropbox on /var/log/
Thanks
TuanNV
- ~/.dropbox/logs/ but you can't read them. Dropbox support have told me "you won't be able to open them, I'm afraid they are encrypted and can only be decrypted here."
