Child Item

Dropbox backup deleting the original files on my backed up PC.

If this is the way Dropbox backup is going to work I may seek a different solution. Dropbox didn't just make a backup copy, it removed the files from my PC so that there is not a local copy. Is there a setting that I haven't found or is it intended to work this way? Please let me know as this is not an acceptable approach.

Find more posts tagged with

Delete

Restore

Dropbox Backup

Computer Backup

Dislike

LOL

Accepted answers

Rich

@revik345 wrote:
Dropbox didn't just make a backup copy, it removed the files from my PC so that there is not a local copy.

While the "backup" feature does move your key folders, they're still local. They've just been moved into the Dropbox folder which is still local to your computer and a regular folder like any other.

All comments

Rich

@revik345 wrote:
Dropbox didn't just make a backup copy, it removed the files from my PC so that there is not a local copy.

While the "backup" feature does move your key folders, they're still local. They've just been moved into the Dropbox folder which is still local to your computer and a regular folder like any other.

tess e

same problem here! This seems very invasive! I did not approve them to take my files off pc. Now no way to keep them and many are deleted completely. Seems like a ploy to get us to buy more storage. Should be illegal.

Mark

@tess e - you have approved it. There are multiple confirmations you need to go through to say it is going to do it. However, if you are anything like me then you'll often just click 'ok' and 'next'..... I was also burnt on this one!

revik345

Got it, Rich. I see that now. I was misled by the fact that several apps stopped working (temporarily) because they did not find files in their normal location. Thanks for the quick reply.

tess e

But Rich, when you try to replace them into your personal files it still keeps them in a dropbox sync and most of us don't want all of our personal files in dropbox, That should not have been a dropbox decision!

Rich

@tess e wrote:
... most of us don't want all of our personal files in dropbox, That should not have been a dropbox decision!

It wasn't a Dropbox decision. It was your decision when you activated the backup feature.

This feature doesn't get enabled automatically. You either need to go into Dropbox preferences and enable it yourself, or you agreed to it during the installation of the Dropbox application. As @Mark mentions above, if you're just blindly clicking Next or Ok during the install, it's easy to miss if you're not reading the information presented to you.

And again for anyone else that comes to this thread later, the backup option is not taking files off of your computer. It's moving them into the local Dropbox folder so it can sync them to your account. If you don't wish this to happen, don't enable the computer backup features.

tess e

I didn't approve anything. DB was not working so I uninstalled and reinstalled and suddenly while it was setting up, I got hit with a virus and then all my files started disappearing and the next day my pc files were in dropbox and I was getting a notice I needed to buy more space. (Scam alert!) Many files were suddenly emptied out and missing from my pc. It took everything from my pc and renamed a file to public. Totally freaked me out so I had malwarebytes scan things. I apparently got a worm from DB and still have a serious issue. Missing the past 2 years of important files. The worst is all my recent work is just gone! Some are randomly in DB and some are just gone or moved into new files with DB in front of the file name. I immediately reached out to DB and supposedly someone was going to call me. No one did. Chatted again yesterday and was told someone from support would reach out. NO one has.

tess e

I didn't activate anything or agree to anything. I reinstalled DB because it was acting up and immediately things got weird!

Tom Thumb

Basically, They are Highjacking your files and holding them for Ransome - while getting you to upgrade. How is this not illegal !!!!

The same thing happened to me. Then they make it more than difficult enough to get some help to the solution - one that doesn't exist, except purchasing a higher plan! !!!!

Brian

tess e

totally agree!

on the earth now

I also found myself backing up files to the cloud *without wanting to*. I have never backed anything up to the cloud, have never given permission. I remember in the long process Dropbox initiates -- always just "one more thing to do" -- that I checked a "local" box.

All I wanted to do was to use Dropbox to receive some large audio files and I signed on only because it was really made difficult to do this as a non-subscribers. I am really regretting this. I feel conned.

Now I'm afraid to stop the process as I can see that people have reported lost files when they do this. How to undo this unwanted process without losing anything from my computer, please? "Invasive" is right, Tess (and super-user Mark who is a super-user and yet made the same mistake?)

on the earth now

I have been "burned" like you and also need to power off my computer as all kinds of things are cropping up ... it's incredibly slow and several big grey boxes appeared on the screen when I tried to navigate my Thunderbird email and are now stuck there, obscuring what I need to get to though I have closed the Tbird app. ... Also, I have no battery power and will be unplugging this machine very soon. That requires power down.

tess e

😞 I hope you get some relief and find a solution. If you do, please share!

Zaga

Did you manage to restore files after purchasing a higher plan?

Jurgenst

I did not approve anything. I clicked on backup and then it started. I could not even choose what to backup. Since then I am loosing files like nothing. Even the files that were not deleted.

tess e

I feel you! I have been sent a message on how to stop the syncing but it isn't working, everything I put in my files now ends up on db and if I delete some in DB they delete off my pc now. So frustrating!

Mayorbob

I deleted a number of Libreoffice files backed up on dropbox. Now I cannot access them on the local drive. Is there a way to retrieve them, or does Dropbox also delete the original as well as the backed up?

Demoerin Delux

I am sorry to say but you are totally wrong when you say that the folders just get moved. Delete one of the files on either the PC or dropbox and you will see it is GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rich

@Demoerin Delux wrote:
I am sorry to say but you are totally wrong when you say that the folders just get moved. Delete one of the files on either the PC or dropbox and you will see it is GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's not wrong. The key folders are MOVED into your local Dropbox folder. This causes those folders to sync with your account online, so anything you do in the folder, such as deleting a file, will be synced to your account online as well, and vice versa. Delete a file in your account, and it will be deleted from your local folder on your computer. That is the entire point of an application that syncs your files. Changes made to one side are automatically made on the other.

If you do not want your key folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, etc.) to sync to Dropbox, do not enable the backup feature. Those saying that they didn't enable it, and that they only re/installed Dropbox, have likely enabled it during the install by not following the prompts that appear. It's not possible for the backup feature to be enabled on it's own, or by a single click.

If you need to restore any files from your backups, refer to this help article.

tess e

totally 😞

Demoerin Delux

Please be aware there is a difference between sync and backup. Backup is when the files STAY on the backup drive (what ever you choose it to be). You described sync not backup. See the difference (you will see that there are one for storage, one for backup and one for sync):

Cloud Storage

Cloud Backup

Cloud Sync

What is its purpose?

File Storage

File Recovery

File Mirroring

How does it work?

Makes the same files accessible from multiple locations, via the internet.

Makes a snapshot of files from one device recoverable from multiple locations, via the internet.

Makes your files in cloud storage accessible on your local device.

What does it enable?

Access to files from multiple devices
Easy file sharing
Collaboration in real time

Recovery of accidentally-deleted files
Device recovery after a malware attack
Protection for all the files and data on your device

Store files in the cloud, but work on them locally in applications on your device
Save space on your local storage by making files online-only

Rich

@Demoerin Delux wrote:
Please be aware there is a difference between sync and backup. ... You described sync not backup.

No, I described how the backup feature in Dropbox works, in relation to your key folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, etc.). They're moved to the local Dropbox folder so they can sync with your account online. Changes you make in your key folders are synced, like any of your other files or folders. It's not a true backup; never has been. Delete a file from your Desktop and it's deleted from your Desktop folder online. The main differences between sync and backup is that online, your key folders are stored in a special folder for your computer and there are different options for restoring those files.

Mayorbob

Dropbox did the same for my files...deleted the original. How do I get them back?