Trying to copy a folder from an external drive to Dropbox, but get error about the disk space.

There should be an option for this in the app's preferences under the Sync tab, Chris.

Can you give it a go and let me know if this helps?

All comments

Hey @chrisryanphotog, thanks for using Dropbox and welcome to the Community!

From the sounds of it, you must be running out of hard drive space on your computer - the message you get isn't referring to your Dropbox quota.

Did you give enough time to the desktop app to sync your changes after setting your file to be online only?

Is the desktop app 'up to date' or still syncing in your menu bar perhaps?

Let me know what you find!

Hi Walter,

Thank you for the quick response and advice.

Yes, my MacBook Pro is running out of space, that's partly why I am putting files onto Dropbox. I think you're right, I needed to allow the app to sync changes after setting the files to be online only. I have successfully transferred files today without problem however I must control/click on each folder and set each one to online only every time I choose another folder to copy to Dropbox. Is there a way of setting preferences to make all new files to be online only?

Regards,

Chris

There should be an option for this in the app's preferences under the Sync tab, Chris.

Can you give it a go and let me know if this helps?

Hi Walter,

Yep, I have the app preferences set to New Files Default: Online only. I'll let you know if I continue to have problems.

Thanks for your help.

No worries @chrisryanphotog - just let me know if anything comes up!

Hi Walter,

I'm still having trouble backing up an external hard drive. The Dropbox app won't recognise it. It's plugged in and the Finder on my MacBook Pro displays it and it's contents will open but the Dropbox app asks me to Add a Backup, plug in an external hard drive. Please advise if you can.

Thanks

Hey @chrisryanphotog, can you check this out, to make sure that your external drive is supported?

Yes, this helps. My external hard drive is encrypted. I want to copy the externeal hard drive to Dropbox, reformat the drive then copy everything back. I am now copying all the folders on the drive to Dropbox by drag and drop but I get the message: Not enough disk space to copy... I have set my preferences to Online Only. Why is this taking up disk space on my computer?

Thanks

Hey Chris, I'm glad we figured out why you couldn't back up your external drive.

Now, as for the files taking up space, when you initially move/copy them to your external drive, they're set to available offline by default, in order to sync.

Once they're fully synced, that's when you can set them to online-only.

So, I'd suggest syncing the files in batches, switch each batch to online-only, then continue with the rest.

Problem solved. Thank you for your help.

Megan

Awesome news @chrisryanphotog!

If you need anything else, just give us a shout.

Hi all,

I'm still having trouble with Dropbox Backup Beta. I have an external hard drive that has been Updating 16 files since 2nd August. It's now 7th August. It says 201.49 GB of 204.84 GB backed up. 98% complete. It doesn't change. What could I be doing wrong?

Nancy

Hey @chrisryanphotog! Sorry to jump in.

Has your backup progressed at all over the course of the last few days, or has it been stuck at 98%?

Have you restarted your device at all since the backup started?

Hi Nancy,

I think all my files have backed up now. The info now says 206.18 GB of 206.75 GB backed up. 99% complete. Updating 16 files. If I hover the cursor over the Dropbox icon in the menu bar, I get "Dropbox 179.4.4985 Indexing 16 files... Can't update "Library". I think that refers to myMacBook Pro hard drive Library. What is indexing and why could this be taking so long? Yes, I have interrupted the backup process and restarted the computer over the last week.

Thanks

Jay

Hi @chrisryanphotog, do you have any other Library file that could be trying to sync in the drive?

There are two "Library" folders. Macintosh HD > Library and Macintosh HD > System > Library.

The external hard drive will not backup at all now. The last Backup updated 10/08/2023 at 8:42am. It is now 14/08/2023. It should update every 15 minutes. I click the Backup Now button and the progress wheel appears for two seconds then disappears but nothing happens.

Thanks for all the info, @chrisryanphotog.

Can we actually send you an email, so we can investigate this further internally?

Hi,

Yes, Jamie at Dropbox is investigating.

[removed per the Dropbox Community Guidelines]

Regards,