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Problem with backup (folders not in default location)

Long Story - Short Version

New pc/laptop.

Installed 2nd hard drive/ssd

Moved location of ALL my folders (public and private) to 2nd drive. Path \Users\XXXX(name of user)\folder(music, documents, videos etc)

Installed upgraded dropbox with 1 year free gratis 100gb storage. because i bought a 2k laptop.... and discovered DropBox Backup& Sync..

It won't run because folders are not in default location. IE C:\user\XXXX\Folder

Duh! Of course they ain't! And I dont want them there EVER!

The repair option will move the folders back to C: and I DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN - EVER!

And because of this, the backup funtion won't work. This is sloppy programming! I was using Glacier from Synology (which is FREE BTW) and i just point it at my folders and BOOM! backed up. This bit of software cant even backup if the files are not where DropBox programmers have decided they must be. Really Bad Idea. anyone these days with a pc or laptop, which can use a second drive WILL move their folders off the boot drive. unless they have a death wish, of course...

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Accepted answers

Rich

@pcuser wrote:
... i just point it at my folders and BOOM! backed up. This bit of software cant even backup if the files are not where DropBox programmers have decided they must be.

That's not how the backup feature works with Dropbox. It doesn't back up those folders from their original location and just copy the data to your Dropbox account. It MOVES those folders into your Dropbox folder so they sync like any other file or folder in your Dropbox. It can only move them into Dropbox if they exist in their original location.

All comments

Rich

@pcuser wrote:
... i just point it at my folders and BOOM! backed up. This bit of software cant even backup if the files are not where DropBox programmers have decided they must be.

pcuser

not going to happen. most modern users will have either a virtual partion or a 2nd hdd/ssd to store their data on. moving that data back to the "C" drive is not an option, just so dropbox can copy them to the cloud.

because of this oversight or deliberate mistake, I am now using a 3rd party software option to back up my data to the cloud.

And once my DP promotional offer is over, so will my account be closed too... Until the next free offer, of course

minibrand93

Late reply to this, but I just discovered this thread after facing exactly the same issue myself and thought this might help you and/or others in the future:

Since all that the Dropbox backup feature does is actually move your desktop/documents/downloads etc. folders INTO the Dropbox folder, you can do this manually through the Windows file explorer instead (not sure about the process for other platforms) to achieve the same effect, rather than Dropbox not being able to recognise the folders unless they are in the default location.

1) First, move your Dropbox folder onto the D drive if it's not already - click on the Dropbox application icon in the taskbar right-hand corner, click your profile picture and select Preferences. Go to the Sync tab and under 'Dropbox folder location' click Move. Set it so that the location is \Users\XXX\Dropbox and move all the files over (might take some time if there's lots of files in your Dropbox already).

2) Now open Windows file explorer, navigate to your Desktop folder, right-click on it and select Properties. Under the Location tab click on 'Move...' and navigate to the Dropbox folder, or manually type the file path \Users\XXX\Dropbox\Desktop and click OK. Hit yes if it asks to create the new folder and if you want to move all the files over to the new location etc.

3) Repeat this process for Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos etc. and any other locations you want to move.

Now your default locations for saving to these folders are contained within your Dropbox folder on the computer and therefore will automatically sync and backup any changes that are made to your Dropbox account. Hope this helps!

bronderblazer

I installed dropbox as usual in one of my computers. But it won't backup the desktop because it says it's not in the default location. However I never changed it. The only thing I can think of is that the OS is set to spanish and the desktop folder is called the "escritorio" folder. But that's so very standard that I'm surprised it doesn't work. It's very frustating but at the same time made me not use my desktop as much for important documents.

Nancy

Hi @bronderblazer, and welcome to the forum.

Have you tried to back up your Downloads or Documents folders, as well, by any chance? Do you see the same error, in this case?

Also, can you clarify what’s the exact filepath of your Desktop folder at the moment? You can also upload screenshot of it, if you prefer (just make sure your personal username isn’t showing).

bronderblazer

I can backup downloads but not documents. Interestingly downloads is called "Downloads" but "Documents" is called "Documentos".

never mind, I figured it out. Documents and Desktop was taken over by OneDrive.

unpelotudo

I install your app to mantain a folder to share between various machines an when it start to "backup" my documents folder (I don't want this, only a specific folder) I stop the app then my "my documents" folder dissapear from my harddrive...

I'm tryn to recover the files (more than 120GB of data) and hope I can do it but now I start a fight against your app and your company, I know I haven´t a compensation but you have to learn to do as the user choose not only that olnly you want

jhedleyj

I uninstalled Dropbox Backup yesterday (don't ask) and everything went well. I have always been able to see my Dropbox Backup files in the Dropbox folder (as hidden files). I reinstalled today and again everything went OK. However, I cannot see those files in the Dropbox folder any more, not even as hidden files. A bit of research suggests that they should be in Library/Cloud Storage. They are not. In fact, they don't seem to be anywhere. Where are they? I am running Ventura 13.1 on my 2020 iMac.

