Child Item

Why didn't my files save their progress? Did they not sync?

I have dropbox on my home and travel/work computer. This week, while traveling, I did a LOT of work on a word doc. I practice "save early/Save often", so I frequently save after each page, major edit, graphic item insertion, etc.. sometimes, I save every 5 minutes, sometimes it every 20, but I save after every major edit.

I worked on the document all week, through thursday night. On Friday, I traveled, and didn't work on it.

Saturday morning, I opened the file on my home computer, and whipped down to a problem section, and began to edit it. I worked, I saved, I worked, I saved, and then I moved up the document, and realized.... it wasn't the version I had been using all week. It was an older one, from before my trip. And, I had now saved it with the Saturday edits...

So, now I had a document from before I did a bunch of work, saved with ten minutes of work on a saturday, and I have lost all my work for the week...

I've gone to the restore previous version trick, but for some reason, it only shows that I saved on Tuesday, and again on Saturday. What happened to wednesday saves, and thursday saves?

Am I screwed? Did I lose all my work, because somehow, Dropbox didn't save or sync right? Why didn't the sync work, and why couldn't I open the RIGHT file on my home computer this morning? Why doesn't dropbox show any saved version from Wednesday or Thursday?

Find more posts tagged with

Restore

Sync

LOL

Closed - Partially Delivered

Accepted answers

Mark

I'd suggest turning off the internet connection on your laptop before looking on it just to see if its there and avoid conflicted copies. You can then move the file outside of Dropbox before it syncs and add it back later.

And if its not sync'd since then check Dropbox is running (does it show on the status bar?)

All comments

Mark

When you were travelling did you check Dropbox was connected and that it was syncing? i.e. it went back to the plain black box after each sync - remember as well files USUALLY cannot sync while they are open so they need to be closed *and then* time given for them to sync.

Have a look at www.dropbox.com/events as well to see if its uploaded

You may also find its on your laptop still waiting to upload.

b b.12

I did not know that it doesn't upload automatically, or when the file is open... thanks for that info, I will remember that.

It appears that the last "upload" was on Tuesday, per that link. Given that the computer was hooked up to the internet all Tuesday night, all day wednesday, wednesday night, thursday and thursday night, and even a bit on friday, I am not sure why nothing "uploaded" that entire time (why wouldn't it sync then?).

I will check my laptop, and hopefully, have a thursday evening version. I would have to lose all those hours of work.

b b.12

Thanks for the "check your laptop" tip.

It is there... so I didn't lose all my work.

Now, apparently, I have to figure out what I am doing with Dropbox, and how I am accessing it, where my files are saving, if they aren't pulling and saving to drop box like I thought they were, etc., but.... my work is not lost. it's just... not where I thought it should be.

Mark