Hi All - I recently updated Dropbox and in doing so, it moved the location of the dropbox folder … It looks like Backblaze no longer backs this folder up… Has anyone found a solution? or am I just missing something?
Just wondering what is the “new” Dropbox folder full path name? Is it on the BackBlaze exclusion list? Can you remove it from the BackBlaze exclusion list if it is? If not, what happens when you try?
It’s in /Users/XXXX/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox
So it’s “hidden” … I can’t seem to see how to get it off the exclusion list.
Can’t you tell Dropbox to store the data somewhere BackBlaze can see it?
I don’t think so. We use Microsoft OneDrive at work and they moved to the new cloud storage option a few weeks ago. Looking in my home folder there is now just an alias to the actual location of my OneDrive folder. I think using the new API the folder has to be stored in CloudStorage folder. It certainly seemed to be the case for OneDrive. The files went from being stored in the root of my user folder to leaving just an alias behind after upgrading the OneDrive syncing app.
This is correct — Apple has forced all cloud providers to use the new File Provider API from macOS 12.3 onwards so Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and possibly others have been updated to use the Library/CloudStorage folder structure. I don’t think you can change this anymore, in fact it’s probably Backblaze that should acknowledge the new state of things as to where user content is now also stored and update their app.
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@dario - That was my suspicion … Ive contacted backblaze and asked… in the meantime, I have a CCC back up set up for my dropbox folder
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I’ve just checked and Backblaze is backing my OneDrive up from it’s new ~/Library/CloudStorage folder just fine.
Backblaze should back your Library folder up as it contains a lot of stuff you would want to recover in a disaster.
As per @Robejazz the folder might have moved outside the inclusion folders of Backblaze.
I am using Maestral to sync Dropbox and placed the sync folder in the Home folder. Have had no issues backing up since. There are a few drawbacks to Maestral sync vs Dropbox, but the benefits win.
Can also confirm what aardy said – I checked Backblaze and my library folder is backed up, including the CloudStorage folder and its contents which is all of my online/cloud sync services.
I don’t use Dropbox specifically but am confident it will be there.
Not directly related to Backblaze but as this is a significant system change, backing up /Library/CloudStorage is a tricky business.
Support pages for Carbon Copy Cloner explain why and what the issues are. The rest of Library is not the issue and you need to have this backed up, but this particular folder, however, is problematic when it comes to placeholder files (i.e. files not fully downloaded from the cloud which may result in a complete mess and even loss of data should such backup be restored, and each cloud service seems to treat these placeholder files differently).
https://bombich.com/kb/ccc6/limitations-online-only-placeholder-files
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Yes, makes total sense. If you expect to be able to locally backup the contents of your cloud sync service you have to set it to keep a local copy of the files. Same thing with iCloud Photos.
I have always treated my Mac as the one place everything should be. Sure, files also exist in OneDrive, iCloud, etc. but I think it would be unwise to rely on that. The only exception I make is for my work OneDrive where the total size of everything is larger than one can buy an internal drive for – it is naturally their problem to back it up so I don’t have to care.
So, to that end I have been buying Macs with enough storage space to keep everything locally from where I can of course also reliably back it up. This has not been cheap, but I sleep well at night.
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Does anybody know if this affects Arq as well?
Do you mean is Arq unable to back up a file that is in cloud storage somewhere but not on your Mac?
What we have learned in this thread is that files have to be stored in their entirety on your Mac for backup software to be able to copy them. Files can also be stored in a cloud somewhere, but there must be a local copy.
I’ve seen nothing to make me believe that Arq can chase down a stub file on your Mac and find it and copy it from its home in some cloud.
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