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Dual booting with shared DB drive possible?
I am looking in to buying a new laptop and will need to dual boot Windows and Ubuntu. I am planning three SSD's - one for Windows, one for Ubuntu and one as a shared data drive.
Is it possible to set up DB so that both operating systems can sync to the shared data drive? I have done a bit of research on here and I cannot seem to find a definitive answer.
Thanks!
It's very possible, just not supported or recommended.
Install Dropbox and use the Advanced Options to specify the location for your Dropbox folder. Allow it to sync completely. Boot into the other operating system and install Dropbox, again using Advanced Options to specify the same Dropbox folder. Dropbox will index your files when the installation is complete, but shouldn't need to sync anything unless there have been changes (though it may appear to be syncing, just let it work).
It is extremely important that you DO NOT USE SELECTIVE SYNC from either operating system when running in this configuration. If you do, you WILL lose files.
I would also suggest never booting into the other operating system until you're certain that the current one is fully synced. Also, as always, keep your own backups of your data.
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- Rich
Super User II
chasDSO wrote:
'..There is no common format that is supported on each operating system....'
That post doesn't make sense.
In terms of Dropbox, yes, it does. Dropbox does not support NTFS for Linux, anything other than NTFS for Windows, etc. Are there workarounds? Yes, apparently, but that doesn't make my comment invalid. In reference to Dropbox and how it works, there is no common format that will allow the official Dropbox client to work across mutliple operating systems. I'm not talking hacks or workarounds. I'm not talking about Linux being able to access NTFS. I'm talking naitive Dropbox support of the file system.
Regardless, I removed that last post of mine since
There is no technology reason why Dropbox decided to end support for this option - they supported it in the past I believe but functionality was removed.
No one ever said there was a technology reason for it. No one is debating that. Dropbox simply doesn't support it anymore. Technically they never officially supported it, but it worked.
Rich wrote:...
No one ever said there was a technology reason for it. No one is debating that. Dropbox simply doesn't support it anymore. Technically they never officially supported it, but it worked.
Almost, but not exactly! In fact You are right, there wasn't (and is not) any technology. Dropbox (or any other such service) don't need to support this. This is OS responsibility! And, in this context, it's not clear why was this limitation added (not support missing)! Support is not need.
- Rich
Здравко wrote:Support is not need.
You're confusing support from a technology standpoint (Product A working with Product B) and support from a business standpoint (Company A saying "No, we don't allow that.").
Dropbox never officially supported Dropbox being used in such a configuration. They didn't design it to work like that, and if a person wasn't careful they could cause damage to their files or possibly lose data (like by using Selective Sync in such a configuration). I'm guessing that's the reason Dropbox no longer supports their product being used in such a way. They could simply be trying to make it more idiot-proof, like they've been trying to do for years.
anonymous wrote:... want to access them from a dual boot Windows-Windows computer. ...
Hi anonymous,
Please note that the above script work and is tested on Linux only. Probably, might be usable also on Mac with some adaptations. There is no any chance to be used directly on Windows! Windows API is completely different and only partially compatible with POSIX (the standard functions used in the C code). Also 'bash' script interpreter is usually not available on Windows, if not explicitly installed.
Unfortunately, this solution couldn't be usable for you. :disappointed_relieved: But you can get out the idea and port it. :wink:
- I was replying to Rich's post dated 04-11-2018 08:40 PM about the issue of Dropbox not allowing dual booting with the SAME operating system, namely Windows. His workaround implying renaming the Dropbox folder to cheat the Dropbox desktop application. It worked for me with only reporting "Conflicting Copies" in some (a couple hundreds) Excel files between the two Windows 7 operating systems. But apparently it is working. Thanks QA
Similar position to Chas & Blackbat: if I
- Install dropbox to an ext4 linux partition,
- Boot into windows, access a dropbox-folder file using ext4fsd, edit it, save it,
- Boot back into linux
How will dropbox cope/deal with the changed file?
A. Complete reindex (I have ~14gb FWIW)
B. Diff check against logs, finds single file change, indexes, uploads
C. Something else?
Cheers!
