Child Item

Unable to update the folders being backed up for External SSD backup

Device

MacBook Air 15'
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)

macOS Tahoe 26.1
Dropbox App Version/Browser Version

238.4.6075

Question or Issue

I've been backing up a 2 TB Extreme Pro External SSD that has roughly 1.2 TB of Data on it via Dropbox Backup. The data primarily consists of previous computer and other device backups. Because there is a large number of files between all the data ~2,000,000 , I've been incrementally adding folders for Dropbox to backup from the external drive so it doesn't get overwhelmed with files. I've been able to upload all but one major folder from the drive into the cloud as dropbox is stuck "updating" or "indexing" the same five files on repeat. When I try and update which folders should be updated, no change is made. Thus far, I've restarted the computer, restarted the dropbox application, logged out and logged in to the dropbox application, manually cleared the dropbox cache, and disconnected/replugged the external SSD.

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Comments

Jay

Hi @Eric333, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

If the name isn't personal, could you let us know what is the name of the folder that you're trying to select in order to have it included in the external drive backup?

How large is the folder you want to add to your Dropbox Backup?

This will help me to assist further!

Eric333

I'd rather not share the name of the folder but it utilizes a similar formatting and characters to other folders that have uploaded to dropbox without issue. The size of the folder is approximately 189 GB.

Jay

What happens exactly when you select the folder in the Dropbox Backup window for that folder?

Eric333

I am able to select the folder and then click "Back Up" at which point a message appears stating something along the lines of "Dropbox backup folders have been updated". The folder selection window disappears but no uploading or synching occurs afterward aside from the same five files reindexing on repeat. Even after some time has passed the folder I selected to add isn't visible in the dropbox backup.

Jay

Thanks for the details. I think it would be best to contact the support team since they have more tools and steps available to troubleshoot this matter for you.
You can submit a ticket to the team via this link while logged into your Dropbox account.