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Re: Incomplete syncing

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My files don't always to my online Dropbox account, even when the app says it's up to date.

TomFuller
Helpful | Level 7
September
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On my Macbook M1 Pro, I add files to the local hard drive, but they do not always appear on my Internet dropbox account or on my iPhone. Sometimes I "touch" them with a slight modification, and that gets them to sync, but even this does guarantee that they will appear on my account or iPhone. 

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TomFuller
Helpful | Level 7
a month ago
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SUCCESS!

I finally figured out the problem and solved it! It is a very subtle "bug" in Dropbox. If a file is copied into a folder under Dropbox control, but its name is changed within a couple seconds, Dropbox loses track of it and does not sync it. I have a program that produces text files that are always named "notes.txt". I copy these into my Dropbox folder and immediately give them more useful names. If I do so too quickly, Dropbox "loses" them. A work-around is to re-name them before placing them in the Dropbox folder. Another work-around for files already "lost" in the Dropbox folder is to slightly edit (I add a space character) and save them. Then Dropbox is suddenly aware of them and syncs them. Both work-arounds work perfectly.

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Mark
Super User II
September
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What does Dropbox say if you mouse over its icon? Are the files stored in Dropbox on a local drive with no symlinks etc.?


 


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TomFuller
Helpful | Level 7
September
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It says "up to date" and it will do so even when some files are missing. 

 

I just learned a new word today "symlink." I don't think I've ever done such a thing. How can I check?

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Walter
Dropbox Staff
September
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Hey @TomFuller - could you clarify your device's OS version and the version and status of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your menu bar?

 

As for checking for symlinks on your device, you can find out more with an internet search. 

Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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TomFuller
Helpful | Level 7
September
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MacOS: Sonoma 14.6.1

Dropbox: 207.4.5821

 

And I do not use symbolic links, internal or external. But I would still like to be sure that all my ~quarter million files made it to the Dropbox cloud. 

Thanks!

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Nancy
Dropbox Staff
September
Go to solution

@TomFuller, out of curiosity, have you tried reinstalling the Dropbox app, since the issue emerged? I’d like to see if that’ll help at all.

Nancy
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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TomFuller
Helpful | Level 7
September
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I have not. I'll try that. BTW, I have Parallels on my Mac as I work in both Mac and Windows. When I last installed Dropbox (18 months ago), there was no Dropbox version that would run in the Windows virtual machine (because my MacBook M1 Pro has Apple silicon). Is there now a version that can do so? (I just run Dropbox under MacOS but would like to have it in both environments.)    Thanks!

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Jay
Dropbox Staff
September
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Hi @TomFuller, the Dropbox desktop application now supports ARM processors, so the program should run in the VM.

Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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TomFuller
Helpful | Level 7
September
Go to solution

Ah. Good news. Thanks!!

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TomFuller
Helpful | Level 7
September
Go to solution

As to the question of missing files, I have re-installed Dropbox and will just have to watch for missing files. Until recently I had a very limited Dropbox account (~ 5gb), so there were only a few thousand files. Now I have a 3 tb account and something like a quarter million files. It will be hard to see if one is missing. That's why I raised this query.

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