Error 0x80070780 when copying a file out of Dropbox folder even with Dropbox uninstalled

paulsimongb

I have just got a new Windows 11 laptop and was trying to move files to it and re-organise and everything has gone wrong. The standard folders of Documents, Pictures, Music and Video are now either inaccessible or have duplicates else where.

 

I am trying to copy a file from under the Dropbox folder to a folder outside Dropbox and it will not let me. I continually get the above error. Some files have copied and others have not so I now have some of my files under the dropbox folder and others elsewhere

 

Dropbox is uninstalled so it is definitely not trying to sync the file.

 

I have tried ChkDesk C: /F /R

Scandisk

DISM

I have Admin rights

etc

 

but nothing has cured this.

 

It almost seems that Dropbox is acting like ransomware.

 

How do I regain control of my files to be able to copy them away from Dropbox?

 

I have been using Dropbox for years, largely because it used to be OneDrive that caused this sort of issue, but that no longer seems to be the case.

 

 

Regards

 

Paul SImon

 

paulsimongb

Hi,

 

I found that I could not open, copy, or move any files under the DropBox folder. The only thing I could do was delete. It must be a very curious security setting that would allow you to delete a file but not to read it (Open or Copy are effectively a read option - Move is effectively a Read and Delete operation).

 

I had already uninstalled DropBox.

 

I have deleted everything under the DropBox folder and then the DropBox folder itself.

 

I have changed references from the standard system short cuts such as documents back to their original locations eg C:\user\<me>\Documents

 

I have then recovered my data from an external hard drive.

 

I am sure that you might want me to work with Microsoft and Dropbox to get to the bottom of what caused this. However, you can also probably understand why I am not going to risk using Dropbox again.

 

I have already lost 1.5 days of my time

 

I have lost a small amount of data, but fortunately as it was a new laptop I had only changed a few files since the last backup was taken, and all my email is on an Exchange Server.