DB backup size of external ssd is different than the ssd

[-nikolaos]

So I finished backing up my SSD a few hours ago and when I went to make sure that all of my files got backed up, I realised that there was a huge difference on the file size. So, while the files on my SSD are 966GB, the backup on Dropbox is 807GB. This is a huge difference and I need to empty my SSD as soon as possible. I dont know if everything is backed up, but I can see that there's even a difference in the size of a single photo. Its about 1mb less on the backup of dropbox compared to the original file on my SSD.

[Jay]

Hi @-nikolaos, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

On the Backup page, is the external drive backup showing up as completed with a green tick?

This will help me to assist further!

[-nikolaos]

Yes. Status is Done with a green tick

[Hannah]

Hey @-nikolaos, sorry to jump in.

Do you see the same if you click on your Dropbox icon? What's the sync status of the app and the status of the backup there?

[-nikolaos]

Yes it was

[-nikolaos]

Everything seemed to be okay and synced. I really don’t know what was causing this, but I can’t trust this service. also, from what I understand, the Dropbox Backup is mirroring the external drive I had backed up. So, if I wanted to delete all of my files from the hard drive, everything will get deleted on the cloud.

[Walter]

Yes,  that would be expected when backing up an external drive to Dropbox @-nikolaos 

You could instead copy or move those files to Dropbox and have them sync normally to be able to delete them from your external drive afterwards. 

From there, you could also use selective sync to un-sync them from your computer as well, if needed.

I hope this helps a tad!