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Forum Discussion

TimP's avatar
TimP
Helpful | Level 5
6 years ago

What's the best way to back up the Dropbox folder if I don't have enough space to sync all files?

Hello, I'm using Dropbox Business with Smart Sync. I would like to brckup my entire dropbox to an external hardware (alternative ideas welcome). According to Dropbox support I would have to: ...
Desktop
dropbox business
Security
Team admin
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    6 years ago
    I appreciate it that you circled back to us here Tim (TimP), let me clarify matters in a bit more detail for you below!
     
    I simply don't have enough space. I was hoping there is a way to download the entire content from the website.
     
    Please bear in mind that by suggesting the Dropbox folder move to your external hard drive, I meant the remaining folder after unlinking (which is just a simple folder as any other on your OS). This essentially implies that if you had chosen to exclude any of your content from syncing to your desktop, this will also be eliminated when you move files/ folder from your internal to your external drive. If you decide to follow my advice, it will be the same as if you downloaded your content in smaller chunks (i.e. via the website). 
     
    In other words, you can sync your files to your desktop utilizing Selective Sync; once you get all folder structures you’d need to backup fully synced, you can unlink & then safely move the folders to your external hard drive to back them up. 
     
    From there, you can re-install the desktop application anew changing the Selective Sync settings in order to get going with the second backup batch &c. 
     
    I hope that this illustrates my point a bit more clearly; please let me know if you have any follow-up questions! 
Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
Hey TSD2, CEHTeam & TimP, if I may chime in on your discussion, it would be worth noting that you’re seeing your files reverting back to Local, as the third-party apps you’re utilizing may need to access the content you’ve previously set as Online-only thus triggering the recall. 
 
The placeholder files you’re seeing contain only basic information for your files within Dropbox which aren’t decoded in other apps you may be using, as the latter most likely require that the files are physically present in order to work efficiently. 
 
While I can’t recommend any third-party applications on my end, I’m always here to further advise you on your best next steps depending on your current circumstances. Thanks! 
TSD2's avatar
TSD2
Helpful | Level 6
6 years ago

Hi Jane,

Yes, I understand about the place holder being local and the real file on the dropbox cloud.

SyncBackPro logs on to dropbox cloud ( once it has permission) and can perform its backup function between dropbox cloud and an external hard drive. 

I assume that many dropbox smart sync uses rely completely on dropbox for their smartsynced file security. I am sure dropbox does a great job of backing up the system, but **bleep** happens. I have recently had to retrieve files from 14 years ago that relates to a problem worth $1.4 M. I could do that because I have good backups. It would be great if dropbox provided this functionally to its customers.

I love Dropbox though and am pleased to have found a way to continue using it.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    6 years ago
    I see now TSD2 & thanks for explaining matters in such detail for me; that’s some great feedback for our team devs & I’ve made sure to include your request in my report internally for future iterations of the Dropbox desktop app.
     
    It’s very constructive to follow your train of thought for a while & see how you’re using Dropbox in your workflow; now that you’ve put me in the picture, I can also make sure that your post here is submitted for review to the right pair of eyes. 
     
    Last but not least, it always makes us equally happy to read your 💙 positive comments. Happy Dropboxing ahead & please feel free to ping us here for more #DropboxTips&Tricks or just in case you have any observations in the future & it’ll be a pleasure to work with you again. Take care until then!
  • CEHTeam's avatar
    CEHTeam
    Helpful | Level 6
    6 years ago

    Do you happen to know if there is an option like SyncBackPro for mac? FileZilla Pro does for Google Drive what SBP does for Dropbox with Windows.  Would love to solve this problem!

    While I work on a Mac, we do have a PC in our home. I'm actually contemplating getting a 4TB HDD added to our main PC strictly to have the full contents of Dropbox downloaded and kept locally there as a backup.  Wish Dropbox made it easier but I love it and want to use it.  Just have to figure out to have local backups copies of my data too.

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