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Forum Discussion
Missing recent folders with new laptop after using Time Machine.
I've had a dropbox basic (free) account for years. I got a new Macbook this weekend and backed everything up via Time Machine, but did not restore from TM because there was a lot of junk on the old machine.
However - after re-installing Dropbox (and using Dropbox on the web) - I'm missing a few vital folders. Does Dropbox automatically delete folders if you are over the space limits? I never received notification of such. From going through the forum it seems perhaps even if you exceed the space limits, files/folders are saved locally? But when I tried to restore Dropbox from Time Machine on the new laptop, the folders are still missing. I assume i could see them on the old machine because they were preserved locally, but when I got a new computer, they are now gone? is there ANY way to retrieve them? Some important stuff was there.
Thank you.
3 Replies
- Rich
Super User II
... i assumed i could access all my Dropbox folders online ... it became apparent that a bunch of my "newer" folders were no longer there.
If you exceeded the account size limit, all syncing would have stopped. This means any files that you continued to add to your local Dropbox folder would have never made it to the Dropbox server as long as you were over your quota. You can confirm this by looking for evidence of those files on your Events page. If the files ever made it to Dropbox, there would be an event recorded for them.
Hi Megan,
Thanks for weighing in.This is what I think happened:
- I exceeded the basic/free account size limit.
- I did NOT get notified (unless it went to spam) that this was the case and folders would be deleted.
- Since the "excess" files/folders were still showing up for me locally, I didn't realize there was a problem.- When I backed everything up i assumed i could access all my Dropbox folders online - but when I got the new laptop (running Sequoia 15.4.1) it became apparent that a bunch of my "newer" folders were no longer there.
- I tried both installing the Dropbox application from the Time Machine backup AND installing a brand new desktop version - but the files are still missing. I'm concerned that they are gone forever.
- Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey there, dcjoan, thanks for posting here!
When you visit your Dropbox account online, are you able to see your folders there?
If your Dropbox folder becomes over quota then syncing stops, which might be the case on the old device. Dropbox will only sync until you hit your quota, so if you are over quota all that should happen is that Dropbox will not sync any new files. Would you mind checking your plan page, and let me know what it reports?
Could you clarify your device's OS version and send us a screenshot of the desktop app's exact status as shown in your menu bar at the moment if you managed to install it properly on your computer?
Also, instead of using the time machine backup, do you get the same results if you create a new OS profile?
Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!
