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macOS Monterey 12.0.1 - "Dropbox Folder Missing"

The other day, I rebooted my Mac and Dropbox greeted me with the following notification:

"Dropbox Folder Missing.

Your Dropbox folder has been moved or deleted from its original location. Dropbox will not work properly until you move it back. It used to be located at: /Volumes/Data/DB/Dropbox

To move it back, click "Quit" below, move the Dropbox folder back to its original location, and launch Dropbox again.

This computer was previously linked to xxx@xxx.com's account.

If you'd like to link to an account again to download and restore your Dropbox from the web version, click "Relink".

I checked to make sure the folder in question was still there -- and it is. So I quit and tried again. Same notification.

So I figured it was some kind of weird glitch, relinked the account to a new Dropbox folder, downloaded files and went on with my day.

Fast forward to today. I rebooted my Mac again, and when it started it, the same Dropbox notification appeared. The folder is still there. The files are still there. But Dropbox is not connecting.

I'm not enthusiastic about the idea of downloading a few hundred gigs of data *again*... So what's going on with Dropbox? It's worked flawlessly so many years I've forgotten how long.

Is this happening for anybody else, and what solution(s) did you find?

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts.

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Jay

Hi @thecreativeoffices, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Did this occur after a Mac OS update, or any other updates?

Did you enable iCloud or make any other system changes?

This will help me to assist further!

thecreativeoffices

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the response.

The most recent system change I made was a few days ago; I swapped out an external hard disk drive that I was using for Time Machine. It was several years old and beginning to fail. Dropbox had nothing to do with that disk. Prior to that, I upgraded to macOS Monterey in early November, and everything was fine with Dropbox afterward.

I can't think of any other major changes...

Jay

Was the Dropbox folder itself located on the old external drive, or an internal drive?

thecreativeoffices

In a separate external drive that's still attached and working fine.

(Although even if it wasn't, I don't understand why I can't just re-select the original Dropbox folder and go on my merry way just like I've done lots of times over the years with new computers, new disks, new folder arrangements. It's never stopped me in my tracks at startup before this problem).

Megan

Hey there @thecreativeoffices, I hope you're doing well.

We don't suggest keeping Dropbox on external drives because it can lead to a variety of sync issues, including the one you described.

If you want to preserve space on your computer, you could sync it to your root hard drive but utilize the Selective Sync function to block specific folders from syncing to your computer (they'll only be stored on Dropbox and accessible through dropbox.com).

Also, how do you try to re-link to your Dropbox folder? Do you do it upon installation through the Advanced settings?

thecreativeoffices

Hi Megan,

I appreciate your response.

I've been using Dropbox for a very long time -- if not a decade, then pretty close to it. And it's never had a problem before this month. There's got to be some kind of solution...

As for how I used to go about re-linking. Probably through advanced settings. I don't recall exactly because it didn't happen all that often -- except when I changed computers. I'd take a screenshot to show you, but this new error won't let me past the modal dialog without either quitting or logging out of Dropbox to start over. The previous functionality was preferable.

Also -- Selective Sync isn't a viable solution for me. I work with a lot of large files, and I need them on my system for many reasons -- searching, rapid opening and editing, backups, and more. When I double click on a file or attach it to an email, it's got to be there ready to go.

Andres B.6

The same thing is happening yo me.

Nancy

Hi @Andres B.6!

Can you share more info on your issue? What were you trying to do exactly, when you received this message?

Any relevant screenshots you can provide are also appreciated.

mattyf

I appreciate this thread is about 2 years old, but it's become relevant to me. I've just sent a message to DB directly, having read this thread. I feel I have to push back on the advisory not to store DB on an external drive. If, like me, you are a MacBook Pro user with a 3TB Dropbox account, you will know that internal storage comes at a huge premium. I have just shifted from a 1TB Intel i7 MBP to a 516GB M2 Pro. This means I have to be careful with my internal storage. As such I have opted to offload my DB to an external storage device. This is primarily so that I have a local offline copy of massive projects that may otherwise take a long time to download. These are the steps every time I've started up my MBP with the external drive connected:

Login
Dropbox folder missing warning pops up
Close and reopen Dropbox
Sign-in to dropbox account
Select external drive for folder storage, as DB is acting as if this is a new setup
DB starts indexing everything on external drive
Wait for DB to start its download process

I think the DB platform is a smart solution, but migrating large dropbox folders from internal to external storage is inelegant and time-consuming. I've not had to do this for years, since I've had enough storage to keep what I need online and offline as necessary, and I'm still figuring out exactly how to use my cloud storage going forward. For now, just getting everything download so I have a local copy is the priority.

What is Dropbox doing to ensure its platform can be stored on external drives? If Dropbox still does not recommend it, what are the issues that Dropbox cannot fix? Or is it just not a priority on the task list?

Megan

Hey there @matt_sonicvisor, thanks for posting here!

As a first step, keep in mind that your comments on our app have been quite helpful, and I will do everything I can to ensure that your voice is heard.

I'll forward your feedback to the appropriate areas so we can continue to improve.

In the meantime, feel free to also have a look at this relevant idea, and maybe give it your vote.

Another thing to note, is that we don't advise our users into storing on an external drive. And as you know, if the drive isn't mounted correctly before the app starts, it's a common issue to expect an unstable behavior or even loss of your content.

Also, since we are moving towards an overall migration to File Provider, storing your Dropbox folder on an external drive isn't supported.

Do you think that using an external backup would be a good, working solution for you, in order to keep a backed up archive?

Let me know more!

Vcdipasqua

I just found this post and am having the same issue. I too am a power user and a creative professional that has many terabytes of data and because I'm on a Mac, internal drive space is definitely at a premium. I currently have 2TB internal drive and it is not large enough to house both my Dropbox data as well as all the other data that has to be on the internal drive such as application files etc.

I recently bought a new computer and I am now getting the same warning that the first user posted on this thread. I cannot find a way to restore the location of Dropbox to the external drive the has all my files stored offline. Dropbox has now created a NEW directory called "Dropbox" inside my ORIGINAL Dropbox folder on the external drive. So it is trying to sync a download multiple terabytes of redundant data.

The bug concern here is that Dropbox have seem to move to this new company policy to not only not recommend, but warn people NOT to use external drive due to strange behavior.

I hope they can fix this and find more stability in future versions. If not, I feel I'll be forced to find another solution.......BUT.....

I am still having issues and am not setup on my new computer. Has anyone found a solution to this and how to re-sync a pre-existing external hard drive housing a Dropbox folder to a new App installation on a new machine?

Dale E. M.

Me too. Though it was internal and now cannot be.

I'm wondering if Dropbox will provide a solution even they don't like external drives?

Mehdi5

I have the same problem. Not sure what to do at this stage...

Megan

Hi @Mehdi5, thanks for posting here!

Have you tried any troubleshooting steps on your end, like quitting, or re-linking the app?

Do you still see both your Dropbox folder, and content in their original path, as the OP mentioned?

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!