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

jaohar's avatar
jaohar
Helpful | Level 7
2 years ago

Support request. Delete files that 'couldn't be deleted'

Hello,

I have a folder of tens of thousands of files that I am unable to delete. I tried deleting this on my local device (Mac OS 12.6.7) but my Dropbox client has been unresponsive. I have tried to delete this folder via the web client and received a 'couldn't be deleted' message. There are no shared folders connected to this folder. There are no other clients connected to this folder. I am currently over the 300,000 file limit and am trying to lower the number of files I have stored.

 

I see in previous forum messages a Dropbox support person has had to be contacted to delete 'stuck' files like this. Can I please be put in touch with a Dropbox support person to delete these files?

 

Thank you.

Delete
Error Messages
Web
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    2 years ago

    Hi again, just try contacting the team via chat to see if they're able to assist you from there, if you're unable to submit a ticket.

  • Thierry3's avatar
    Thierry3
    Helpful | Level 5
    2 years ago

    I had the same issue but accessing dropbox support has been a pain and it took a long time before they helped as the first level support is not aware of the issue

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    2 years ago

    Hi jaohar, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

     

    Could you attach a screenshot showing the exact error message you're getting when deleting the folder?

     

    Could you try quitting the Dropbox desktop application and then delete a folder, then run the app again to sync the deletion?

     

    Keep me updated with any progress!

    • jaohar's avatar
      jaohar
      Helpful | Level 7
      2 years ago

      Here is the message I get via the web client. My Mac Dropbox client can no longer sync and just gets stuck. I've left it to run overnight with no progress. I've quit it and unlinked it.

       

      I'm not currently running any other Dropbox clients. And now the problem appears to be that I can't delete any files via the web client.

       

      Thank you.

      • Jay's avatar
        Jay
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        2 years ago

        Are you able to delete a subfolder and then gradually delete files in batches to see if this helps?

About Delete, edit, and organize

Solve issues with deleting, editing, and organizing files and folders in your Dropbox account with support 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!