I'm Having Issues Syncing Large Folders

[Iron_Mind]

I'm trying to use my Dropbox Plus account to backup some large folders on one of my hard drives however I can't seem to get it to sync effectively. These folders will be updated regularly so I need them to actually sync.

I'm using Windows 11 and some of these folders have many subfolders with everything organised, while others have minimal subfolders but the main folder contains a few thousand files. I have a fast PC (the folders in question are on an NVMe SSD) and a very stable, fast internet connection.

When I tried uploading the folders to dropbox.com it will upload a certain amount of files then stop and I can't work out how to add more files efficiently, I don't want to be adding them a few at a time as I will almost certainly miss some. I also realised that this way isn't actually syncing the folders the weay I want.

Similarly when I tried dragging the folder on to the Dropbox folder on my computer it uploads a certain amount then the rest just sit there pending and I can't seem to get the rest to sync. I tried syncing single files from the right click menu but nothing happened.

What is the best way to set this up so that the folders reliably sync and any changes I make in future will automatically be updated?

[Nancy]

Welcome aboard the forum, @Iron_Mind!

In general, there’s a 50GB upload limit on the Dropbox website, so please keep this in mind in case the files/folders you’re trying to upload are more than that.

Now, as per the desktop app, can you clarify for me what’s its current syncing status and app version that it’s running? Do you see any difference to the app’s syncing or does it appear to be completely stuck?

Keep me updated.

[Iron_Mind]

I figured this would be the issue, how does this upload limit actually work? Is it just the total 50GB? Or is there a limit on the number of files that can be uploaded at one time as well? Some of my folders have under 50GB total data but an extremely high number of files (over 30,000) and they also caused issues.

What I want to know is how can I set up dropbox to sync my folders that contain files amounting to over 50GB so that it doesn't hit this upload limit without also changing my my file structure (which is integral to how one of the programs I use needs these files organised). Some of the files I want to sync are organised into subfolders so they could potentially be done bit by bit but how would I best go about this?

If I manage to sync everything in dribs and drabs, will the folders continue to sync? 

I stopped trying to sync everything, removed it all and started again syncing the files that were organised into subfolders so I uploaded one and will continue to upload those as I go but I still need to work out how best to tackle the folder with around 3000 files totalling 80GB. 

I can't find the exact version number of the Dropbox app on Windows 11 but I downloaded this today or yesterday so should be the latest version.

Many thanks for your quick reply.

[Hannah · Accepted solution]

Hey @Iron_Mind, sorry to jump in here.

You could upload the files in batches of less than 50 GB through the website but we'd actually suggest you do this through the Dropbox application.

You should have no issue dragging and dropping all the files at once to your Dropbox folder, in order for them to sync to your account.

However, you'll need to keep in mind that the files you add to the Dropbox folder, still take up space on your hard drive.

So, if you don't have enough free space, syncing will not complete.

One thing you could do in this case, is to also add the files in batches, allow one batch to sync, make it online-only to free up the space and then continue with the next batch and so on.

I hope this helps!

[Iron_Mind]

Hi @Hannah,

Thanks for all your help, that's solved it, I'm dragging everything into the Dropbox folder on my PC to sync, it's working now I'm doing it bit by bit.