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I no longer get the option to back up an external drive on my Mac

I'm running v198.4.7615 on a Mac running macOS 14.4.1. I have not yet upgraded to File Provider

I previously dismissed the offer to sync an external drive, but changed my mind.

In settings/backups I tried toggling "show setup notifications when new external dries are plugged in", and then I unmounted and remounted the drive, but I still did not get the offer.

I tried going to "Manage Backups" to add it manually, but it seems to only let me set up sync for Mac folders, not externals.

Also, synching files from my Mac, DropBox is set to online-only, but I want to keep the external drive's files where they are. Is this possible?

Finally, I'm going to only want to sync one (large) folder on the external drive, and not backup the rest of the drive. Is this possible?

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Comments

Hannah

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, @Spillage.

What is the size and usage of your external drive at the moment?

Also, what is the format of the drive?

Let me know and we'll go from there.

Spillage

Hi, Hannah,

External drive is a 2T Samsung T7 SSD, connected via USB-C
It's formatted APFS (via GUID Partition map).

Megan

Hey @Spillage, I'd like for us to try to enable the system warnings on your computer, in case these have been disabled. This could be the issue with the prompt that doesn't appear at all. So, I will need you to click on the small Dropbox icon on the taskbar.

And then, please click on your profile picture/initials at the top right of the window that appears. Next, click on Preferences, and from the tabs at the top, please select the ''Account'' tab.
Once you are in the Account tab, I need you to press Alt Key + H on your keyboard.

Once you "reset file system warning options", please unplug and plug the external drive again, to see if the prompt appears.

Also, to answer your previous questions: you'd need to backup the external hard drive, not just one, single folder.

Also, when you say you wish to keep the external drive's files where they are, would you let me know a bit more? Do you mean inside the drive, or synced locally on the device?

Spillage

Once you are in the Account tab, I need you to press Alt Key + H on your keyboard.

FWIW I'm on a Mac. And when I hit option key with Account tab open, Dropbox crashes, repeatably.

Megan

Does it give you an error, or the app silently closes @Spillage?

Spillage

Dropbox unexpectedly quit.

Your files are safe. Restart Dropbox to resume sync and other features

Walter

Hey @Spillage - sorry to jump in here, but does this persist after rebooting your computer and quitting and relaunching the app as well?

Spillage

Yes, it persists after rebooting.

Walter

Thanks for clarifying that for me @Spillage

Can you also let me know if this happens when only following the steps Megan suggested or if it happens upon launch/start-up as regardless?

Also, is the drive you'd like to backup encrypted by any chance? How much space is occupied from the 2 TB there by the way?

Spillage

When I hit option key with Account tab open, Dropbox crashes, repeatably, under any conditions I can throw at it and regardless of relaunch/reboot.

I have one Samsung T7 2TB drives, one encrypted, the other not. Neither more than 75% full. Both triggered DropBox to ask if I wanted to back them up. I said "no", and, per my OP, can't get it to re-ask. I assume there's a plist or something, but...

Megan

Do you happen to have any other external drive, with fewer files just to check if the behavior is consistent @Spillage?