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Folders are empty

Folders are empty

Rikonthebarge
Helpful | Level 6

Recently had big problems with my Mac and finally boguht a new one. I've installed Dropdox and all my files show up but they are all EMPTY! Any thoughts on how I can restore them? All help much appreciated. Thank you. Rik

27 Replies 27

Rikonthebarge
Helpful | Level 6

To Clarify; I clicked on the file showing on my events and it started to download to the "Downloads" folder on my Mac. But then it immediately put up the error message saying it was empty. I pasted the entire error message into my last message here but here is a screenshot. R

 

Screenshot 2021-02-05 at 17.07.08.png

Daphne
Dropbox Staff
Thanks for the screenshot @Rikonthebarge.

Could you check the properties of the file and send me a screenshot (excluding any personal info) of what you see there?

You just need to right click the file and choose "Get info" if you're not familiar with this.

Daphne
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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Rikonthebarge
Helpful | Level 6

Dear Daphne

 

Thank you fro your interest.

 

I can get info on the file that downloaded back to my Mac (this confirms that the file is empty). Hopefully I cab attach a screenshot of the info panel of that.

 

However, I cannot get info on the files that appear in my Dropbox (there is no right click on a Mac. Command "I" doesn't produce a result and double clicking simply downloads the file again.

 

I should also add that I had to try this with a different file as now I can't find the file I originally tried! The folders in my dropbox are empty but, as I mentioned earlier, some files do show on my events activity. I wish I was more tech savvy but sadly I'm wholly dependent on things working as expected - or else on the tech-savvy genii behind the scenes!

 

Screenshot 2021-02-05 at 19.48.32.png

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Hi @Rikonthebarge, it sounds like the files aren't downloading correctly onto your machine from the site.

You mentioned that you installed the desktop app, is the Dropbox icon visible in the menu bar at the top?

When you click the icon, what message do you see on the bottom left? Does it say syncing, up to date, or another message?

Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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Rikonthebarge
Helpful | Level 6

Hi Jay

 

Sadly, the drop down menu does say that the download is complete. I have just checked again but those files remain stubbornly absent.

 

Thank you for your interest

 

Rik

Daphne
Dropbox Staff
Can you have a look at the version history for this file in your account online with these steps, @Rikonthebarge?

Do you see a previous version of the files that you can restore?

If not, if you just view the file in Dropbox online, can you see what size the file is showing there too?

You can check out these steps if you have any trouble with this.

Daphne
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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Rikonthebarge
Helpful | Level 6

Dear Daphne

 

Thank you for your patience on this issue.

 

Almost every folder in my dropbox now shows up as Empty. One or two folders do have the odd file in them but these, when I click them, do not open but instead I'm presented with two sub folders labelled Data and Metadata; these folders are also empty. The drop down menu does not display a version history option. I can sometimes reveal a Folder History option but this produces no results. I have check both the Dropbox folder here on the website and the one that I access through the menu bar on my Mac.

 

As far as I can tell, my dropbox is empty apart from files I have added recently such as the screenshots posted in this thread.

 

This is hugely disappointing as well as distressing. Your mention of a "restore" option gave me hope but there is nothing to restore! What is going on?

 

Rik

Daphne
Dropbox Staff
I'd like to see if there is any that we can find and assist you with regarding this @Rikonthebarge, so I've just reached out to the email linked with your profile here.

When you have the time, please check your inbox and get back to me there, so we can have a look into this alongside some account specific info - thanks!

Daphne
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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Renata7
New member | Level 2

Hi everyone

 

Was there a solution to this problem in the end? I just discovered all my folders are empty - both on the app as well as on the online version of Dropbox. It may be something very similar since I had to do a complete system reboot on my MacBook recently. It irritates me though that the files are gone online as well... Really hoping, this can be reversed! 😱😰

 

Best wishes, Renata

Rikonthebarge
Helpful | Level 6

Hi Renata

 

The team at Dropbox did work hard to try to recover my files but sadly they were unable to recover files more than a few months old. If you did this reboot recently, I would advise that you get in touch with them immediately to give you the best chance of recovering as much as possible.

 

Best of luck.

 

Rik

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