You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

RuthP's avatar
RuthP
Explorer | Level 4
2 years ago

All files downloaded from Dropbox are corrupt

I have been using Dropbox on my old computer for >5 years. A few weeks before transferring to my new computer, I noticed that my files on my computer were no longer syncing with Dropbox. 

To transfer to the new computer, I deleted everything on Dropbox, because it was not up to date, and uploaded everything form my old computer Dropbox folder. I did this folder by folder.  So far, so good. 

I then allowed Dropbox to download everything, 116 GB and >38,000 files, to my D(data) drive. Unfortunately, I cannot open any of these downloaded files. If I try to open a word doc, I get When I try to open a word doc

And similar if I try to open other types of files. 

 

The files on Dropbox are uncorrupted. If I download a word doc from dropbox, it opens correctly. 

 

Can anyone help please. I would like to be able to open files on my computer.

 

If allowing to download folder by folder will help, I will need some instructions please.

Thanks.

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hi there RuthP - sorry to hear about this.

     

    Can you please let me know your computer's OS version and the version and status of the desktop app as shown in your menu bar/system tray?

     

    Do you see any syncing icons on the files you're trying to open by the way? If you do, are the files online only or available offline on your computer? 

     

    Any additional information or screenshots are more than welcome! 

    • RuthP's avatar
      RuthP
      Explorer | Level 4

      Thanks Walter.

      I am using Windows 11.

       

      There is no Dropbox icon in the system tray!

       

      This is the top of my Dropbox folder. The folder was made by dropbox. 

       

      This screen shot is inside a folder. The top docs are ones I have added in the last few days and they are not on the net, only on my computer. 

      The files with the little brown square over the word symbol are the corrupt ones, that will not open:

       

      Regards,

      Ruth

      • Walter's avatar
        Walter
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

        Those icons are not coming from Dropbox (here's a list of the Dropbox syncing icons) and since you're not running the Dropbox desktop app on your computer, this issue can't be caused by Dropbox RuthP 

         

        Do you happen to be running any 3rd party apps that sync or backup your files perhaps? 

         

        Also, can you clarify the process you followed in the first place to move your Dropbox folder to your D drive? Did you use the desktop app at all on your new computer? 

About View, download, and export

Need support with viewing, downloading, and exporting files and folders from your Dropbox account? Find help from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!