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Mac

1589 Topics

My Dropbox app keeps indexing files and I'm running out of hard drive space
I was running out of room on my MacBook Air (2 TB, Sonoma 14.7.8) and was told to make all Dropbox folders Online only to free up storage. It started indexing and freed up almost 1 TB so I was happy for a few minutes. Then it kept indexing and a few days later I was out of memory again. This has been going on for 6 weeks! ChaptGPT calls this a "rehydration" DropbBox Death loop. Chat said to mark the whole DropBox master folder as Online Only, then stop and restart DropbBox ap. Did not solve the problem. Possible clue: My main computer (MacBook Pro (4 TB, Sonoma 14.6.1) is doing fine except the Finder now shows that there is a 20 GB "Conflicted" copy of my DropBox files. Can anyone help me?
Mark Kroll
8 hours ago Place Storage Space
72Views
0likes
4Comments
Dragging file - copy vs. move
I use Dropbox to move files between Mac computers (OS 10.11 and 10.13) and Windows computers (Win7). When I drag a file from the Dropbox folder to a Windows local folder, it COPIES the file. When I drag a file from the Dropbox folder to a Mac local folder, it MOVES the file (i.e., deletes it from the Dropbox folder). Why the inconsistent treatment of the same action? Is there anything a user can do to change the default action? Obviously there is a way in each system to reverse the default action, but why make the user remember to do that? At this point I don't even care whether the default is MOVE or COPY -- I just want it to be the same on all platforms.
Solved
Malbone
9 hours ago Place Apps and Installations
12KViews
1like
8Comments
Stop Dropbox from backing up external drive
I made the mistake of accepting a request from Dropbox to back up an external drive plugged into my Mac. I didn't stop to think the files in that drive were going to be huge video files that should NOT be backed up to Dropbox. How do I stop the backup of that external drive? The help section says go to the preferences of the Mac Dropbox app and uncheck folders I don't want to be synced. There is NO such option. The only option is to uncheck something about set up notifications for new external drives. There was another help suggestion that suggested right clicking "the backup" and pausing it. WHAT backup?? I don't see the external drive listed anywhere in my Dropbox folder, and right clicking the external drive icon on my desktop doesn't show any Dropbox options. How do I stop this backup without disabling ALL backups?? Thank you for any help on this....
Solved
sanchmo
9 hours ago Place Create, upload, and share
18KViews
5likes
22Comments
Can't drag Files to Dropbox Folder in Catalina
Hello, In catalina I am no longer able to drag files in finder into the dropbox folder. The selected object just sort of springs back into place and will not enter the Dropbox folder.
Ted G.
9 hours ago Place Create, upload, and share
26KViews
8likes
191Comments
Trying to upload very large files (300GB) via the desktop app.
uploading very large files I have tried to upload a 300GB file to dropbox (I have 1TB capacity) using the Mac desktop application and I am being informed that there isn't enough free space. I bought this extra memory as dropbox write:"Files uploaded to Dropbox via the desktop application or mobile apps have no file size limit". Am I doing something wrong?
Solved
Andrew G.36
17 hours ago Place Create, upload, and share
47KViews
0likes
12Comments
MacOS: Not seeing Dropbox under the Locations section in Finder's left pane.
I have updated Dropbox on MacOS (12.6.5), and I have learned that I should know be able to see "Dropbox" in Finder on the left hand pane under 'Locations'. However there is no such entry; 'Locations' is empty. I *can* access Dropbox in the following way: In the MacOS menu bar, I click the Dropbox icon, and then click the icon which says "Open Dropbox Folder". Then a Finder window opens, showing my Dropbox files. I just wonder why I can't see them in just a normal new Finder window.
Solved
rovf
17 hours ago Place Apps and Installations
11KViews
2likes
40Comments
Best way to prevent Mac from going into sleep mode while uploading new files via the desktop app?
Hi everyone, I need to transfer several hundred GB to my online storage. What is the best way to keep the computer running, but without keeping the screen active? I would like to have it work overnight, but without wearing out the screen. Setting the brightness to the lowest level might be a solution? Alternatively, I could leave it working every time I'm at the computer, but this could take one or more weeks, which I would like to avoid. Thanks to those who want to share their experience.
cloudres
17 hours ago Place Create, upload, and share
5.8KViews
0likes
5Comments
"There's already a folder or file named Dropbox" upon installing the Dropbox desktop app
I've had Dropbox installed for several years on a Mac but had not used it for a few years. When I tried launching it, nothing happened, so I downloaded a new copy and installed it. With the installation came a pop-up message "there's already a folder or file named dropbox," at which point I either had to rename the existing Dropbox folder or choose another new one. That would mean copying several GB of files (needlessly) from a cloud server to an empty folder, with the previous folder no longer synced. I have a very slow cellular-phone based service (all that's available where I live - no fiber optics coming to our neighborhood), and it's metered. This 'feature' essentially makes Dropbox unusable for local storage. There have been other postings of this problem over at least 5 years, with no solution from Dropbox. A proposed solution is to rename the old Dropbox, let the process start syncing to a new one, stop the process, move the old to the new, and restart Dropbox. As far as I can tell, this just delayed the inevitable process of copying several GB of files. I cannot afford this. Yes, I can always access files on the web, but that makes Dropbox more primitive than most other cloud servers that have native Mac, Windows, and even Linux clients.
BKFC
2 days ago Place View, download, and export
4.6KViews
2likes
3Comments
Why doesn't the Dropbox client show the current file being synced?
Application Affected Dropbox client Device MacBook Pro Operating System/Browser (if using the web) macOS 26.2 Dropbox App Version (if using the app) 238.4.6075 Question or Issue: If I have added a bunch of new files the client doesn't actually indicate which file is currently syncing. I just get a long list of files "waiting to sync" and a current count. It only actually shows the file currently syncing when it's the last file to sync. Am I missing something? If not it would be super nice to actually have the current file syncing in addition to the count.
jk36
2 days ago Place Create, upload, and share
48Views
0likes
6Comments
Desktop app is stuck 'Starting' when it loads up and doesn't sync on my Mac.
I am a paying customer and very frustrated with Dropbox. I am ready to drop DropBox and look for other alternatives. Since Friday of last week it has been trying to sync 100Gb in files and it is taking an eternity. Now is stuck in "Starting." I have rebooted the Mac (10.6.8). I am using Dropbox 3.0.3. I have tried going to Preferences, holding the option key and "Fixing Permission." I also read in the Internet about deleting the hidden cache folder but I have not done it yet since I don't know what to expect. Any assistance is appreciated.
Solved
Bert M.
2 days ago Place Create, upload, and share
84KViews
5likes
96Comments