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Bela_'s avatar
Bela_
Explorer | Level 4
3 years ago

Unable to delete the Dropbox folder from File Explorer, after uninstalling Dropbox desktop app

Hello

 

I decided I no longer want to use Dropbox as my cloud storage service and in this process uninstalled Dropbox Desktop from my computer.

But I don't seem to be able to. The folder changes it's icon, after uninstalling Dropbox Desktop (from the dropbox icon to a standard folder icon), but I'm not able to delete the folder or move it.

 

Also, when I copy a file path from file explorer it keeps on adding the Dropbox extension (the main reason why I decided to quit my Dropbox membership), for example: C:\Users\USERNAME\Dropbox\My PC (A-CNDXXXXX)\Documents\Ex_Files_Data_Methods\exampledocument.docx 

instead of simply: C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Ex_Files_Data_Methods\exampledocument.docx


I simply want to disconnect my device from Dropbox and get rid off any connection with Dropbox, without deleting any files from my computer or Dropbox online. 

Any help is much appreciated!
Best regards
Bela

Delete
Desktop
Dropbox Backup
Uninstall
  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    3 years ago

    Not a problem, Bela!

     

    You can follow these steps to see if you can restore your desktop folders to their original locations:

     

    1. Right click the Desktop/Downloads/Documents folders
    2. Choose "Properties"
    3. Go to the "Locations" tab
    4. Choose to reset to default location. 

     

    And can you check your connected devices in your account settings, to see if the particular computer still appears to be linked to your Dropbox account?

     

    If it is, delete it from there and try to delete the Dropbox folder again, to see if that helps at all.

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    3 years ago

    Hey Bela_, thanks for joining us on the Dropbox Community.

     

    Let's take things one at a time. 

     

    So firstly, it seems you had enabled our backup feature on your Dropbox application, that's why the paths of your desktop folders changed and are in Dropbox now.

     

    Do you remember disabling backup before uninstalling Dropbox from your computer?

     

    And also, why are you not able to delete the Dropbox folder, are you getting some kind of error message?

     

    Keep me posted.

    • Bela_'s avatar
      Bela_
      Explorer | Level 4
      3 years ago

      Hey Hannah 

      Thanks for the swift response!

      Yes, I think that's correct! I think it's actually quite the amazing feature, but I also ran in a lot of issues, when trying to access or saving files on my computer, because of the changes in the path link.

       

      I don't really remember disabling the backup function, during the uninstallation of Dropbox Desktop. Do you think this is, what is causing the issue?

       

      When I uninstalled Dropboy Desktop the folder icon changed from   to . When I tried to delete it completely, I got a message informing me, that the data in the folder is too big to be deleted. Probably because it is kind of a backup of my whole system...

      Thanks again for your help and best regards

       

       

      • Hannah's avatar
        Hannah
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        3 years ago

        Not a problem, Bela!

         

        You can follow these steps to see if you can restore your desktop folders to their original locations:

         

        1. Right click the Desktop/Downloads/Documents folders
        2. Choose "Properties"
        3. Go to the "Locations" tab
        4. Choose to reset to default location. 

         

        And can you check your connected devices in your account settings, to see if the particular computer still appears to be linked to your Dropbox account?

         

        If it is, delete it from there and try to delete the Dropbox folder again, to see if that helps at all.

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