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Desktop and Download folders not available on new MacBook

Since setting up my new MacBook, I have been unable to download anything or access Desktop files.

The Downloads folder shows as a ? in the dock, and when I attempt to drag a file from Dropbox to the desktop, I get the circle with the diagonal slash through it. All my documents are in Dropbox, and I have no access to them on my new laptop.

In ~usr/library both Desktop and Downloads folder are aliases pointing to Dropbox, and the error messages I get are that the original files cannot be found.

I synced both Desktop and Downloads from Dropbox, and while the status shows them as offline (green checkmark) these are not available.

I have the Dropbox app, and it is up-to-date. Latest OS (14.3) on the MacBook. I am logged into Dropbox as well.

I am tempted to use Linux to delete the aliases and recreate the directories but consider that the nuclear option. Has anyone done that? Or is there a simpler solution?

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Hannah

I see, thanks for confirming, @fenway.

In this case, the folders might not be linked properly, so can you please follow the steps here to reset the folder locations manually, in order to correct them?

You'll likely need to migrate the files from the "Desktop", "docs" etc. folders from Dropbox to the new folders and then enable backup anew on this device.

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Jay

Hi @fenway, thanks for messaging the Community.

It sounds like you set up the Dropbox Backup feature on your Dropbox account.

Have you tried disabling it first to see if this helps?

Keep me updated with any progress!

fenway

Hi @Jay. Thanks--this helped some but didn't fix the problem. I *had* stopped the backup on a chat with tech support a few days ago, but after seeing your message, checked again and Dropbox was still backing up. So I disabled backup for Desktop and Downloads. Good news is the Desktop files were restored to my old laptop. Bad news is the Downloads folder on the old one broke. (Not a big loss; only a couple of files that I have elsewhere, but was using them for testing.)

Really bad news: this did nothing to fix my new laptop; same issues persist. This laptop is NOT set up to backup to Dropbox. I can't even install updates to apps because nothing will download. Any other ideas?

Hannah

Hey @fenway, sorry to jump in here.

Would you mind clarifying the situation a little bit?

If you never set up backup on your new laptop, how are you accessing the backup files of the old laptop from the new one?

Any additional info on the setup of the new laptop, would be really helpful.

Thanks!

fenway

I'm not. I'm working on a 9-year-old laptop while my new one sits idle because I can't do anything until this Dropbox/Desktop/Downloads issue is resolved.

Clarification: I still have my Documents in Dropbox and can view and open them from the Dropbox app on the new laptop. But I can't move them out of Dropbox to the new computer.

Hannah

Thanks, @fenway, for this info.

I'm still not clear on how Dropbox might be interfering with your Desktop and Downloads folders on the new laptop, when backup wasn't enabled on this computer in the first place.

Also, did you use the Migration Assistant to move to the new laptop, which also included the Dropbox folder?

fenway

Yes, I used the Migration Assistant.

Dropbox on the new laptop offers the option to set up Backup, which means that it’s not set up on that device, right?

Hannah

I see, thanks for confirming, @fenway.

In this case, the folders might not be linked properly, so can you please follow the steps here to reset the folder locations manually, in order to correct them?

You'll likely need to migrate the files from the "Desktop", "docs" etc. folders from Dropbox to the new folders and then enable backup anew on this device.

fenway

Thank you!