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I used a USB device, reformatted it and now I can't restore my content.

I have been backing up a USB drive to dropbox for over a year, in total 96GB of music files.

I naturally assumed that since this was a 'backup' it provided the ability to restore the device should anything go wrong.

Now that I had a problem with the USB device and needed to reformat it, I find I am unable to restore the data.

There is no 'restore' function in Dropbox desktop app. I can't download the files because I get an error "Attempted to zip too many files". And I can't move the files from the Backup area to the main Dropbox in order to sync with desktop.

What's the point of making a backup if I can't restore the files to the device, without manually downloading tens of thousands of files one by one?

It seems like 'backup' just means a worse version of normal dropbox functionality.

Is there any solution to this?

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Accepted answers

Hannah

I understand where you're coming from, @rmackay, and rest assured that your feedback has already been noted.

That said, since there's no way to reverse the external drive backup process at the moment, downloading the files in batches, as suggested by Megan, albeit admittedly inconvenient, would be the way to go in this case.

Keep in mind that if there was a different way, we would have already mentioned it.

Also, if you'd like to get in touch with support directly, you can review your support options here.

Other than that, thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

All comments

Mark

You dont manage Backups via the app. It is all done online

Have you looked at https://help.dropbox.com/organize/restore-dropbox-backup-files ?

rmackay

Thanks for your reply. The problem is, the USB was corrupted and I reformatted it, and now when I plug it in dropbox does not recognise it as the same drive. As far as I can see, there is no option to restore the files from the old backup to the drive. There is only an option to 'download' files, and since there are so many, this is an extremely laborious process. And it is not even possible to download some of these folders because dropbox says there are 'too many files' or the download times out ("something went wrong").

To reiterate, the problem is exactly the one described here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/19egcxa/dropbox_backup_feature_doesnt_even_try_to_be_a/?rdt=46696

The Dropbox client has no "Restore" feature, unless it's the same computer & installation that you did the backup from.

The only way you can "access" (well, not really) the backup from another computer ist to download the whole thing via a webbrowser. Just that this doesn't work either, because that feature would provide the whole backup in one huge ZIP-File... but then fails doing so, because the backup is of course much too big to be provided via a ZIP-Download in the browser.

Dropbox has created a "Backup" that is unrestoreable by design. A backup that uploads data but provides no way to download it again. That is a whole new level of uselessness."

Megan

Hey @rmackay, sorry to hear about that!

If the external drive is recognized as a new one, then the only option would be indeed to download the content locally, using the website.

If you wish, you can try downloading smaller bunches in order to avoid getting an error if there are too many files and folders there.

I hope this clarifies!

rmackay

Hi Megan

Thanks for your response. I don't mean to be rude but this really does not help, and I think the issues I have highlighted have been experienced by other users too.

This feature has been sold as a 'backup'. What are backups for, if not for this kind of situation i.e. where you need to recover backed up data?

I appreciate your suggestion but it is not a practical solution. Unless perhaps someone from the Dropbox staff would like to spend their day sitting at a computer downloading an 80GB folder of MP3 files in batches of 10 at a time?

It seems to me that this service has been badly thought out and mis-sold, and does not do what it appears to promise.

My final desperate request: Is there some way you can transfer the backup files into my main dropbox so that I can desktop sync them, please?

thanks

Hannah

Hey @rmackay, thanks for your feedback here.

I'm afraid there's no way to move the backup files from your backups to your normal Dropbox at the moment.

We do appreciate your feedback though, and I wanted to let you know that I've passed your comments along to the appropriate team.

If you have any other questions, let us know.

rmackay

No, surely you can see this is not good enough. You have offered a backup service, I've paid for it, and now I can't get my files.

It's total nonsense that "there is no way" to move the files. Can you get someone from the support team to contact me?

Hannah

I understand where you're coming from, @rmackay, and rest assured that your feedback has already been noted.

Keep in mind that if there was a different way, we would have already mentioned it.

Also, if you'd like to get in touch with support directly, you can review your support options here.

Other than that, thank you for taking the time to share your experience.