Need to delete the Desktop Folder Dropbox duped

December 28, 2014 8:08 AM

Windows 7 (Service Pack 1) 64-bit PC, with 8gigs of Ram, 250 gig hard drive. Had Dropbox installed, with the Dropbox folder stored in the My Documents folder. At some unknown point, TWO Desktop folders appear in on my computer, the first in the normal location (User>Desktop) and the other in Dropbox (User>My Documents>Dropbox>Desktop).

Both have exactly the same content. Both have the Windows assigned folder icon for the Desktop folder.

I've uninstalled Dropbox completely and deleted everything from the folder except the Desktop folder.

I do not want my PC's desktop folder mirroried in the Dropbox folder. I can not delete Desktop folder from the Dropbox folder because...it's the Desktop folder.

How can I delete the desktop folder from the Dropbox Folder? I've copied the stuff from the Desktop onto a server, so I can restore the things. Just need to delete this folder from Dropbox

posted by sock, the puppet to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

Best answer: My guess is that at some point, you performed a procedure that was similar to the one outlined here (it's a LifeHacker article that describes how to use DropBox to sync desktop folders between two computers). So you now have to un-do it. There is a procedure described here that seems to describe what you need to do.

Edit: I'm actually not sure now whether my advice is helpful, since you seem to have somehow cloned your desktop folder rather than moved it to a new location.
posted by alex1965 at 8:23 AM on December 28, 2014

Try changing the dropbox folder in the dropbox application settings; set it to a new, third, and most importantly non-special location. By non-special, I mean not protected by Windows: no Program Files* or Users, just a spare location.

After it moves all the files, check the first two, and delete them both if necessary (and possible).

After that, use the same procedure to move it back to where you want it, apparently Users\Sockthepuppet\My Documents.
posted by Sunburnt at 8:24 AM on December 28, 2014

Response by poster: Can you define or suggest a location "not protected by Windows"? I'm at a lost as what that means or how to figure it out, isn't everything protected by Windows in my User folder, in some way?
posted by sock, the puppet at 8:41 AM on December 28, 2014

Easiest thing is to create a folder in the root of your C:, C:\Fix (or something), and put it in that folder. Don't try to put the Dropbox directly in the root of C:\.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:05 AM on December 28, 2014

Response by poster: Edit: I'm actually not sure now whether my advice is helpful, since you seem to have somehow cloned your desktop folder rather than moved it to a new location.

Actually, this worked, as once I clicked on the Location Properties for the Desktop Folder, it said it was being stored in the Dropbox Folder. I clicked "Choose Default" and it copied everything to the the default location (User>Desktop) and I was able to delete the old folder from Desktop.

Easiest thing is to create a folder in the root of your C:, C:\Fix (or something), and put it in that folder. Don't try to put the Dropbox directly in the root of C:\.

So go to the C drive, make a folder and then assign the Dropbox folder to folder I just created?
posted by sock, the puppet at 9:25 AM on December 28, 2014

So go to the C drive, make a folder and then assign the Dropbox folder to folder I just created?

Yes. It'll probably create it as a subfolder, i.e. c:\Fix\Dropbox -- that's what I had in mind. Windows these days is picky, for good reason, about installers adding to the root folder.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:42 AM on December 28, 2014