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How to delete a Dropbox folder from the Windows file system?

I recently had to change my email address. Trying to adapt that in my dropbox account I accidentaly created me a second drop-box account. After finding out about my mistake I took a second attempt and then the email address change worked.

But: Due to that prior procedure I had ended up having now TWO dropbox folders in my Windows box's home directory. After carefully figuring out which one is the correct/active folder I deleted the other unused/unwanted folder (via Window's right-click --> Delete). The folder disappeared from my home directory but turned into a zombie. I.e. it now sits in my recycle bin (still showing the dropbox icon) and seems to be undeletable, i.e. even having emptied my trash now multiple times that folder still sits in there and doesn't go away.

How can one completely remove a Dropbox folder deleted from the Windows file system?

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mmo

After another search I found a link that this terrific forum SW does not allow me to paste (claiming that it contains invalid HTML ||-( - it's a link to MS' knowledge base) and the command

"rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin"

mentioned there and executed in an admin shell finally did the trick.

All comments

Megan

Hey @mmo let's jump right into this!

Just to double check here: when you access your app's preferences, and specifically your Sync tab where do you see your Dropbox folder being located?

You mentioned that the folder inside your recycle bin still shows the Dropbox icon. Can you attach a screenshot of that, in order for me to have a visual?

Also, I know this might sound trivial, but have you tried restarting your device at all?

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

mmo

"Drop folder location" reads:
C:\Users\mmo\Dropbox.

That's correct and syncs fine with my original account (i.e. not the one I accidentally created).

This is my otherwise empty recycle bin:

It actually contains TWO such zombies, which stem from my multiple attempts to delete that superfluous dropbox folder. When I couldn't delete it I had restored it, renamed it (suspecting that the name caused an issue) and had tried again. I then ended up with TWO of them in my trash bin.

Megan

Hey @mmo, out of curiosity, if you momentarily quit the app and try again to delete the content, do you notice the same behavior?

mmo

Yes - the behavior is the same. I have quit the application (from the taskbar icon) and I have also killed the afterwards still running Dropbox service (using Task manager) and then tried to empty the trash bin again. There was a short status dialog opening showing that the system (i.e. explorer) was first first counting the files to be removed and their total size. That dialog counted up to ~3 GBs but then the dialog just disappeared again (instead of showing these files actually being removed as they should be or as would be the case for "normal" files) and the two icons remained as shown in the above screenshot.

Hannah

Hey @mmo, I hope it's okay for me to jump in here as well.

This is quite a strange issue.

To get more insight on the steps you followed, can you let me know how you connected the Dropbox application to the correct (original) account, after it was linked to the second one?

Are you able to access the second account on dropbox.com?

If so, can you check the list of connected devices on that account (from the security page in the account settings), to see if the particular computer still appears as connected to it?

mmo

> let me know how you connected the Dropbox application to the correct (original) account, after it was linked to the second one?

I had logged out from the second account in DropBox (opening it via the taskbar icon) and logged in again this time using the credentials for the first account.

> Are you able to access the second account on dropbox.com?
Yes, I am . And in fact I kept it and am now using it for a different purpose (as relay for synchronisation between misc. mobile devices).

> check the list of connected devices

In both accounts I see:
-------------------
Devices

You haven’t linked any devices to your personal Dropbox account. Install Dropbox to sync your devices.
-------------------

But file changes from my local Dropbox folder are synched to DropBox cloud and are e.g. visible via the browser. So, my primary/original account definitely is connected with my PC.

Nancy

@mmo, can you also send me a screenshot of what you see under the Sync tab of your Dropbox app preferences?

mmo

This Dropbox-SW starts to seriously annoy me! When I wanted to paste a screenshot into my response it declared that I am not a registered user and must first finish registration. WTF? I then clicked onto "finish registration" and it stated to have me sent a 6-digit code "to all my devices" that I need to enter. A few seconds later I got a popup stating "this is your registration code plus a number" but that popup disappeared so quickly again that I had no time to jot it down.
And now I am seeking where or via which channel this popup had appeared. It's not in the Windows' system notifications, it didn't come via Email, so where the heck is that registration code now hiding???

mmo

Second attempt, after having completed registration to the forum after locating that darn "registration code". It also arrived in an email but only a few minutes later...

The non-visible part for "selective sync" on top shows ALL folders underneath "C:\Users\mmo\Dropbox" as checked.

Jay

Hi @mmo, are you able to reboot into Safe Mode in Windows and attempt to delete the Dropbox folder from the Recycle Bin there?

mmo

I rebooted my box in Safe Mode but even with that these folders are undeletable. When I select "Empty Recycle Bin" I see the dialog "Preparing files to delete" and underneath "Discovered items: " counting up to ~3GB. Subsequently the dialog header changes to "Deleting" but then the dialog almost immediately closes without actually removing those 2 folders. :-(

mmo

After another search I found a link that this terrific forum SW does not allow me to paste (claiming that it contains invalid HTML ||-( - it's a link to MS' knowledge base) and the command

"rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin"

mentioned there and executed in an admin shell finally did the trick.