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Forum Discussion
Dropbox uses a ton of hard drive space despite most files being online only
So, I've put ALL my files on online-only because my Mac was running out of space.
In my Mac settings, Dropbox takes up 108 GB currently. Once I actually look at what folders are taking up space it'...
Is it possible that the hidden Dropbox cache folder is taking up space on your machine?
Try deleting the folder using these steps to see if this helps.
Pictures in Dropbox folder. As you'll they are all set to online only
Screenshot of properties...
- Nancy
Dropbox Staff
Thanks for that! Now, regarding the first screenshot, it looks like you’re seeing the grey X icon, which isn’t generated by Dropbox, but by your OS instead. The icon that indicates that your files are online-only is a grey cloud icon instead (also mentioned in the link I’ve attached above).
Your second screenshot shows that your files currently take up 0 bytes from your hard drive, so it looks like they’ve already been set as online-only indeed, and the feature’s working properly.
Are you seeing somewhere specific that there are files/folders within your Dropbox folder, taking up a lot of space from your hard drive?
I really appreciate the help, Nancy. As I said, other than the OS and the Program files folder, I am not aware of anything being stored locally on my C drive.
- Jay
Hi John1957, could you try quitting the OneDrive program completely, to see what the grey X icon means, since it is conflicting with the Dropbox icons. This could mean that the Dropbox files aren't all online-only.
If you right click the Dropbox folder and choose Properties, what is the size on disk? A screenshot of this would help greatly.
Hi Jay. I quit Dropbox using the right click from the icon in the system tray and the grey X is still showing on the files in the folders. Properties on the files themselves, show the original file size and "Size on Disk: 0 Bytes" still.
- Nancy
Hi again, John! Can you please try quitting OneDrive instead, like Jay suggested? Do you keep seeing the grey Xs even then?
Are you still seeing 0bytes, even if you right click on the Dropbox folder directly, and go to its Properties?
I quit OneDrive and the grey Xs are still there. It made zero difference to the disk space.
All the files are still showing Zero Bytes on the C drive. I can't believe it's just me with this issue. It has always been this way with Dropbox.
- Jay
In order to assist further, please could you directly right click the Dropbox folder itself, not individual files, then choose properties, and attach the screenshot showing how much the Dropbox folder is taking up on your machine.
- Jay
According to that image and the size on disk, the folder appears to take up just under 1 GB of space on your computer. Should the folder take up less than 1 GB of space?
