Folders are empty. Where are my files?

Question

I used Dropbox to transfer files from my laptop to my new PC. All of my photos since 2015 are now missing.

I had over 200gbs to move so completed the transfer in 3 stages. Uploading to dropbox, saving to documents on new PC then deleting dropbox files. I factory reset my laptop. I decided to have a look at my files and my folders have nothing but empty folders in them, almost everything is gone. I've restored the deleted folders, it says restoring x amount of files and then the folders are empty. Any ideas on how to fix this or have I lost 9 years worth of work?

Megan · Answer

Hey @Chelsea95, let's jump right into this!

You mentioned that you uploaded these files to Dropbox, right?

Did you do it using the desktop app on your old laptop, or the website?

When was the last time you were able to see these files when visiting your account online?

Can you also take a look into the events page, to see if you can find their deletion date, or even when the content was added to the account?

The Events page at www.dropbox.com/events gives you an overview of all activity in your account including files events (adds/edits/deletes), as well as adding or removing shared folders.

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!