Moving files from Dropbox back onto PC

[mmday97]

Hi everyone. I wish there was a phone number to call for this but oh well. So my issue is, is that many files that were associated with my Student DropBox account became inaccessible on my PC. I downloaded all the files that are stored on my account (resulting in copies of the original files) and the moved the files from the Dropbox folder on my PC to their original places on my PC (in My Documents). The files that I moved from Dropbox back to My Documents are able to be opened now. However, the "original" files that were on the PC still cannot be opened. I wanted to get all the files from Dropbox back onto my computer, and then delete my account. After moving all the files from the Dropbox folder on my PC to My Documents under "This PC", am I okay to delete Dropbox, or is there more I need to do? Screenshots attached for clarity.

Here is a screenshot of the Dropbox folder.

 Here are the original files under "My Documents". The other "My Documents" folder is what I downloaded from Dropbox. The original files have Xs on them and they can't be opened.

Here are the folders and files I moved from the Dropbox folder to "My Documents". These ones are available. Should I delete the original files that are now inaccessible?

[Walter]

Hey @mmday97, sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Can you please clarify if you have two separate Dropbox accounts or if you're referring to just one, namely your Student account?  

Based on your screenshots, it seems that your files are still being synced by the Dropbox desktop app.  Would you like to stop syncing and uninstall the app completely from your computer?

Let me know when you get the chance and we'll take it from there. 

[mmday97]

Hi Walter! Thank you for responding. 

So I only ever made a Student account when I was still a student at Arizona State University. I graduated in May of 2022, and my account was suspended about a month ago because I'm no longer a student. I was able to get the account reinstated (lasting for 2 weeks), and I just want to take everything from Dropbox and move it back onto my PC so that I can officially delete my account and not worry about any files being permanently lost. I moved everything from the Dropbox folder on my computer to "This PC" so now there are no longer files in my Dropbox folder. I just wanted to be sure that was enough to keep the files from being lost so I can stop syncing Dropbox and uninstall it. So yes, I just want the files back on my computer, for them to be accessible without needing Dropbox, and to uninstall it.

[Jay]

Hi @mmday97, if the files aren't showing the green icon with a white tick, as shown here, then it means the files are not on your computer fully. 

You'll need to mark them as available offline first, allow them to sync so that they all show that icon. Afterwards, you can copy or move them out of the Dropbox folder to another location on your computer.

I'd also recommend disabling the computer backup feature to prevent any potential issues in the future.

[mmday97]

I did that, and only some of the folders aren't showing up with the checkmark like you said.

The files that I moved from Dropbox into my Documents are available and they have no icon next to them at all. Are all these folders and files safe if I uninstall Dropbox?

[Jay]

Have you disabled the computer backup feature yet? This would ensure files would return to being local on your machine for any files in those system folders added to the backup.

[mmday97]

I thought I did, but I'm not sure if I did it correctly? Would you kindly take a screenshot of where I'm supposed to go in order to disable it, just so I know for sure?

[Nancy]

Hi from me as well, @mmday97. 

Can you please click here and send us a screenshot of what you see on that page?

We can guide you from there.

[mmday97]

Thank you Nancy. So here is the order in which I followed the advice for going to the Sync and Backup settings. I'm a very literal person, so not seeing a tab that directly said "Sync and Backup" threw me off a bit!

And also according to the Dropbox folder on my computer, it says that all of these files are available offline...but most of the original files still can't be accessed, just the ones that I moved from Dropbox to My Documents".

[Jay]

It looks like the backup is disabled, however, you might have older backups still visible in your account.

Try marking everything as available offline, and then drag it to another folder on your machine outside of the Dropbox folder. Don't move them to the Downloads, Downloads or Desktop folder for now.