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mrswilliam's avatar
mrswilliam
Explorer | Level 4
7 years ago

Old versions of Documents replacing new versions

I have two laptops, Windows 8.1 (my main device) and Windows 10 which I rarely use.  8.1 had to go into a repair shop so i set about setting up dropbox on W10 with dropbox. It had some old files on i...
desktop
Download
sync
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    7 years ago
    Hey mrswilliam & Wilu, I appreciate it that you both circled back to me here letting me know of your current state of affairs. Initially I’m glad to hear that you’ve both been able to work around the previous syncing issues & I’m here to send you some pro-active tips for future reference!
     
    Now mrswilliam, I’m right on the same page with you after the last bit you added in your last post that your deleted files re-appeared & I can confirm that you took the most appropriate course of action, therefore you may reference the same set of steps in case you experience that again in the future. 
     
    Spoiler
    Often when you delete files or folders, they don’t immediately disappear from every synced computer. If you have a synced computer running an application that is using the file, that will cause the file to reappear in your Dropbox account. Or, if you’re seeing a shared file or folder reappear after deletion, it may be that a person you shared it with is accessing it.
     
    If you check the previous versions of the file and see that it was accessed from an application on another computer, you can delete it off of that computer to stop it from reappearing in your Dropbox.
    Following, when it comes to your remarks Wilu, you may have an additional look on my post here that explains how Conflicted Copies are created & ways to avoid them, as well as some tips regarding versioning. 
     
    Once again, thanks a lot to both for your ongoing cooperation & contribution on this conversation, it’s been a pleasure discussing this behavior with you, as each interaction helped me shape a slightly more coherent picture of what you were experiencing. 
     
    Our Community wall is always open to further inquiries or feedback & it’ll be a pleasure to hear back from you in the future. Happy syncing & take care until we talk again! 
Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
Thank you both for your swift & detailed replies here Wilu & mrswilliam & please accept my apologies for the slight delay in replying. 
 
When it comes to your setup Wilu, it appears that everything is working as expected, though let me explain below: 
 
where / how can I read the version Number of my Dropbox?
 
If you’re using a pc, it should be on your bottom right-hand corner. Once you hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon, you’ll see the syncing status (eg. Up-To-Date, Indexing &c) & the version you’re running (Note: It’s 58.4.92 as of today). 
 
- is it correct, that we have 3 copies of the files: 1 each on CP A, CP B and in the "Dropbox-Cloud"?
 
Yes, that’s absolutely right, the website should be mirroring the changes made on each device. 
 
- if CP B is off and I update a file on CP A to file version(2), save and then start CP B, I get file version(1) synced on both CP. I have now found a copy of the file version(2) with a conflict-comment
 
Now, in order to trace back the behavior you’re mentioning on my end (& because you’ve mentioned that you’re also getting conflicting copies), let me investigate in a bit more depth having all our tools available & further advise how you could tackle this behavior. For that  I’ve made sure to reach out to you directly via email on my end, so as to check on one specific example. 
 
Whenever you find some time, please check your inbox for my email & I’ll make sure to promptly get back in touch with you asap. 
 
Secondly, when it come to your current setup mrswilliam (& based on your description), if you power your machine at regular intervals, then you shouldn’t be having an issue. It was my initial understanding that the issue appeared since you hadn’t switched on your Win10 device for a long time. In any event, to further investigate what could’ve gone wrong & further advise accordingly, I’ve made sure to reach out to you on my end, in order to determine the cause of this discrepancy. 
 
Once you get back in touch with me, I’ll promptly follow-up with you in more detail. Thanks again for all your cooperation & prompt messages! 
Wilu's avatar
Wilu
Explorer | Level 4
7 years ago

Hi Jane,

thanks for your reply. It seems, Dropbox is not checking the date/time of the files. I would expect that Dropbox is warning me, that there are different versions of a document. This should happen when uploading to the web and downloading to the computer. As long as both computers are online simultaneously it’s clear Dropbox is working fine. Files are changed immediately.  I do not understand the logic thatfiles from offline-CP always have to replace existing files. Of coures it has to check and upload non-synced files, but only with careful checks. For me it is quite normal, that not all PC‘s are online simultaneously and I work on different systems. By replacing newer versions with old versions I have lost unrepeatable work.