Megan

Hi @jhedleyj, I hope you're doing well!

You mentioned that you re-installed today. Do you mean that you enabled the feature again, or that you re-installed the desktop app?

If you check online, are you able to see the content there?

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!

jhedleyj

Hi, Megan

I re-installed (164.4.7914) today but when I uninstalled I didn't remove any settings as I had every intention of reinstalling and am busy backing up the usual folders (Desktop, Documents etc.) and all seems to be going well. It would appear that I when uninstalled I had been using a previous version of Dropbox which caused a relocation of the files I am backing up to Dropbox folder but hidden and links were maintained to my User/folder. The files I am backing up now appear to be remaining untouched in their original location i.e., in the User/ folder, but I am led to believe they should be being copied or moved (which?) to User/Library/Cloud Storage but they haven't (It's empty!). My files are being copied to the website. Can you reassure me that the files I have in my User/ folder are completely safe?

BTW I didn't receive any warning that such an upgrade was about to happen. Hmm. Also, in Backup my Mac is now called Mac (1) and is that name is unchangeable which is very irritating!

Do you think that a complete uninstall is advised and then a restart from scratch. If so, could you please advise me on how to do that.

Jay

Hi @jhedleyj, I wouldn't recommend uninstalling and reinstalling the app as of yet, as it is possible that the Dropbox desktop application is performing a migration to the new location.

Give it at least 24 hours for the Dropbox desktop application to finish indexing and syncing files, to see if there are any other changes in the location of the Dropbox folder.

jhedleyj

I have now uploaded all my files and no migration seems to have taken place. The files have remained in my iMac's User folders with nothing in the Cloud Storage folder.

I have noticed that the desktop app version has changed as well. Before this issue arose, the version was 163.4.5456 and then it changed to 164.4.7914 and the problems happened. After communication with yourselves the version reverted to 163.4.5456 (with no intervention from me) and the problems remained.

Everything seems to work OK but the files remain in their original location and not where they should be.

Also, I do not want to uninstall and reinstall because my guess is that I would end up with my Mac (1) would no doubt become Mac (2) which would absolutely not be acceptable, particularly as my Mac is called Mac and I really want it to stay that way. Mac (1) is bad enough! Why can't it be changed?

Walter

Hey @jhedleyj, sorry to jump in here, but could you try the offline installer of the latest version of the desktop app from this page and let us know how it goes?

As for the thoughts you shared in the end, they kind of echo this idea, so feel free to have a look there and upvote it to show your interest too.

jhedleyj

As instructed I have just installed version 165.4.4300. Sorry but no difference at all.

Jay

Hi @jhedleyj, just for clarification, did the Dropbox version revert to an earlier version of the app, or did it remain on the new version this time?

jhedleyj

Hi Jay

It has remained at 165.4.4300

I have also noticed that backups used to happen in almost real time but it is around 15 minutes (or longer ) before anything happens and even then it is slow.

John

Hannah

Hey @jhedleyj, happy Monday!

We appreciate your feedback here about this.

Can you also just check the bandwidth that the Dropbox app uses, to make sure it's not limited?

jhedleyj

The bandwidth is set at "Don't limit" as I have Full fibre at 500/100.

Another problem has now appeared which has resulted in me being unable to use the Backup app. My Mac backup has been disconnected for some reason and all my files (177.2Gb) have been put into my Dropbox which has a capacity of 6.25Gb and I cannot access it to delete some files. The advice given is to upgrade as access to the Dropbox is denied completely. This is a 100% no-no as I do not use DB as a sharing medium; I only want to use it as a backup.

I have attached some screenshots to help. The one showing that my files are syncing is not true, the syncing has stopped, presumably because my Dropbox is full.

I have tried to set up the Mac again but as you can see the folders cannot be found.

Screenshot 2023-01-17 at 10.13.10.png

Screenshot 2023-01-17 at 10.39.17.png

Jay

Hi @jhedleyj, it sounds like you already have a backup on the Dropbox account. Could you check this page to see if it's visible there and then try to disable it?

jhedleyj

As you can see from the screenshot I don't have a backup any more. As I said above, the one I did have of my Mac disappeared and all the files were transferred to my Dropbox which I cannot access to delete the files. I am also unable to create a new Backup.

Jay

Thanks for the info, in order to look into this matter in more detail, would it be possible to reach out to the email associated with your forum profile?

jhedleyj

I think that’s a good idea! No problem.

John

Hannah

Hey @jhedleyj, before we send you an email, would you mind checking your local Dropbox folder, to see if you can locate the backup there?

It should be in a folder named "Mac".

jhedleyj

Hello all

I have checked my Dropbox including the "hidden" files and there is no Backup to be seen.

Screenshot 2023-01-18 at 09.02.27.png

John

Jay

Hi @jhedleyj, I've sent you an email, please could you reply to it as soon as possible!