I have some ghost folders; I keep deleting them, but they're coming back

Question

I have a folder that won't disappear no matter how many times I delete it. It pops back in for me, and for other users. This has happened before when someone on a Mac put a funny character in the filename, so the file wouldn't sync on my PC. However, that's not the case here. There are two empty folders in another folder, and I cannot delete any of them, or move them. How do I make it go away? I've cleared my registry, restarted the computer, deleted it from both the online account and the desktop app. Nothing works.

ChristiYest · Answer

Stuck folders like that usually happen when orphaned metadata on Dropbox's servers or a hidden locked file (like a Mac .DS_Store or Windows desktop.ini) gets stuck in a sync loop. When you delete it locally, the cloud server or another connected client sees a missing path and immediately recreates it.

The best way to break the loop is to pause syncing on your desktop app first. Then, log into Dropbox.com via your browser, delete the folder there, and make sure to permanently purge it from the "Deleted files" tab on the web. While syncing is still paused on your PC, delete the local copy, clear your .dropbox.cache folder, and then resume syncing. If it's a shared folder, revoking shared access for other users before deleting it can also prevent their clients from automatically repopulating it.

For more technical troubleshooting tips and file management guides, feel free to check out https://aivatcalc.com/.

Hope this helps clear it out for good!

Nancy · Answer

Thanks for the visual! It really helps.

Based on your events log, it looks like the folder is being added back by Cindy’s Dropbox account (most likely a linked desktop app).

Can you clarify what type of files are located within this folder?

If possible, can you ask Cindy to turn off her computer for a little bit, so that you can delete the folder again? Does the folder come back, as soon as she turns on her device?

JennLeigh1969 · Answer

So you can see that I deleted the folder and its subfolders on 9/15. But then it says that Cindy [removed per Community Guidelines] added them back in on the same day and time. I checked with Cindy, she doesn't have anything open.