Dropbox question

[blue_skies]

I have had dropbox installed on my desktop for a long time. I just received a new laptop and was thinking of installing dropbox on it and syncing to the same account.

I think I remember reading a post on this forum from someone who had files deleted unintentionally. I can't find the post (I thought I saved it) but I think it was because an additional device was linked up that didn't have the files -- so dropbox deleted these files in the original computer.

Is anyone familiar with this (or something similar)?

Any cautions that I should know about when syncing another device to the same dropbox account?

I want to make sure I don't accidentally delete my stored data.

[pidgeon92]

Never have I heard of such a thing. I have installed dropbox on all of my computers. Haven't lost any data yet.

[odiakkoh]

The only time I lost stuff was when I started messing with the contents of a folder before it finished syncing.

[blue_skies]

That's good to know. I sure wish I could find the post to which I was referring. I just remember that it made an impression at the time and I ended up backing up everything important in another location.

[Blossom]

What it will do when you install it on your new PC is add the files from the cloud onto your new PC. You can do a selective sync if you only want to certain files to go on there.

Like I have my 10GB Calibre Library on DB and Desktop but I don't want it on my netbook. I have it set in the advanced settings of the program not to sync that folder to the netbook. I've never lost files yet.

[piperclassique]

That said, it is still a good idea to have a backup offline somewhere. Dropbox is great, but servers can go down, firms close. Fires and floods happen. A terabyte usb hard disk costs around 100 euros. I back up to that once a week.

[SeaKing]

Backups are absolutely necessary.

I admit some frustration that the automatic ones are not as easy as they advertise.
I keep finding manual backups of whole directories are easier.

[Cdesja5]

Originally Posted by blue_skies

I have had dropbox installed on my desktop for a long time. I just received a new laptop and was thinking of installing dropbox on it and syncing to the same account.

I think I remember reading a post on this forum from someone who had files deleted unintentionally. I can't find the post (I thought I saved it) but I think it was because an additional device was linked up that didn't have the files -- so dropbox deleted these files in the original computer.

Is anyone familiar with this (or something similar)?

Any cautions that I should know about when syncing another device to the same dropbox account?

I want to make sure I don't accidentally delete my stored data.

That won't happen unless someone "deletes" folders or files from the Dropbox folder itself, whether it is on the PC hard drive, the laptop hard drive, or on a device such as a smartphone or tablet. If a file or folder is deleted, either from the Dropbox folder on the Web or one of the ones on a device/computer, then that file or folder in the Dropbox folder on all the other devices (using the same login or "shared" with someone else) are deleted as well.
I have a phone, a tablet, a netbook and a laptop and have never lost any data when adding a new device. I have however lost some when someone "sharing" a folder with me decided to clean up and make some room on their computer by deleting the shared folder in Dropbox on their hard drive. Luckily, I always have another copy backed up elsewhere...

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by Blossom

What it will do when you install it on your new PC is add the files from the cloud onto your new PC. You can do a selective sync if you only want to certain files to go on there.

Like I have my 10GB Calibre Library on DB and Desktop but I don't want it on my netbook. I have it set in the advanced settings of the program not to sync that folder to the netbook. I've never lost files yet.

Hey Blossom. I'm glad I'll be able to do a selective sync. My hdd on my laptop is half the size of my desktop, so I definitely don't want my Calibre library on it.

Originally Posted by SeaKing

Backups are absolutely necessary.

I admit some frustration that the automatic ones are not as easy as they advertise.
I keep finding manual backups of whole directories are easier.

I think so too. And manual backups make it so much easier to access individual files.

Originally Posted by Cdesja5

That won't happen unless someone "deletes" folders or files from the Dropbox folder itself, whether it is on the PC hard drive, the laptop hard drive, or on a device such as a smartphone or tablet. If a file or folder is deleted, either from the Dropbox folder on the Web or one of the ones on a device/computer, then that file or folder in the Dropbox folder on all the other devices (using the same login or "shared" with someone else) are deleted as well.
I have a phone, a tablet, a netbook and a laptop and have never lost any data when adding a new device. I have however lost some when someone "sharing" a folder with me decided to clean up and make some room on their computer by deleting the shared folder in Dropbox on their hard drive. Luckily, I always have another copy backed up elsewhere...

That's good to know. Maybe that is what I remember reading - that a folder got deleted on one device and then dropbox automatically deleted it on the other device even though the person wanted and needed the folder. That sounds familiar.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by blue_skies

Maybe that is what I remember reading - that a folder got deleted on one device and then dropbox automatically deleted it on the other device even though the person wanted and needed the folder. That sounds familiar.

If that does happen, you can undelete the files at the Dropbox website, it keeps an archive of all deleted files.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

Backups are absolutely necessary.

I admit some frustration that the automatic ones are not as easy as they advertise.
I keep finding manual backups of whole directories are easier.

Agreed. My search for the holy grail of a good backup app is yet to be satisfied. You'd think it would be such a simple thing to produce.

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by Synamon

If that does happen, you can undelete the files at the Dropbox website, it keeps an archive of all deleted files.

That's great to know. Thank you Synamon!

[VaultBoy]

Originally Posted by Synamon

If that does happen, you can undelete the files at the Dropbox website, it keeps an archive of all deleted files.

Found this out myself when I didn't realize what folder I was deleting stuff from. Panicked because I deleted some work files, and later restored them through the site.

Useful. But, I must admit that it does kinda disturb me a bit. What gets deleted doesn't actually get deleted...

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by VaultBoy

Found this out myself when I didn't realize what folder I was deleting stuff from. Panicked because I deleted some work files, and later restored them through the site.

Useful. But, I must admit that it does kinda disturb me a bit. What gets deleted doesn't actually get deleted...

It only keeps a snapshot of activities for 30 days, I'm not sure if you can restore deleted files beyond that. There is a way to permanently delete the files if you are worried, but I never bother.

[1611mac]

People most often lose files when they share a folder with someone else. The other person grabs the files out of dropbox and moves them (or deletes them.) This of course, deletes the files on ALL computers Sharing that folder. A shared folder is just that. Shared! All owners can add, delete, modify, etc. Great for collaboration. Just make sure all shared participants knows what a "shared" folder is!