  • mrswilliam's avatar
    mrswilliam
    Explorer | Level 4
    7 years ago

    I concur with everything Wilu has just said.  I would expect Dropbox to check dates/times files were created and not to replace new with old.  

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey mrswilliam & Wilu, let me explain this in a bit more depth. Please note that Dropbox will try to find the latest file version & upload the bit that’s missing. Before transferring a file, we compare the new file to the previous version and only send the piece of the file that changed. This is called a “binary diff" and works on any file type. 
     
    During our discussion I suspected that while you’ve got the most recent version of your files on your account online (i.e. the version that contains the info you’d like to sync across your devices) with timestamp x, there could be an application that’s injecting metadata (but not extra info) on your files locally while you’re working offline perhaps (i.e. that should be understood by your OS & then Dropbox as timestamp y). When you re-linked the desktop app after a long time, it may have recognized that your files were modified at a later date than the one recorded online, therefore it synced the last version it could find. 
     
    That is merely my idea of what could have gone wrong, as your last comment does apply on the Dropbox logic & that’s also my reasoning for reaching out to you directly, since I needed to examine a concrete example from each account & advise on how to best proceed from this point onwards. 
     
    In any event, let me re-iterate that I raised a ticket on your behalf & could also forward your requests to a restoration specialist if need be, in order to restore any missing content back to your accounts
     
    I hope my reply makes this a bit more clear & please do keep me updated on how you’d like us to proceed on either channel of communication. Thanks again!
  • mrswilliam's avatar
    mrswilliam
    Explorer | Level 4
    7 years ago

    Jane

    Thanks for the info.  

    i think I'm OK now.  My problem did indeed arise because I hadn't synched W10 for a long while and it contained loads of old files which had been deleted both from W8.1 and Online and they started reappearing again.  I stopped, unlinked and uninstalled Dropbox from W10 quickly enough to stop it doing any damage. Both W8.1 and W10 are synching OK right now.

    My problem will arise again in the future should I leave one or the other PCs in limbo - ie. not use it for a while which means it won't synch. Deleted files may start reappearing again. But as long as they don't replace new files of the same name than its OK.

  • Wilu's avatar
    Wilu
    Explorer | Level 4
    7 years ago

    Hi Jane,

    I think I understand Dropbox now better and I will use it in the following way:

    - on a regular basis (system online) nothing special: change documents, syncing etc

    - if I am offline for a long time, I will make a backup-copy of my changed files, before syncing! Just to be sure not to lose my work.

    - unless Dropbox will warn me in future of conflicts or make an automatic back-up.

    Dear Jane, thanks for your support and regards to mrswilliam

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey mrswilliam & Wilu, I appreciate it that you both circled back to me here letting me know of your current state of affairs. Initially I’m glad to hear that you’ve both been able to work around the previous syncing issues & I’m here to send you some pro-active tips for future reference!
     
    Now mrswilliam, I’m right on the same page with you after the last bit you added in your last post that your deleted files re-appeared & I can confirm that you took the most appropriate course of action, therefore you may reference the same set of steps in case you experience that again in the future. 
     
    Spoiler
    Often when you delete files or folders, they don’t immediately disappear from every synced computer. If you have a synced computer running an application that is using the file, that will cause the file to reappear in your Dropbox account. Or, if you’re seeing a shared file or folder reappear after deletion, it may be that a person you shared it with is accessing it.
     
    If you check the previous versions of the file and see that it was accessed from an application on another computer, you can delete it off of that computer to stop it from reappearing in your Dropbox.
    Following, when it comes to your remarks Wilu, you may have an additional look on my post here that explains how Conflicted Copies are created & ways to avoid them, as well as some tips regarding versioning. 
     
    Once again, thanks a lot to both for your ongoing cooperation & contribution on this conversation, it’s been a pleasure discussing this behavior with you, as each interaction helped me shape a slightly more coherent picture of what you were experiencing. 
     
    Our Community wall is always open to further inquiries or feedback & it’ll be a pleasure to hear back from you in the future. Happy syncing & take care until we talk again! 

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