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Forum Discussion

WreckItTim1's avatar
WreckItTim1
Helpful | Level 7
10 days ago

I can't delete a large folder due to "1 item couldn’t be permanently deleted" error.

I get this error when trying to permanently delete a folder in my trash. I checked, as suggested in the other discussion about this, and the folder is not shared (this was the problem in the other di...
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  • WreckItTim1's avatar
    WreckItTim1
    10 days ago

    Thanks for the quick response! 
    After several attempts, and waiting for a couple of hours, it appears to have been permanently deleted. Maybe it just took some time to update, or something along those lines?

Nancy's avatar
Nancy
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

Thanks for your post, WreckItTim1, and for trying all these troubleshooting steps.

Can you test this via an incognito window to double check if the behavior persists there, as well?

The issue could be lying in the folder’s size, like you also suggest. Another option would be to restore this folder instead and then attempt to delete and permanently delete the files individually, but this would be time-consuming indeed.

Please try the incognito window as the next step, and if this doesn’t work, send me a screenshot of the error you’re getting. 

We’ll go from there.

WreckItTim1's avatar
WreckItTim1
Helpful | Level 7
10 days ago

Thanks for the quick response! 
After several attempts, and waiting for a couple of hours, it appears to have been permanently deleted. Maybe it just took some time to update, or something along those lines?

  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    10 days ago

    It’s possible! Due to the size of the folder, it could have taken longer to delete everything from our servers, but I’m glad all is settled now. 

    I’ll be here, if you need something else.

  • T_theresa_A's avatar
    T_theresa_A
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    8 days ago

    Hi WreckItTim1  I am glad to see that you got your item deleted successfully 🙌. Yes, you're right, sometimes a large file can take a while to be fully removed 💫. 

    By the way, I’m Theresa, a Community Manager here at Dropbox HQ 👩‍💻. If you're open to sharing, I’d love to hear how you use Dropbox daily and which features you rely on.

    You never know, we might even be able to share tips to boost your productivity 🤓. 

    Looking forward to hearing from you,

    T 😺 (Dropbox Community Manager) 

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