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guruuno's avatar
guruuno
Helpful | Level 6
4 months ago

Can't Backup an external drive

Dropbox Sync Errors I have been attempting to sync an external disk for weeks now, with no success.  Uninstalled, reinstalled (Dropbox), tried on a Mac, tried on Windows 10, and ultimately, got the OS to see the external 4TB disk on a Windows installation, however, do not see any success in uploading the data to the cloud, it just keeps showing the repetitive "updating dbxignore" updating 3 files, 4 files, dbxignore, etc., and if I wanted to "drag" ALL the folders from the external drive into Dropbox, it overfills the capacity of the resident OS disk, how does one get the data there and not while putting it there fill the local disk?  Multiple issues, hours and days, failed syncs, looking for simple, 1-2-3, put data from external disk on Dropbox and walk away, no babysitting, folder by folder procedure, and or getting stuck...Am I doing something wrong or is this a limitation of the software?  Even if I wanted to put ALL the data on the external disk and make the external disk the Dropbox location, I get messages about disabling, and turning it off, which I do, but I still cannot succeed.  Why is this so hard?

Desktop
Dropbox Backup
Sync
  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    4 months ago

    Hi there @guruuno - sorry to hear about this and thanks for letting us know about the troubleshooting steps you've attempted so far.

     

    Could you just clarify what version of the Dropbox desktop app you're using and if you have reached out to our support team about this?

     

    Also, have you tried fixing your hardlinks and permissions since you first noticed this?

     

    Thanks!

    • guruuno's avatar
      guruuno
      Helpful | Level 6
      4 months ago

      The latest version is available, I can provide it next, but are you kidding?  Is this application just not supposed to "work" or are you saying I have to open a support ticket, go through multiple e-troubleshooting issues, etc., etc.?  Please clarify!!

      • Hannah's avatar
        Hannah
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        4 months ago

        Hey @guruuno, Walter is asking you some basic questions, so we can gather some info, in order to troubleshoot the issue accordingly.

         

        Keep in mind that you can back up the following types of external hard drives to Dropbox Backup:

         

        • On Windows:  NTFS, exFAT, FAT32
        • On Mac: HFS+, APFS, exFAT, FAT32

         

        Is this the case for your external drive?

         

        Also, does restarting your computer help at all?

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