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Deleting a folder

Someone sent me some files in a folder. I now want to delete them but I am told that I will need to provide "administrator permission" to do so. I don't know my Windows password and have never used this. I tried to delete it Dropbox to delete.JPG

from the Command prompt with administrator privileges. Access was denied. The folder is EAR TRAINING FILES.

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mdhakr

Thanks for your wisdom. It worked. The folder and files are now gone. TTL.

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Mark

Thank you for the screenshot @mdhakr it really helps!

That is a Team Folder so the Team Administrator needs to remove you from it 🙂

mdhakr

I have no idea what a Team Administrator is. I pulled these files from a friend who put them on Dropbox. He deleted from his end. Now they are stuck in my Dropbox folder. I am the sole "administrator" of my computer without passwords. I have never had any issue like this before.

mdhakr

What will deleting Dropbox from my computer do to this folder?

mdhakr

I received a folder with some files that were designated Team files and folder. I did not create this. I am the sole administrator of my computer. When trying to delete this file or its contents I am told I will "need to provide administrative permission" to do so.

The only password I have is that to Dropbox.

What is the trail link to getting permission to delete a Team folder and its files? If I Uninstall Dropbox, will this free the Team folder from its administrative entanglement and allow me to simply delete it?

I do not have a password to my Windows computer and have never "protected" any files on it, knowingly anyway.

Walter

Hey @mdhakr - did you install the Dropbox desktop app with admin privileges in the first place?

Also, are you able to delete this folder after quitting or uninstalling the Dropbox desktop app from your computer

mdhakr

I had no knowledge of TEAM anything until this incident and have never used or been told to use ADMINISTRATIVE-related anything until this incident.

If uninstalling Dropbox will allow deletion, I will do it.

Are these files controlled by Dropbox or by Windows?

Also, if I delete Dropbox, I'm afraid I will lose my extra storage (although with this incident, I am now afraid to use Dropbox).

The following is a screen shot of what the Ear Training Files folder looks like; it is different. Dropbox to delete.JPG

Megan

Hey @mdhakr, let me jump in here too!

It looks to me like this is a shared folder. Have you tried using the steps mentioned in this Help Center article, in order to remove yourself from it?

Give it a go, and let me know how it turns out!

mdhakr

I have looked at your link and followed the following:

<<How to permanently leave a folder

Log in to dropbox.com.
Hover over the name of the folder you'd like to permanently leave and click the "..." (ellipsis).
Click Manage permissions.
Click the dropdown next to your name.
Click Remove my access.>>

I enclose a shot of what it looks like when I hover above the file name. There is no MANAGE anything.

Megan

Hey @mdhakr!

It looks like you're checking through the desktop app, not online.

Can you visit your account online, and try the same steps there?

mdhakr

Hey Megan. Now we're talkin'. I don't want to go too fast to screw anything up.

Ron sent the files to me, Jack. He has deleted this folder from his computer as we thought we were done once I accessed them. They are only left on my side.

So here are the pics of what happens when I hover.

What will actually happen when I "remove my access"?

Megan

Hey @mdhakr!

Once you remove your access, essentially you will no longer be part of the shared folder.

mdhakr

Will I be able to delete it on my end?

mdhakr

Also who would have been responsible in this case for causing the Administrative foo faa that I have had to endure. In 10 odd years of Dropbox, I have never encountered anything like this without my knowledge of it. I have passed files to others to share but have never invoked any administrative permissions etc.

mdhakr

Thanks for your wisdom. It worked. The folder and files are now gone. TTL.

Megan

That's amazing news @mdhakr!

If you need anything else, just give us a shout. Enjoy the rest of your week ahead! 😀

mdhakr

I do need to know: Where (on the sender's or receiver's side), would that manage privileges be generated for those files?

Megan

Essentially the "administrator permission" you received when trying to remove the folder, was because it was a shared one @mdhakr.

You needed to remove yourself from the folder first. You can see more about shared folders' permissions here.

mdhakr

I know, but who did the sharing in the first place me, Jack, or Ron, the sender?

Megan

Based on your screenshot it seems that Ron was the owner, therefore the sender of the folder @mdhakr.