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My files were deleted, but not everything is coming back, in order to restore them. Why?

My files were deleted, but not everything is coming back, in order to restore them. Why?

Flipperchick
Explorer | Level 4

Just logged into Dropbox and all my files are deleted. Have most definitely not deleted them myself. I have 2FA on. No sign in notifications received on date that files appear to have been deleted. Subscription all paid up. I have been restoring from Deleted Files folder but not everything is coming back. Has this happened to anyone else?

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

Megan
Dropbox Staff

Hi @Flipperchick, yes, desktop means that the deletion was coming from your device.

 

Now, a few things to ask yourself, and that could have ended up in a deletion is: Did your device experience any hard disk problems around the time of the deletions? 

 

Specifically, do you remember the Dropbox application ending unexpectedly while you were performing changes to your Dropbox? These changes could have that result. 

 

Are you running antivirus software? Antivirus software can occasionally quarantine files. If these files were in your Dropbox, they could have been removed and as a result show as being deleted.

 

Is your Dropbox in any way pointing towards a non-local disk source such as a network drive or an external drive? If the drive is ever disconnected from the computer while Dropbox is running there is a small chance that the Dropbox software will start deleting files before realizing that the entire drive has been removed. 

 

In any case, we can't exactly identify how the deletion happened, just where it happened from. We're glad you got your content back!


Megan
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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View solution in original post

17 Replies 17

Nancy
Dropbox Staff

Hi @Flipperchick! Sorry to hear about this.

 

Are you receiving any kind of errors when restoring your files via the website? 

 

Were the files you’re missing personal files or were they previously shared with another user? 

 

That’ll help me guide you further.


Nancy
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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Flipperchick
Explorer | Level 4
Thank you for your interest. I have managed to restore everything. All files were personal and have never been shared. All okay now. Phew!

Nancy
Dropbox Staff

Great news, @Flipperchick!

 

If you need something else, I’ll be around the Community.


Nancy
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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Mark
Super User II

What does www.dropbox.com/events show?


 


:penguin::penguin: - :penguin: - :penguin: - :penguin:


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Flipperchick
Explorer | Level 4

Interesting, I never knew about this Dropbox.com/events option, as I am an infrequent user. It showed that I deleted all my files myself! I just have absolutely no idea how I could possibly have done this. I am under quite a bit of stress at the moment as my mother is in her final days, and my brain is a bit scrambled. However, I genuinely have no idea how I could possibly have deleted the entire contents of my Dropbox in one fell swoop without warning, or being aware of it. I only know how to delete files one at a time. 

Hannah
Dropbox Staff

Hey @Flipperchick, I'm really sorry to hear about all this..

 

Regarding the deletions, now that you've restored the files, what you could do for some additional info, is to check the version history of those files.

 

There, you should be able to see which computer they were deleted from and when.


Hannah
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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Flipperchick
Explorer | Level 4

The original uploads were from 'web' (which I know I did) and the deletion was from 'desktop' and the reinstatement was from 'web' (which I know that I did). Have no idea what 'desktop' means, other than I assume that it's my computer. Sorry I am not very tech savvy. 

Megan
Dropbox Staff

Hi @Flipperchick, yes, desktop means that the deletion was coming from your device.

 

Now, a few things to ask yourself, and that could have ended up in a deletion is: Did your device experience any hard disk problems around the time of the deletions? 

 

Specifically, do you remember the Dropbox application ending unexpectedly while you were performing changes to your Dropbox? These changes could have that result. 

 

Are you running antivirus software? Antivirus software can occasionally quarantine files. If these files were in your Dropbox, they could have been removed and as a result show as being deleted.

 

Is your Dropbox in any way pointing towards a non-local disk source such as a network drive or an external drive? If the drive is ever disconnected from the computer while Dropbox is running there is a small chance that the Dropbox software will start deleting files before realizing that the entire drive has been removed. 

 

In any case, we can't exactly identify how the deletion happened, just where it happened from. We're glad you got your content back!


Megan
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

Flipperchick
Explorer | Level 4

Thank you for your comprehensive reply. I still have no idea how I managed to do it, as I answered 'No' to all of your suggestions. But needless to say that I have been in a bit of a brain fog with my Mother dying and in her final days. Hopefully it won't happen again. 

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