8 Fixes: Dropbox Can’t Sync Not Enough Disk Space

• User Case: Can’t Sync for Not Enough Space
• Why Dropbox Can’t Sync Not Enough Disk Space?
• Fix Dropbox Can’t Sync Not Enough Disk Space
• How to Easily Move Files from Dropbox to Another Cloud
• Conclusion

User Case: Can’t Sync for Not Enough Space

Why Dropbox Can’t Sync Not Enough Disk Space?

At the beginning of this post, let’s find out the cause of the “Not enough disk space” error when syncing. There are 9 common culprits:

Fix Dropbox Can’t Sync Not Enough Disk Space

After finding out the causes of your issue, you can try to fix it with the 8 quick solutions.

1. Free Up Local Disk Space

The first consideration is to clean up your disk space if it is really full. There are 3 common ways to free up space.

• Delete unnecessary files or move them to an external drive.
• Empty the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac).
• Uninstall unused apps.

2. Use Selective Sync

Dropbox Selective Sync is a feature that allows you to choose which folders to sync to your computer while keeping the rest stored only in the cloud. To access Selective Sync:

Step 1. Go to Dropbox settings > Preferences > Sync tab.

Step 2. Click Selective Sync and uncheck large folders to prevent them from syncing.

Step 3. This keeps them online without taking up local storage.

3. Enable Smart Sync (For Dropbox Plus, Family, or Business Users)

Dropbox Smart Sync is a feature that lets you access all your Dropbox files from your computer without taking up local storage. It allows you to mark files as Online-Only (stored in the cloud) or Local (available offline).

Step 1. Right-click on large files/folders in the Dropbox folder.

Step 2. Select Smart Sync > Online Only to free up local space.

4. Clear Dropbox Cache

Step 1. Navigate to C:\Users\YourName\Dropbox\.dropbox.cache (Windows) or ~/Dropbox/.dropbox.cache (Mac).

Step 2. Delete all files inside the .dropbox.cache folder.

5. Change the Location of Your Dropbox Folder

If you save Dropbox files in a drive that is full of files, you can move Dropbox to another drive.

To move Dropbox to a drive with more space: Go to Dropbox Preferences > Sync > Move and choose a new location.

6. Check File System and Drive Format

Choice 1: Ensure your drive isn’t formatted as FAT32, which has a 4GB file limit.

Choice 2: Convert it to NTFS (Windows) or APFS (Mac) if needed.

7. Restart Dropbox and Reboot Your Computer

Choice 1: Quit Dropbox and restart it.

Choice 2: If that doesn’t work, restart your computer to refresh system processes.

8. Reinstall Dropbox

If the above fixes cannot resolve your problem, you can uninstall Dropbox, restart your computer, and reinstall the latest version from the Dropbox website.

How to Easily Move Files from Dropbox to Another Cloud

Moving files from Dropbox to another cloud can do you a favor when you need to free up space on Dropbox or use another cloud instead of Dropbox. However, downloading and uploading files is always a tiresome task especially when there are numbers of files to move. Don’t worry! Now you have an automatic way to execute the task: MultCloud Cloud Transfer.

MultCloud is a free cloud management service that offers multiple functions to move files, such as Cloud Transfer, Team Transfer, Cloud Sync, and Cloud Backup. Among the functions, Cloud Transfer is the most ideal one for moving files between clouds.

Rather than the simple transfer process, Cloud Transfer gives more customizable options. For example, you can let the task delete all the transferred files from the source cloud. Moreover, there is a “Filter” feature to help you batch-select the files you do not want to transfer with file extensions. What’s more, you can schedule the task when you need to start it frequently.

You can see an example of moving files from Dropbox to Google Drive by Cloud Transfer.

Step 1. Sign up for an account by clicking “Get started for free” on the MultCloud website.

Step 2. Click “Add Cloud” and the cloud logo to add Dropbox and Google Drive to MultCloud.

Step 3. Select “Cloud Transfer” in the left sidebar and choose Dropbox as the transfer source and Google Drive as the destination.

Step 4. Open “Options” to check the transfer settings and tap “Transfer Now” to start this task.

Conclusion

Now you have 8 fixes to address the “Dropbox can’t sync not enough disk space” error. If they cannot help, it is recommended to contact Dropbox Help and get more specific solutions from Dropbox professionals.

Furthermore, if you want to move files from Dropbox to another cloud or vice versa, you can choose MultCloud Cloud Transfer for an automatic transfer task without any downloading.