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Forum Discussion
Problem with backup (folders not in default location)
Long Story - Short Version New pc/laptop. Installed 2nd hard drive/ssd Moved location of ALL my folders (public and private) to 2nd drive. Path D:\Users\XXXX(name of user)\folder(music, d...
pcuser wrote:
... i just point it at my folders and BOOM! backed up. This bit of software cant even backup if the files are not where DropBox programmers have decided they must be.
That's not how the backup feature works with Dropbox. It doesn't back up those folders from their original location and just copy the data to your Dropbox account. It MOVES those folders into your Dropbox folder so they sync like any other file or folder in your Dropbox. It can only move them into Dropbox if they exist in their original location.
I uninstalled Dropbox Backup yesterday (don't ask) and everything went well. I have always been able to see my Dropbox Backup files in the Dropbox folder (as hidden files). I reinstalled today and again everything went OK. However, I cannot see those files in the Dropbox folder any more, not even as hidden files. A bit of research suggests that they should be in Library/Cloud Storage. They are not. In fact, they don't seem to be anywhere. Where are they? I am running Ventura 13.1 on my 2020 iMac.
- Megan
Dropbox Staff
Hi, Megan
I re-installed (164.4.7914) today but when I uninstalled I didn't remove any settings as I had every intention of reinstalling and am busy backing up the usual folders (Desktop, Documents etc.) and all seems to be going well. It would appear that I when uninstalled I had been using a previous version of Dropbox which caused a relocation of the files I am backing up to Dropbox folder but hidden and links were maintained to my User/folder. The files I am backing up now appear to be remaining untouched in their original location i.e., in the User/ folder, but I am led to believe they should be being copied or moved (which?) to User/Library/Cloud Storage but they haven't (It's empty!). My files are being copied to the website. Can you reassure me that the files I have in my User/ folder are completely safe?
BTW I didn't receive any warning that such an upgrade was about to happen. Hmm. Also, in Backup my Mac is now called Mac (1) and is that name is unchangeable which is very irritating!
Do you think that a complete uninstall is advised and then a restart from scratch. If so, could you please advise me on how to do that.
- Jay
Hi jhedleyj, I wouldn't recommend uninstalling and reinstalling the app as of yet, as it is possible that the Dropbox desktop application is performing a migration to the new location.
Give it at least 24 hours for the Dropbox desktop application to finish indexing and syncing files, to see if there are any other changes in the location of the Dropbox folder.
