A file on my account is corrupted and won't open, can you help?

[Letsdothis101]

Hi,

I need help please with a corrupted folder. The other day, I saved a Word document in that folder on my desktop PC. It has not worked since and every time you click on the folder it says: "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable."

I have already tried 'unlinking' the PC account via Dropbox.com. I have also tried (several times) un-installing/re-installing the Dropbox app on my PC, I have also cleared the Dropbox cache on the PC, and have also tried disabling Avast antivirus while doing this. Nothing works. The folder is also still fine, when accessing via Dropbox.com and via my iPad  and iPhone. Currently, the desk tray icon has a blue circle, as if its synching but cannot finish synching. The folder itself has a red/white cross by it. I have also tried View Synching Issues, but again no joy. I even entirely deleted the folder from my Dropbox account and the corrupted 'empty' folder still came up when I re-installed the Desktop Dropbox app. So maybe this corrupted version is somehow stored in the PC, somewhere?  I have also cleaned off any Malware. So that has been done. Also, I should add that I have managed to successfully add other Word files since this occured - so Dropbox itself, via the Desktop app, is working. Its just this folder that is corrupted.

What is the best course of action now? Should I just entirely erase my Dropbox account and start again? I don't have the 'rewind' facility unfortunately.

Thanks,

[Daphne]

Hello @Letsdothis101, thanks for reaching out to us here!

The sync icon that you mentioned showing next to the folder could be due to a few reasons. Just to cover all the possibilities, can you try the following and let me know if this helps?

1. Click the Dropbox icon in your system tray.
2. Click the profile pic/initials icon in the top right of the window.
3. Choose "Preferences..."
4. Go to the "Account" tab.
5. While holding the Space bar key, click "Fix Hardlinks".

If this doesn't resolve the issue, please follow the steps again and instead click "Fix permissions". The app might need to sync for a while after doing this, so please just keep an eye out for any progress.

If the issue persists, can you let me know if there are any errors shown in the sync status of the desktop app? You can see this when you click the Dropbox icon along the bottom of the small pop up window.

Let me know how it goes!

[Letsdothis101]

Hi @daphne,

Thanks for getting back in touch. Firstly, when I click on Preferences/Account, there is no option for 'Fix Hardlinks' or 'Fix Permissions'. All it has is an option to 'unlink' the account.

Should I 'unlink' the account from here? That's one thing I have not done before (I did it previously by signing into dropbox over the internet, then clicking settings and then security and then 'unlink PC').

As for the syncs status, there are no error messages. It just says its uploading 2 files and downloading 3 files - and it says this constantly - nothing changes!

Do you have any other suggestions?

Best,

James

[Daphne]

I hope you had a good weekend @Letsdothis101!

When you open the Account tab in the desktop app preferences, you'll need to hold down the Space bar key on your keyboard to see the options "Fix hardlinks/permissions".

You may need to click on a blank space within the window before holding the Space bar if the option doesn't show up at first. It may take a second to appear so please keep the Space bar pressed for a short period.

I wouldn't suggest unlinking at this point as I don't believe that this could help if the folder is indeed corrupted.

Keep me posted!

[Letsdothis101 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Daphne,

Firstly, thanks again for taking the time to address my problem with Dropbox.

Oddly, out of curiosity,  I just tried your suggestion about pressing space bar etc in the Accounts section and still could not get it to produce the 'Fix hardlinks/permissions' option.

Anyway, luckily it doesn't matter, as I managed to solve the problem myself. Something I'd already tried once before but this time it worked. I unlinked the PC account, deleted the entire folder from my Dropbox account, then cleared the cache, and then re-linked Dropbox app to my PC and then re-loaded the folder back into Dropbox by dragging and dropping the files online. That seemed to work fine. No more synching issues. I'd tried this before - and it wasn't working, but maybe I did something slightly differently then. Anyway, I've not stored the original Word document that caused the problem in Dropbox again in case it causes an issue again, but otherwise, all is working smoothly.

Thanks again,

Letsdothis101

[Daphne]

I'm glad to hear that @Letsdothis101!

Thanks for taking the time to get back and let me know the steps that you took to resolve this, I'm sure it will be helpful for others who might have the same issue.

If there's anything else that I can help with, please don't hesitate to get back to me here.

Have a great week ahead!

[recmsoj1]

Medical Covid-19 Immunization documents from State Health Department accessed on Internet on iPad 8 running OS 15.1. After “Save to Dropbox” executed, documents appear in Dropbox, but one version opens perfectly, while another shows only computer code. Why is one intact but the other corrupt? Can it be fixed? Thank you. 

[Megan]

Hi @recmsoj1, welcome to the Dropbox Community!

Did you download the files using the same browser? Can you also try a different one on your end? 

Did you use a share link to access them? 

Let me know more!

[recmsoj1]

Reply to Dropboxer Megan. 
Megan,

     The Reply button under your reply to my question is grayed and not working. 

     The corrupt and intact non-corrupt medical documents were saved to DB with same browser, Safari on iPad 8 running iPadOS 15.1.

     Just now, I did the same Saves but done with Chrome on same iPad, but BOTH files corrupted after Save to DB. 

     I am a 69 male retired MD, but Dropbox Newbie. What is a shared link you asked me about? 
     Now trying again with 3rd browser, Firefox. 
     Thanks for your Reply.

     Dr. Johnson

[recmsoj1]

Megan,

     Forgive me if I’m pitifully confused at this. I’m a 69 year old retired MD but just started using Dropbox this week. 
     You graciously replied to my first question to the Community today under Files and Folders titled Document Corrupt after Save to Dropbox. I tried to reply but under your message Reply was grayed out and not working. Another link in your Reply box suggested asking you another question, so I wrote my answer as a new question with the same title. It posted but as a new question not linked to your Reply. 
     1) why is the Reply button grayed out under your Reply to me? Any way to activate for a Reply to your post to my question?

     2) I looked for a method to send you a private message or text to explain this, but no luck. I found your name replying in this unrelated thread to get you this message.

     3) could you be so kind as to look at your reply to me in Files and Folders and let me know if you found my answer to you (written as a question)? I don’t know if you can contact me here directly through DB, but if need be I set my email to be available to friends on DB. 

     4) apology for this roundabout route to contact you. Thanks very much  for your help. 

Dr. Johnson