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How to remove desktop from dropbox

Somehow, all links on my laptop Desktop were copied to a Dropbox folder called "Desktop"; if I did it, it was accidental :slight_smile:

I don't know why I need that and when I delete the Desktop folder in Dropbox, all the icons disappear from the computer desktop. I assume some kind of sync issue.

What I am doing wrong? I only use Dropbox for sharing files so this is a new problem for me.

Thanks

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Walter

Hey there @ChantDad, how are you today?

As I'm not sure I follow, could you elaborate on this and share a screenshot so that I can get a better understanding of the matter at hand?

Also, what are you trying to accomplish eventually?

Any other info you can provide will be much appreciated. Thanks!

ChantDad

Walter,

Don't know if this is anymore clearer:

My Dropbox contains a folder called Desktop which I did not intentionally create.

In that folder are copies of all the links and URL's present on the my computer's Windows' Desktop.

If I delete items or the entire folder in Dropbox, they are also deleted from the Windows Desktop.

I guess it's not really a big deal but it doesn't "feel" right to me. If I decide to delete my entire Dropbox account, I assume I will lose all my Windows Desktop links and that would not be good.

I want Dropbox to just be a file sharing medium and not a back-up mechanism.

Thanks

Walter

Thanks for the additional information @ChantDad - much appreciated.

As I'm not sure how you did this in the first time, could you try just unlinking and re-linking your account on the affected computer? Have you checked the syncing icons on these folders to see which one is syncing?

If you copied or moved anything inside your Dropbox folder that you don't need there, simply copy/move it back. Your Dropbox folder is just a folder on your hard drive - with syncing capabilities that is.

In any case, please let me know what you find!

meltelfer

I have this same problem! I have the Desktop as a backup folder in my dropbox account. I have tried to unlink the computer, but I still cannot delete it from dropbox. I don't want to waste the space in dropbox by having it backup my computer. How do I delete the desktop from dropbox? I have clicked on all the 3 dots and there is no delete option. Thanks, Walter

Daphne

Hey there @meltelfer, just jumping in here!

This is a rather old thread that you posted in here, and we recently released a beta feature to enable you to backup your Desktop, Documents and Downloads folders.

To delete the folder, we'd need to disable the backup from the device it was enabled on. Can you try the steps outlined towards the bottom of this article and let me know if you can disable the backup?

If you uninstalled/unlinked the desktop app, please try reinstalling it. Also, if the options are appearing as if you haven't enabled this on your computer, then it would suggest the backup was disabled.

In that case, please try moving the contents from the Dropbox Desktop folder back to the actual Desktop.

Let me know how it goes!

ACA Steel

Hi, Me also facing the same problem, it's a very hatted feature introduced by Dropbox. Due to that problem, I left dropbox and shifted on One drive.

Judasgoat

Spent the last hour trying to figure out how to unlink "MY PC" from Dropbox Folder. I do not wan't to sync 'everything' on my desktop but just the files I choose. You guys seem to however have made this some sort of default setting (and it's annoying). How do I stop "MY PC" from syncing? doesn't have the delete option.

Judasgoat

I tried this on the article. When I click on my initials I do not get a "preferences" option. It just says "owner"

Daphne

Hey there @Judasgoat!

It sounds like you might not be looking in the right place there.

Are you clicking the Dropbox icon in your system tray, near your date/time display in the bottom right corner of your screen? It should appear next to the WiFi symbol etc.

If you're still not getting the preferences option there, can you send me a screenshot of the Dropbox icon that you're clicking on and the options that you do see?

Thanks!

smilelio

I'm sure this has been solved for you by now... but here it is, anyway.

1. Open the Dropbox App

2. In the very top left corner, there are 3 lines. Click "File" > "Preferences ..."

3. Select the 3rd icon in the top row that says "Backups"

4. Under "This PC" there's a button for "Set up"

5. Now you can sync/unsync the PC folders you don't want taking up space on your Dropbox.

You'll be asked where you want to keep the files; make sure you select PC.

adela doble

Can you help me how can I remove my desktop from dropbox?

Daphne

Thanks for joining the topic @adela doble!

You can disable the computer backup by following the steps listed at the bottom of this article.

Let me know how it goes!

kristina_2020

FIXED -

Messed with this for a few hours then finally discovered the fix

If you want to delete a PC- (desktop) folder from your Dropbox account file list, sign in to dropbox, > settings > security, then unlink the devices that are listed under: "These devices are linked to your personal Dropbox account." The folder removes itself.

walidkel

For years I preferred dropbox to any other cloud service mostly becasue it is a stand alone service and user friendly with simple sync settings. but lately with these new features like syncing desktop I am changing my mind. it is not so straight forward to unsync it. it is frustrating.

JDN1

I have the same problem. Dropbox has uploaded my Desktop folder without my authorization, and I can't find a way to remove it from Dropbox without losing my desktop.

mbb1

Having the same problem here. Tonight DropBox added my entire Desktop on a new laptop I am setting up. It moved all shortcuts, folders and files on my desktop to it's own folder. I have tried unlinking it with no effect. If I delete any of the files from the DropBox folder they dissapear completely from my computer. I also tried moving the files back to the desktop but it won't allow that since it is the same destination.

I have been a DropBox user for many years with no real issues. I hope this gets figured out soon.

Thanks

mbb1

I believe that I may have found at least a work around for this. It appears to have worked.

It's pretty simple. Go to the DropBox folder and just copy the Desktop folder and all it's contents to another folder you set up on the same drive. It will not allow you to copy it back to the desktop since it will say it is copying back to the same location or something to that effect.

After I copied all the contents elsewhere I was able to copy the entire file and contents of the desktop back directly to the desktop and it repopulated everything as far as I can tell. I'm not sure why this happened. I am just getting used to a very finicky touchpad and it's possible that I dragged and dropped the desktop to the DropBox folder inadvertantly. However, there was no pop up warnings etc. It just started copying thousands of files over until my DropBox was nearly full and had no way to abort the process. Hope this works for others!

mbb1

OK, Ignore the workaround mentioned above. It works for some programs but I had a number of file path issues. The desktop folder keeps showing up in the DropBox folder again anyway even after deleting it. I give up for now and just uninstalled DropBox from this laptop until the problem gets fixed.

JDN1

The only thing that worked for me was to move the Desktop folder from Dropbox into OneDrive.

Once it's in OneDrive you can choose whether or not it synchs to the cloud, and manipulate the folder from there.

This new feature of Dropbox is a real pain, and simply unchecking Desktop in the Backup settings does not solve the problem.

rafamous

I completely uninstalled dropbox and my computer and DESKTOP is STILL within the dropbox folder.

I can't delete the desktop from the dropbox folder because it's THE ACTUAL DESKTOP.

I have tried uninstalling and re-installing and no matter what it starts uploading my DESKTOP (which is connected to my whole computer).

It all started when I accepted a free sync trial. Ugh.

It's been perfect for a decade and now I must figure out how to get my DESKTOP out of the dropbox folder or go with another backup solution.

In the images, the sync folder only shows up when hidden files are shown. Again, I have uninstalled dropbox and it's still controlling my computer. Help!!

Walter

In that case, could you perhaps try the steps outlined here to reset your file-paths and let us know if it helped improve matters @rafamous?