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Forum Discussion
How to remove desktop from dropbox
Somehow, all links on my laptop Desktop were copied to a Dropbox folder called "Desktop"; if I did it, it was accidental 
I don't know why I need that and when I delete the Desktop folder in Dropbox, all the icons disappear from the computer desktop. I assume some kind of sync issue.
What I am doing wrong? I only use Dropbox for sharing files so this is a new problem for me.
Thanks
Hi, Me also facing the same problem, it's a very hatted feature introduced by Dropbox. Due to that problem, I left dropbox and shifted on One drive.
For years I preferred dropbox to any other cloud service mostly becasue it is a stand alone service and user friendly with simple sync settings. but lately with these new features like syncing desktop I am changing my mind. it is not so straight forward to unsync it. it is frustrating.
Can you help me how can I remove my desktop from dropbox?
- Daphne
Dropbox Staff
Thanks for joining the topic adela doble!
You can disable the computer backup by following the steps listed at the bottom of this article.
Let me know how it goes!
- Walter
Hey there ChantDad, how are you today?
As I'm not sure I follow, could you elaborate on this and share a screenshot so that I can get a better understanding of the matter at hand?
Also, what are you trying to accomplish eventually?
Any other info you can provide will be much appreciated. Thanks!
Walter,
Don't know if this is anymore clearer:
My Dropbox contains a folder called Desktop which I did not intentionally create.
In that folder are copies of all the links and URL's present on the my computer's Windows' Desktop.
If I delete items or the entire folder in Dropbox, they are also deleted from the Windows Desktop.
I guess it's not really a big deal but it doesn't "feel" right to me. If I decide to delete my entire Dropbox account, I assume I will lose all my Windows Desktop links and that would not be good.
I want Dropbox to just be a file sharing medium and not a back-up mechanism.
Thanks
- Walter
Thanks for the additional information ChantDad - much appreciated.
As I'm not sure how you did this in the first time, could you try just unlinking and re-linking your account on the affected computer? Have you checked the syncing icons on these folders to see which one is syncing?
If you copied or moved anything inside your Dropbox folder that you don't need there, simply copy/move it back. Your Dropbox folder is just a folder on your hard drive - with syncing capabilities that is.
In any case, please let me know what you find!
FIXED -
Messed with this for a few hours then finally discovered the fix
If you want to delete a PC- (desktop) folder from your Dropbox account file list, sign in to dropbox, > settings > security, then unlink the devices that are listed under: "These devices are linked to your personal Dropbox account." The folder removes itself.
I have the same problem. Dropbox has uploaded my Desktop folder without my authorization, and I can't find a way to remove it from Dropbox without losing my desktop.
Having the same problem here. Tonight DropBox added my entire Desktop on a new laptop I am setting up. It moved all shortcuts, folders and files on my desktop to it's own folder. I have tried unlinking it with no effect. If I delete any of the files from the DropBox folder they dissapear completely from my computer. I also tried moving the files back to the desktop but it won't allow that since it is the same destination.
I have been a DropBox user for many years with no real issues. I hope this gets figured out soon.
Thanks
I believe that I may have found at least a work around for this. It appears to have worked.
It's pretty simple. Go to the DropBox folder and just copy the Desktop folder and all it's contents to another folder you set up on the same drive. It will not allow you to copy it back to the desktop since it will say it is copying back to the same location or something to that effect.
After I copied all the contents elsewhere I was able to copy the entire file and contents of the desktop back directly to the desktop and it repopulated everything as far as I can tell. I'm not sure why this happened. I am just getting used to a very finicky touchpad and it's possible that I dragged and dropped the desktop to the DropBox folder inadvertantly. However, there was no pop up warnings etc. It just started copying thousands of files over until my DropBox was nearly full and had no way to abort the process. Hope this works for others!
