Dropbox files on PC are not showing up on the Dropbox website

[schmidtsp]

I recently had to re-install Windows 10. I re-installed Dropbox using the install function from the Drobbox website. What shows in the Dropbox folder on my computer does not match what shows on the website. There are several important things I saved to Dropbox on my computer that are not showing on the Dropbox website and thus are not showing on my labtop. How do I fix this and not lose the new information that I "entered" on the computer?

[Hannah]

Hey @schmidtsp, welcome to the Dropbox Community!

Can you let me know the sync status of the Dropbox application on your computer?

You can check that by hovering with your mouse over the Dropbox icon in your system tray.

Also, do the files in your Dropbox folder have syncing icons next to them? Green check marks or blue circling icons?

Keep me posted!

 

[schmidtsp]

Thank you for your response. My Dropbox situation is very confusing.  This afternoon I found another "hidden" Dropbox folder under my username.  It does not show up normally when I open File Explorer.  (I have to click on the arrow next to quick access and choose my user name to see the Dropbox icon.)  It seems to match the online Dropbox but does not include any files I have added to my PC Dropbox for the last 2-3 months.  The PC Dropbox I have been using (that doesn't match the online Dropbox) is listed as a folder under documents.  Neither the apparent "real" Dropbox folder listed under my username nor the Dropbox listed under documents has green sync checkmarks.  

For a comparison, I opened the Dropbox icon/app on my laptop PC (Windows 10).  It matches the online Dropbox and has green check arrows beside the file folders and individual files.  Neither the laptop nor desktop PCs show the Dropbox icon on the system tray.

I'm not sure what to do to get everything in sync and the "real" Dropbox icon showing up on my desktop PC.

[Hunter]

Hey @schmidtsp, sorry for bumping into your thread.

It sounds like your "hidden" Dropbox folder, isn't actually syncing to your account.

Firstly you need to make sure the Dropbox application is always running (icon in your system tray).

To ensure that, you can run the Dropbox installer.

To find your active Dropbox folder, you can:

1. Open your desktop app preferences.
2. Click the "sync tab".
3. Note the "Dropbox folder location"

Any files you add in the above Dropbox folder location, will sync and upload to your account, as long as your Dropbox application is running.

[schmidtsp]

Thanks Hunter.  I ended up copying all the files I had added to the nonsyncing folders (I had two of them for some reason) to a jump drive, uninstalling anything "Dropbox" on my PC, and then re-installing Dropbox from the Dropbox website.  Everything seems to be working now.  I'm not sure why it didn't install correctly the first time.