Problem with backup (folders not in default location)

[pcuser]

Long Story - Short Version

New pc/laptop.

Installed 2nd hard drive/ssd

Moved location of ALL my folders (public and private) to 2nd drive. Path D:\Users\XXXX(name of user)\folder(music, documents, videos etc)

Installed upgraded dropbox with 1 year free gratis 100gb storage. because i bought a 2k laptop.... and discovered DropBox Backup& Sync..

It won't run because folders are not in default location. IE C:\user\XXXX\Folder

Duh! Of course they ain't! And I dont want them there EVER!

The repair option will move the folders back to C: and I DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN - EVER!

And because of this, the backup funtion won't work.  This is sloppy programming! I was using Glacier from Synology (which is FREE BTW) and i just point it at my folders and BOOM! backed up.  This bit of software cant even backup if the files are not where DropBox  programmers have decided they must be.  Really Bad Idea. anyone these days with a pc or laptop, which can use a second drive WILL move their folders off the boot drive. unless they have a death wish, of course...

[jhedleyj]

Hi, Megan

I re-installed (164.4.7914) today but when I uninstalled I didn't remove any settings as I had every intention of reinstalling and am busy backing up the usual folders (Desktop, Documents etc.) and all seems to be going well. It would appear that I when uninstalled I had been using a previous version of Dropbox which caused a relocation of the files I am backing up to Dropbox folder but hidden and links were maintained to my User/folder. The files I am backing up now appear to be remaining untouched in their original location i.e., in the User/ folder, but I am led to believe they should be being copied or moved (which?) to User/Library/Cloud Storage but they haven't (It's empty!). My files are being copied to the website. Can you reassure me that the files I have in my User/ folder are completely safe?

BTW I didn't receive any warning that such an upgrade was about to happen. Hmm. Also, in Backup my Mac is now called Mac (1) and is that name is unchangeable which is very irritating!

Do you think that a complete uninstall is advised and then a restart from scratch. If so, could you please advise me on how to do that.

[Jay]

Hi @jhedleyj, I wouldn't recommend uninstalling and reinstalling the app as of yet, as it is possible that the Dropbox desktop application is performing a migration to the new location.

Give it at least 24 hours for the Dropbox desktop application to finish indexing and syncing files, to see if there are any other changes in the location of the Dropbox folder.

[jhedleyj]

I have now uploaded all my files and no migration seems to have taken place. The files have remained in my iMac's User folders with nothing in the Cloud Storage folder.

I have noticed that the desktop app version has changed as well. Before this issue arose, the version was 163.4.5456 and then it changed to 164.4.7914 and the problems happened. After communication with yourselves the version reverted to 163.4.5456 (with no intervention from me) and the problems remained.

Everything seems to work OK but the files remain in their original location and not where they should be. 

Also, I do not want to uninstall and reinstall because my guess is that I would end up with my Mac (1) would no doubt become Mac (2) which would absolutely not be acceptable, particularly as my Mac is called Mac and I really want it to stay that way. Mac (1) is bad enough! Why can't it be changed?

[Walter]

Hey @jhedleyj, sorry to jump in here, but could you try the offline installer of the latest version of the desktop app from this page and let us know how it goes?

As for the thoughts you shared in the end, they kind of echo this idea, so feel free to have a look there and upvote it to show your interest too. 

[jhedleyj]

As instructed I have just installed version 165.4.4300. Sorry but no difference at all.

[Jay]

Hi @jhedleyj, just for clarification, did the Dropbox version revert to an earlier version of the app, or did it remain on the new version this time?

[jhedleyj]

Hi Jay

It has remained at 165.4.4300

I have also noticed that backups used to happen in almost real time but it is around 15 minutes (or longer ) before anything happens and even then it is slow.

John

[Hannah]

Hey @jhedleyj, happy Monday!

We appreciate your feedback here about this.

Can you also just check the bandwidth that the Dropbox app uses, to make sure it's not limited?

[jhedleyj]

The bandwidth is set at "Don't limit" as I have Full fibre at 500/100.

Another problem has now appeared which has resulted in me being unable to use the Backup app. My Mac backup has been disconnected for some reason and all my files (177.2Gb) have been put into my Dropbox which has a capacity of 6.25Gb and I cannot access it to delete some files. The advice given is to upgrade as access to the Dropbox is denied completely. This is a 100% no-no as I do not use DB as a sharing medium; I only want to use it as a backup.

I have attached some screenshots to help. The one showing that my files are syncing is not true, the syncing has stopped, presumably because my Dropbox is full.

I have tried to set up the Mac again but as you can see the folders cannot be found.

 

 

[Jay]

Hi @jhedleyj, it sounds like you already have a backup on the Dropbox account. Could you check this page to see if it's visible there and then try to disable it?