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Where is the Dropbox backup folder on the mac?
Where is the dropbox backup folder on the mac? I need to back up my hard disk with Carbon Copy Cloner. But when CCC runs, it only pulls an alias file. The actual Documents folder that's now backed up with Dropbox just creates a useless "Documents" folder that has no content on my external drive.
This all of the sudden became an issue when I saw my ENTIRE Documents folder was empty in Finder. I looked in Dropbox in a web browser and the files were there. But they appeared to be gone from my computer. No good!!!
5 Replies
- Hannah
Dropbox Staff
Hey alinsdau, thanks for posting your question today.
Can you let me know if you're using the Dropbox backup beta or the older version of Dropbox backup?
If you go to your backups page online, do you see Backup beta at the top?
Keep me posted.
- Megan
Hey @Al314, in order to achieve what you originally asked for, then you'd need to disable our Backup feature.
If you have any questions, let me know!
I've learned this is an issue with Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) when used with Dropbox and other cloud backups. Those cloud backups are linked and somewhat hidden. When you navigate through your external backup drive, you'll think the files are there but they're really not. Using Dropbox backup for the "Documents" folder is risky simply because copying backups like CCC can't actually see the files - they're virtually linked.
For instance, on my one M2 Macbook air, Finder shows a little "document" icon inside of the Documents folder, and it also shows a tiny little gray lock icon. When I click onto that folder, it appears all my media is in documents. Great, right?
Nope! When I plug in the external backup drive to my iMac or another MB Air, I look at the folders. There, I see the /drive/Users/UserName/Documents folder is in fact completely empty. Nothing. And under the .Mac2xxx folder dropbox creates, if I dig around, I can find the hidden linked Dropbox folder. But again, that folder is empty.
So, in fact the files aren't backed up.
If you have the external drive connected to the computer running Dropbox backup, you'll think your files are safe. But if you plug that drive into another computer and truly try to verify the files are there, you'll be in for a surprise. Your files aren't backed up.
In CCC, there's an option under "Advanced Settings" to "Temporarily download cloud-only files to make a local backup". That may work, it may not.
The warning is - verify the files are actually on the drive by connecting it to another, separate computer so Dropbox can't fake/hide what's actually not there. When your computer crashes or you do a major OS upgrade and something goes wrong, and Dropbox gets hacked/deleted/whatever, you'll think your external drive has the files when in fact it doesn't.
Losing all her data happened to my girlfriend's computer once, so I'm much more fanatic about checking on another, separate computer with a separate account. You'll be surprised at what's actually missing.
What I learned to do is start a CCC backup on the M2 Air, pointed at the /Documents/ folder, then direct it to a folder on the external drive. That way, CCC does a folder copy rather than a drive backup. With this approach, I've backed up the /Documents/ folder onto the external drive without having to worry about CCC being fooled by Dropbox that the files are there. I have verified the files are present on the external drive by plugging the drive into my iMac and also my M1 Air. That way if the M2 computer fails, and Dropbox backup fails or is hacked, I still have my files offline.
