Delete files from my personal Dropbox the next time this computer comes online

[Mac Brands]

Hi, I am unlinking some devices and the default tick box comes up with the following ticked "Delete files from my personal Dropbox the next time this computer comes online" does this mean that if I re-link a device all my files will be deleted? OMG!

[Dave C.5]

no, it means, next time that device comes online while still linked to your account, it will remove all the files and unlink.

[Rich]

It means that the next time that computer is online it will remove the files from that computer's Dropbox folder. Your files will remain safe in your account and any other computer that is still linked. It is a method for remotely wiping a computer that has been lost or stolen.

[Mac Brands]

THANK YOU DAVE C & RICH R...HAPPY NOW!

[Monib M.]

Is there ANYONE who knows how to undo this setting? I have accentually clicked on it, and now can not reconnect my Mac because Dropbox will delete 250GB of data in my Pro account. Any help isa appreciated as I am in big trouble.

[Andrew G.29]

@Monib M:

Did you even bother to read the answers? Basically, the next time your Mac reconnects to DropBox, the service will unlink your Mac and then delete the LOCAL files. It's basically DropBox's version of "Remote Wipe".

[Monib M.]

@Andrew G. Did you even bother to read my question?

I did read the answers. I understand that it will delete the local files and keep the server side ones. I was interested in knowing if there was a way to cancel the wipe request so that it would not happen and so that I would not end up in some sort of file version management hell when DropBox tries to resync the folder. I don't want it to try and download the 250gb off the server again.

These are the instructions DropBox support gave me to get around it:

1. Copy your local Dropbox folder
2. Paste the Dropbox folder to another location on your computer. This is going to be your backup.
3. Relink your Dropbox Desktop client to your Dropbox account.
4. Wait for the wipe to finish.
5. Once the wipe has finished, click on your Dropbox icon and choose "Pause Syncing"
6. Now that syncing is pause, copy and paste the files within your Dropbox Folder backup, into your freshly wiped Dropbox folder.

[Andrew G.29]

@Monib M/Glyph:

Yes I read your question. Your question was "I clicked the button and cannot reconnect my Mac because DropBox will delete 250GB of data IN MY PRO ACCOUNT". If you wanted to know how to cancel the wipe, then why the hell did you phrase your question that way? A better suited phrase would be the exact question: "how do I prevent DropBox from doing a local deletion upon reconnecting?"

[Monib M.]

@Andrew G Gosh, the cliche angry forum user with a literacy condition. My opening question (that you failed to requote) was whether there was anyway to undo this option. That was the question. Read it again, slowly. Your immediate response to that was pathetic. The problem is solved and I shared the solution with the community. You continue to carry on. Go away and find something productive that you can take all this inner rage out on.

[Andrew G.29]

@MoniB M:

Once again, I DID read your question! You want to undo the unlink because you state that by reconnecting your Mac to DropBox, it'll delete the data in your account, which won't happen. Need I remind you of what you said?

You Said: "and now can not reconnect my Mac because Dropbox will delete 250GB of data in my Pro account"

Obviously, I'm not the one with a literacy problem. I'm also not angry; have no idea where you got that idea from. Don't get pissed off at someone else trying to answer your poorly worded question. Next time, please proofread before you post.

[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Dropbox Community.]