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Broken files after Dropbox Backup auto-upgrade that filled the hard drive.

Hi,

Yesterday, the Dropbox app on my Mac auto-updated and presented a dialog saying it needed to temporarily disable and then re-enable the Backup. I agreed, and it turned out that meant downloading all the folders I had selected as "online only." This quickly filled my hard drive space and caused my computer to freeze.

After restarting, Dropbox seems to think that everything is in order, but the thing is, some files that it managed to move to a new location (e.g., from ~/Dropbox/Mac (2)/Documents to ~/Documents) are binary broken. They do not open, nor can I move them. I receive an error in Finder: "The operation can’t be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code 0)."

On the Dropbox.com web interface, the backup does not contain these broken files. They do not appear from "Show Deleted Files," nor can I see them being removed using the "Rewind" feature. Also, I cannot find them using the search field.

Any hints on whether I can still recover these files are greatly appreciated.

Thanks! René

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René L.4

Forgot to mention that Dropbox app is stuck on "Updating 974 files" for about 12 hours now.

Megan

Hey there, @René L.4, let's jump right into this!

Is it possible that your Mac updated to the new macOS for File Provider, by any chance?

If you open the app's preferences, and check under your Sync tab, is your Dropbox folder located in ~/Library/CloudStorage?

I'd love to see a screenshot of the error you receive when trying to open these files, along with their path.

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

René L.4

Hi, Megan, thanks for trying to save me!

Yes, my Dropbox folder according to Prefrences > Sync tab is

~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

For example, I have a movie file that has been moved to a new location

~/Movies/2012/rintitintin.mov

Mac reports this file to have 174 MB:

Finder can't handle moving nor copying it to external drive:

I peeked inside using a Hex editor but the file is empty:

PS: I have restarted my Mac few hours ago just to see if the error had something to do with the Finder.

PPS: I can't find the file by searching "rintitintin" on dropbox.com.

René

Megan

Thanks for the speedy reply, René!

Now let's actually get to the saving part! So, we have two issues at the moment: The first one being your syncing being stuck, and the second is about the files not previewing as they should.

For the syncing part it's important to keep in mind that following a migration to the new Dropbox for macOS on File Provider, your files need to be re-synced. Depending on the amount of files you have in your Dropbox, this may take some time to complete.

Has the number of files reduced at all? If not, then it might be worth checking out the troubleshooting steps outlined in this article.

As for the example file you mentioned: does it have any syncing icons next to it? Feel free to send me a screenshot if you'd like.

René L.4

Syncing has been stuck with "Updating 974 files" for about 24 hours now.
Meanwhile, it has both uploaded and downloaded quite a few files that changed during that period.

René L.4

My gut feeling is that these 974 stuck files are the sames that are corrupt on the disk. If Finder and other Mac apps can't read them, probably Dropbox's process can't either.

I could try to boot to safe mode and remove these files via terminal by more brute force but I would still need to get the back from my previous Backup from Dropbox. However these files are no longer on dropbox.com... since the Dropbox app updated itself.

Megan

Hey @René L.4, would you mind also clarifying your OS on your Mac?

What about the files and syncing icons locally?

For example your ~/Movies/2012/rintitintin.mov file. Did you have a moment to check if you can see any of the icons next to it?

René L.4

I'm on MacOS Sonoma 14.4 (the latest).

All the files and subfolders of Dropbox folder do have sync icons

But under Backup (Movies, Documents) do not

Jay

Hi @René L.4, only files visible in the Dropbox folder would have sync icons. This means that items in the Backup feature, like Documents, Downloads and so on, won't have any sync icons.

René L.4

> Backup feature, like Documents, Downloads and so on, won't have any sync icons.
Ok, so this is a new approach you guys did with the Dropbox app update.

But the sync is still stuck on "Updating 974 files" and some files (perhaps 974?) of the files are binary broken on the disk and do not show up on dropbox.com either.

Jay

Do any of the folders have a syncing icon on them, indicating where these files might be, or do you believe they are in the Backup folders?

René L.4

I'm sorry but I just understood from your previous response that the new folders that are included in the Backup feature should not have sync icons any more. And I can confirm that to be true.

All the broken files I'm referring to are in ~/Documents or ~/Movies.

Here's a recap of what happened:

- I used Dropbox Backup for years for Documents and Movies. Dropbox Backup feature held these folders in /Dropbox folder and these files had sync icons. To save local drive space, I selected most of the folders and files as "offline only".

- Two days ago Dropbox app showed me a popup saying the Backup feature is changing and that the folders will be moved to their native location at ~/Documents, ~/Movies. And that to continue, Dropbox needs to disable and the re-enable the Backup feature.

- Dropbox then started downloading all the "offline only" files and folders which filled my drive and caused the computer to freeze.

- After restarting, Dropbox seemed to "think" that all the work nescessary was done.

- The result is that some files and folders have been moved successfully from Dropbox/Mac/Movies to ~/Movies. Some files are not and still reside in Dropbox/Mac/Movies. And some files were moved but the target files in ~/Movies are broken (Mac can't open them) and they are also unfortunately gone from Dropbox/Mac/Movies. Also they are gone from dropbox.com.

I could resolve the issue if I could get them back to dropbox.com somehow but they do not appear anywhere: by search, by selecting "show delete files" nor by Rewind feature.

Jay

Thanks for the info, have you tried contacting the support team for them to investigate this in more detail on their end?

René L.4

No, I haven't

Jay

In that case, it would be best to contact them at this stage in order to assist further on their end regarding this matter, using the link from my previous comment.