Why are Dropbox files regularly copying to my desktop? Even files I delete.
Dropbox wont work if you are also syncing it to OneDrive (as the path shows). You need to stop using it with 2 cloud services.
Also, its no longer possible to sync the Desktop now with Dropbox. It was a feature of the backup system, but, removed when it launched out of beta.
Hey there, @yesthatsandra, thanks for posting to our Community.
When you say that Dropbox is copying files to your desktop, can you please clarify what you mean a bit?
Do you mean that files already inside your Dropbox folder, get copied over to your computer's Desktop folder as well?
Or simply that your Dropbox files, apart from the website, also reside in your computer's hard drive?
Let me know and we'll go from there.
Yes, files already in my Dropbox folder get copied to my desktop. It has happened more than once on what feels like a regular basis. Maybe once every two weeks? I haven't tracked the timing yet. I delete them or move them back to the Dropbox folder then ?two weeks later they show up on my desktop again!
@yesthatsandra, can you send a screenshot of a file that’s showing in your Dropbox folder and which has also been copied over to your local device?
Are you taking any actions on Dropbox, right before this starts?
Are these files backed up with Dropbox Backup, by any chance?
Hi. Here is a screenshot of my desktop. The copy over happened this morning, so these are files that were in my Dropbox that copies onto my desktop and I deleted--and they've shown up again.
I was not using Dropbox just before this copy happened. I'm not sure I'm using Dropbox Backup or not. I can't seem to open the Dropbox app--I'm not sure why. I have a shortcut on my desktop that I use to access files I need. When I try to open the App itself the try times out and nothing happens. Maybe this is significant?
Thanks for your help.
Hey @yesthatsandra - does the issue with the app persist after rebooting your computer?
Also, do you see any folders or files being backed up in your backups page?
Yes, the same thing happens after rebooting.
I don't see any files in my backups page.
I notice a warning and saw this when clicking on "item needs your review":
When I click on that folder I get:
I can't see what to do from here to fix the problem. Looks like all i can do is delete these files, but I'm not sure I want to do that.
Does this help?
Thanks for the screenshots @yesthatsandra - much appreciated.
Could you click on the Dropbox icon in your system tray and let me know the app's exact status and version now, after rebooting your computer?
Its says, "Everything is up to date." I'm not sure how to see what "version" I am using. Sorry and thank you for your help!
It doesn't show any files or folders interacted with lately in "Your Activity." In Backups, it says only "PC updated today at 3:33pm."
It seems that you enabled the Dropbox Backup feature on your computer @yesthatsandra
Could you access the backups tab in the app's preferences and let us know what you see there?
Here is what I see:
Hi @yesthatsandra, if you click 'Manage backups', what options do you see there?
Thank you for your help! I appreciate everyone trying to help me fix this.
When I click Manage Backups, this is what I see:
So, we can see that the Dropbox Backup feature is enabled, meaning that files in certain folders you you've selected in 'Choose folders' would be backed up to the site.
If you wish, you can delete the backup by clicking that button there.
Hello: Thanks for your reply. By choosing to have some folders backed up, is that basically choosing to have them regularly copied to my desktop? If Dropbox keeps my files up to date, I don't need backup to my computer. And if I delete those backed up files, I'm not deleting them from Dropbox, right?
Also, they are not copying to my desktop every fifteen minutes. Is there a way to keep the backup but stop the copying (which is at more like a once a week interval)? thank you!
Hey @yesthatsandra, when did you first start noticing this behavior?
Also, would you mind clarifying your exact OS, and the version of the app? It looks like you're using Windows 11, right?
You should be able to locate the version of the app by hovering your mouse over the little Dropbox icon on your task bar, next to your WiFi.
Yes, Windows 11
Dropbox 203.4.4857
I noticed this occurring about 6 or 8 weeks ago
I thought I would just unchoose folders so it would stop the copying, but then I got this message. I am worried about deleting important work. If these files are on my computer or in dropbox, they won't be deleted will they?
Hey @yesthatsandra, your content shouldn't be deleted, no.
Want to give it a go, and let me know the behavior of the app after that?
Hello. Me again. So about a week ago I deleted the backup but the files copied to my desktop just now. Under 'manage backup' is says: PC, last backup 7/30/2024. (And blue button to Enable backup.) So if appears it is no longer enabled. But it just copied 60 or 70 files to my desktop. These are files and folders from my Dropbox that I have deleted. ?
Hey @yesthatsandra - may I ask how are those actions logged in your events page?
Also, is the desktop app 'up to date' or still syncing?
All I see on the events page are actions I performed using Dropbox--opening files, moving files to Dropbox etc. So today there are only 4 events on that page--files I was working with. No sign of the ++++ files copied to desktop.
The desktop app is 'up to date.'
Thanks for your (ongoing) help! S
Hi again, @yesthatsandra! Can you go once again here and send me a screenshot of what you see on your Backups page now? We’ll go from there.
Here you go:
Thanks for that, @yesthatsandra! Is your Desktop folder located in its original place on your computer?
If you check its filepath, is there any reference to Dropbox perhaps? Is it located inside of Dropbox, by any chance, or has Dropbox been moved inside your Desktop folder?
The filepath for Desktop is: C:\Users\yesth\OneDrive\Desktop
The filepath for Dropbox is: C:\Users\yesth
I have a shortcut on my desktop, the filepath for which is:
C:\Users\yesth\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
Hope this helps!
