Diagnose sync failure without deleting the only copy
Red icons, paused clients, account mismatch, conflicts and local locks indicate different problems. Preserve the only copy, capture status and establish whether the failure is in the provider, network, Windows permissions or local protection.
A protected folder stops updating and shows a sync error. The owner pauses destructive cleanup, records the client status and file hashes, duplicates the affected sample for testing, then checks account, storage, network and local-lock state in order.
Run the control in five steps
- 01Stop deletion, migration and re-encryption of the only copy.
- 02Record provider, account, status icon, path, time and error.
- 03Confirm network, storage quota and client sign-in.
- 04Test Windows permissions and local protection on a duplicate.
- 05Resolve conflicts, verify sync and record the surviving authoritative copy.
Preserve an accountable test record
Keep error text, provider version, account, path, timestamps, hashes, local-protection state, actions, result and final authoritative location.
Stop and investigate when
- Troubleshooting starts by deleting the local folder.
- A conflict copy is overwritten before comparison.
- A provider failure is blamed on local protection without isolation testing.
State what the control does not prove
Cloud Secure protects PC-side cloud-sync folder access, not Google/Dropbox/OneDrive provider-side TLS, E2EE or share permissions. Verify provider sharing, locally resident copies, Windows access and recovery separately.
Cloud-folder privacy questions
Should I unlink the account first?
Not until the file state and recovery plan are known.
Can a password reset fix every locally protected file?
Do not assume it; verify the product’s current recovery boundary.
Sources for this decision
These sources support the stated boundaries and do not imply endorsement.