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currentcapital's avatar
currentcapital
Helpful | Level 6
8 years ago

Randomly deleted files and folders

Anyone else experiencing files and folders being deleted from Dropbox without human intervention?   I know that I'm going to get the stock Dropbox answer here that it can't happen, but I can expl...
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  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    7 years ago
     
    Hey Daz, 
     
    Welcome to the Dropbox Community, let me send over some tips below regarding your inquiry and we’ll take it from there! 
     
     SKBJ ‘s reply could point you towards the right direction, though you may need to dig deeper, depending on the behavior you’ve noticed. 
     
    Firstly, as Dropbox syncs any files added to it, a virus or malicious software would get updated to all computers linked to the account accordingly. If the virus or malicious software is in a shared folder, shared folder members and computers may also be affected. That being said, I’d strongly recommend removing it as soon as possible, as it’ll definitely create more issues in the long run. 
     
    Secondly, it recently came to attention that connecting or pointing external locations (i.e. Symlinking them) to your Dropbox folder might cause unexpected behavior, so it may appear to you as if files are randomly deleted. That being said, I’d advise you to have a look intro this as well, just as a possible scenario. 
     
    Regardless of the cause, if you need further clarifications or you’d like your account reverted back to a particular point in time, my advice would be to reach out directly to our team, who’ll guide you through the necessary steps and actions you’d need to take, so as to revert back to normal operations. 
     
    If you decide to go per my advice above, you may keep in mind that I’m always here to pursue a resolution, so please let me know a ticket ID I could reference in your next reply. 
     
    I’m looking forward to hearing back from you on this discussion! 
currentcapital's avatar
currentcapital
Helpful | Level 6
@Mark the "SuperUser"

I love the attitude. You are without doubt the most helpful person on these boards.

I'm not sure how much more helpful you could be - it's absolutely amazing.

Writing everything off to some "100s with buggy systems" and why would dropbox care about them? Guess people pointing out a problem is just too much to deal with.

Hope Dropbox know that you are the face of their company!
Watts H.'s avatar
Watts H.
Helpful | Level 6
8 years ago

Further to your comment to @Mark -- my "buggy system" magically moved the files/folders while all my devices were powered down and offline at the same moment at 3:43 am one morning (and I was asleep...) -- that is one hell of a bug, practically supernatural.

 

Ask Mark if he receives compensation from DB for his "contributions".  

 

 

  • Watts H.'s avatar
    Watts H.
    Helpful | Level 6
    8 years ago

    Thanks.

     

    I'll check out sync.com

     

    At this point, think I'm going to move away from a sync'ing approach entirely (at least for most secure form of backup) --  my concern is, per experience with dropbox, if the sync'ing service loses stuff, it also gets deleted off of your hard drive without any warning  (and with DB, no ability to trace or recover...).

     

    I'm on MAC, and when get resettled (moving soon...), may try a double barrell approach that keeps a sync'ing service running (good for accessing all my current working files from anywhere), and use network assessible storage (a drive connected to network router) to run time machine (which keeps versions back through time).  In addition, maybe keep a bootable disk image in a 2nd partition on the same NAS device.  

     

    Problem I'm finding is almost all remote discs I've researched appear to have in the range of 10% failure rates; SSDs appear better, but not perfect, lots of stories of them just dying too.

     

    So, whatever my NAS device, will want to see if I can have that backed up to someone's cloud as well...

     

     

  • currentcapital's avatar
    currentcapital
    Helpful | Level 6
    8 years ago
    I've gone with a similar strategy.

    1 - Sync.com for working files
    2- NAS backup for local back-up
    3- Amazon Glacier for Archiving

    Make sure in your NAS set-up you use RAID5 or something similar to ensure that a failed HDD doesn't ruin the array or cause you any other hassle.

    Best of luck!
  • currentcapital's avatar
    currentcapital
    Helpful | Level 6
    8 years ago
    @ JaneA

    Thanks for that but there is no need - the "help" I got last time was such a waste of my time that we are now migrated across to another system (which doesn't delete our files) and are just waiting for our subscription to expire.

    For your reference, at no stage have Dropbox Support been any help at all. I can't comment on your assistance as you have come into this very late, but by now all confidence in Dropbox and their software has been totally eroded.

    With reference to the "Super Users" on the boards, why would Dropbox continue to allow these people to post with authority if they are frankly just rude and condescending? To an outsider looking in, they proport to be representing the company. I know that if I ever found out one of my staff spoke/typed like they consistently seem to, they wouldn't be working for me for very long.

    Regards.
  • currentcapital's avatar
    currentcapital
    Helpful | Level 6
    8 years ago
    @Watts H

    No he didn't post anything new (lack of a cut and paste answer I'm guessing) but was just reading through the thread and thinking how helpful he's been throughout.

    Not that the Support team are much better, just maybe more polite?
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago
    Hey  Watts H., 
     
    As per your request, I‘ve went ahead and re-opened the case, sending that over to a team specialist, since this seems to be still unresolved. Please check your inbox for the latest email and let me know if you have any issues locating it.  If you feel that you’d rather leave the case as it is, please feel free to ignore the message and let the support request expire. 
     
    Other than that, I’d just like to mention that Super Users on the Community are not support team members, though if you have any feedback on Support, please reply to the surveys that are sent to users after their support requests are closed, since these are closely monitored by senior members and evaluated accordingly. 
     
    If you need further assistance, please let me know!
     
    Kind regards, 
    JaneA
  • Watts H.'s avatar
    Watts H.
    Helpful | Level 6
    8 years ago

    Thanks for that.

     

    Like the sound of your approach:  belt + suspenders + duct tape.

     

    I'm with you on the RAID5 or equivalent approach -- has occured to me as the only way to hedge against HDD failures (I setup timemachine on my MAC some years ago and external HDD failed within 3 months, poof!)

     

    I'm going to be in Asia/China, so will need to find some cloud service for achiving that I can reliably access...

     

    Thanks for your feedback (and maintaining informed, polite, helpfulness in your posts here).

  • currentcapital's avatar
    currentcapital
    Helpful | Level 6
    8 years ago

    @Watts H

     

    Absolutely no problem, hopefully my negative experiences can help someone else avoid them!

     

    If you have the skills (and I don't by the way!), the QNAP NAS that I use has the ability to be logged into over a secure VPN while travelling. I had to get someone to set it up for me, but it works a treat on the rare occassion when I'm away from the office (and my dog...) for extended times.

     

    Enjoy the trip as well.

     

    Cheers.

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