Oops - running out of room on my initial sync.

[mpjetst]

I am setting up a new computer and syncing the files already on Dropbox from the previous computer. I failed to set one huge folder to online-only, and now I am running out of space on the new computer as it syncs.

When I realized this, I set that huge folder to online-only, but it appears it may be too late since it continues to eat hard drive space. I am letting the sync continue hoping that dropbox will (A) stop syncing the terabyte of files in that folder and (B) when it "hits the wall" on my new computer hard drive it will begin to eat into the files already transfered rather than come to a screeching halt.

Any insights or experience would be great. I found one post on this issue but the situation was different enough that the solution was useless to me. Thanks in advance!!

[Megan]

Hey there, @mpjetst, how are you today? 

Can you clarify the app's current syncing status, along with the version you see there? 

Provided the app is syncing files, you should be able to see the files decrease in the status. Can you check, and let me know if that's the case? 

Any icons shown after you selected that folder to sync as online-only? 

Let me know!

[mpjetst · Accepted solution]

Megan, thanks for the quick reply. I'm wondering why Dropbox doesn't check for enough room on the destination before proceeding. Isn't this information available to Dropbox? Even a short reminder to the user would be better than just letting them jump off the cliff.

No, my dropbox install halted with about 1 meg left on my hard drive. Fortunately, I was able to find a backup of the huge folder and delete it so I was not stuck. When I made room drobpox immediately resumed and began to make the offending folder "online-only" and the universe righted itself. All is good.

In my case I have been a dropbox user for a long time and because it's so seamless and transparent (a good thing) I just forgot to check. That and KIDS were home that day.

If you want a couple of suggestions (1) alert a user when the files to be downloaded exceed the available room and (2) offer an option to restore the legacy system between download destinations - the folder on my "old" computer was set to "online-only" so it never occurred to me that the move to another computer wouldn't carry over.

Thanks again!

[Hannah]

Hey @mpjetst, thanks for the update here!

I'm glad that, despite the hiccup, you were able to resolve this and continue syncing.

I've made sure your comments are passed along to our team and if you need anything else, please let us know.

[Rob727]

So, to clarify this:

I set the folder to online only. 
Now, can I now delete the folder out of my computer to free up much needed space, then look in the app for the folder later on when I want to work on it?

[Rob727]

Cont’d

….and not delete the files off the bosses Dropbox. Just my local computer

[mpjetst]

@Rob727, I'm no expert but it depends. You are OK setting the folders or files to online only but then STOP. Give it some time depending on how large the total files are and your internet speed. After your Dropbox app processes everything you will have gained all that space back although you will still see the files/folders with a different icon.

From what I understand, whether you deleting the "ghost" files/folders will also delete them from your boss's computer depends on how the "owner" set them up. You may indeed have permission to remove them permanently.

If I'm correct, leave the empty ghost files/folders there on your computer. They don't take up space and you'll have access to them if needed. If you need one or two in case the internet isn't reachable, that's when you set them to "available offline."

[Mark]

Hi @Rob727 

No, if you delete it from your computer regardless of if its Online or Offline only it will delete from all connected accounts and devices - including people in shares. As others said, when you set to Online Only you reclaim the space after a few days but everything still shows on your device

[Rob727]

Thanks everybody,

I’ll sit and wait (and keep my job!) 

Much appreciated.