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I tried to use Dropbox Rewind for a folder, but it throws an internal error.

Hello community,

Seems like I am not the only one. Accidentally deleted a large critical directory (19GB) on my local machine and managed to stop the sync completing fully.

Tried on the web browser Rewind, move files to a different directory, physically moving the files that were deleted (in the Deleted Items folder) back to another folder, remove desktop app and reinstall and basically anything to stop / halt the process. Contacted 'Support' but no reply as yet.

The latest error:

1 of 3: Pick a day to get started

Activity: this week

There was an internal Dropbox error, but we can still help you use Rewind. Contact support

No joy so far and wondered if anyone had a hack/workaround to resolve this. Very distressing and time consuming as I am sure it has been for others that have experienced the same! 🤯😵‍💫

Thanks for your help / support in the meantime. 🙏

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graestar888

Update... I have just tried the Rewind process again and this time was able to complete the 3-step process. It is now showing the 'working' Dropbox icon with the following message:

"Rewinding to an earlier time.... Everything will soon be just as it was before Sat, 11 Jan at 14:45. Don’t make any changes here until it’s finished."

Encouraging... though have to say I am unsure if this webpage is simply 'hanging' or actually completing the process. My next concern (the primary one) is that is the sync command from my desktop going to reverse this again if it is successful in rewinding and take me back to deleting the files all over again?

My ultimate goal is to halt the sync so that I don't have to complete the accidental delete and sync back to my desktop the files which would end up being a 40GB exercise and about 2-3 days I may never get back.

Although, the length of time I am waiting for Dropbox support, makes me think that this might be the faster option!

graestar888

Hi, with patience and probably a bit of luck - it turns out the above resolved it.

I did not need to remove the desktop app.

All I needed to do, was keep trying the Rewind process until it worked and patiently wait (and hope) that the process wasn't hanging, it was indeed working - given the size of the directory.

If anyone encounters this, the above works - worth trying the Rewind process at least a few times if the first several attempts kick you out for any unspecified reason.

If you were like me, and the directory contained many important files to you, it is a bit of a stressful time. I never heard back from Dropbox, which is disappointing.

graestar888

Oh and last point, I didn't need to halt the sync, once the Rewind was confirmed to have completed, you do need to let the sync update across all your platforms, as long as you don't touch Dropbox during that time, the Rewind should be the last process you initiated and therefore being the latest state that the cloud directory should be returned to.

Nancy

I’m glad to see you were able to resolve the matter, @graestar888! Thanks for the tips you’ve left our users, as well.

If you need something else, feel free to give me a nudge.