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Forum Discussion

groupdivepics's avatar
groupdivepics
New member | Level 2
6 years ago

I have a question about unlinking my computer. Can you help?

When I unlink my PC app from the account can I delete the files on my PC and not loose them in my drop box account... also if I relink my PC will it try to mirror my PC and delete the files in my acc...
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  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    6 years ago

    Of course you can groupdivepics!

    When you want to make permanent changes to your computer that do not sync back to the website you need to unlink the computer first as you mentioned.  Follow these steps to unlink a computer:

    1) Right-click the Dropbox icon in the system tray, or menu bar, by the clock
    2) Click on the gear icon in the Notifications panel and select 'Preferences' > 'Account'
    3) Click the 'Unlink' button
    4) Afterward, Dropbox will prompt you to re-register. Quit!

    You can now safely move or delete files in the Dropbox folder and not affect anything else.

    Note that the Dropbox folder itself is still there and should you relink to a different Dropbox account, the application will detect that another Dropbox folder already exists on the computer, and will give you two options: 'Choose Another Location' or 'Install'.

    If you want your new Dropbox folder to be in a location different than your existing folder, click on 'Choose Another Location'.

    If you want your new Dropbox folder to be in the same location as your existing one, click on 'Install'. This will rename the existing Dropbox folder to 'Dropbox (Old)' and will create a new Dropbox folder for the account you’re currently linking. 

    Let me know if you have any more questions please.

Reyofsun's avatar
Reyofsun
New member | Level 2
Hi Walter! So just to confirm on my end- I deleted my Dropbox folder on my PC while offline and then was concerned that it would delete everything off the cloud. I switched off my laptop and unlinked the pc from syncing. If I turn my PC back on and connect to WiFi, can I be assured that it will not delete anything from the cloud?
  • Reyofsun's avatar
    Reyofsun
    New member | Level 2
    6 years ago
    Thanks so much!!

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