How to troubleshoot disk space issues

Updated Aug 31, 2023

If you see the error message “You are running out of disk space” (Windows) or "Your startup disk is almost full” (Mac), then your computer is low on hard drive space.

Note: If you see an error message that says “Your Dropbox is full”, then your Dropbox account is out of storage space, not your hard drive. Learn how to troubleshoot issues with your Dropbox storage space limit.

Not using Dropbox yet? See how Dropbox can help you save space.

You have a few options if you’re running out of hard drive space:

☑ Free up disk space

There are several ways to free up disk space, like optimizing storage space and moving or deleting files on your computer.

☑ Use selective sync or make files online-only

If Dropbox is using too much disk space, you can use selective sync or make files online-only to help save space on your computer.

Note: Dropbox Basic users can’t make files online-only unless they’ve updated to the latest version of Dropbox for macOS on File Provider. If you’re on Dropbox Basic and you’d like to save storage space on your device, you can use selective sync. Or, you can upgrade your account.

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