Migrating from Mac to Mac using Migration Tool

Sorry to jump in here, BG Mahesh.

If you don't really care about backing up the computer files on your new machine and only want your Dropbox files to be available on it, Dropbox-wise, you can simply install the Dropbox app on the new machine, sign into your account and the app itself will sync your files; no migration needed.

But if you're going to go through with the migration anyway, to ensure that Dropbox works correctly on the new machine, you'll need to do what Jay mentioned above, which is to disable backup on the old machine and then sign out of the Dropbox application on it, before going through with the migration.

I had asked a similar question in a separate thread. If I understand the guidance you're giving BG Mahesh properly, it's a bit different from the guidance I think I received.

I'm not using Dropbox Backup at all--just the standard Dropbox folder functionality (using the new CloudStorage setup). Soon I'm going to want to use the Apple Migration Assistant to set up a new Mac. After that I'll want to be syncing both old and new Mac Dropbox folders to my Dropbox account.

I take it from what you've said that I can do the following:

1) Sign out of Dropbox on the old Mac.

2) Run the Apple Migration Assistant.

3) Sign into Dropbox on both old and new Macs. Each will recognize the CloudStorage/Dropbox folder and sync the files there with their equivalents in my Dropbox account.

Is the above correct?

I believe the guidance I received previously was that, in addition to signing out of Dropbox, I WOULD NEED TO DELETE MY DROPBOX FOLDER AND THEN LET IT BE REBUILT BY THE DROPBOX SETUP PROCESS and have all content re-downloaded from my Dropbox account. That's because with the new CloudStorage setup, if there was already a CloudStorage/Dropbox folder in place, the Dropbox setup process would freak out and refuse to work. This would obviously be a major hassle. Can you confirm it's incorrect?

Thanks.

The migration failed after many hours. Not sure why

Anyway, on the old machine if I want to activate backup again, I need to go to Preferences, Backups, Manage Backup and activate backup again?

On the new Mac, since Dropbox app is still there, is it best I

1. uninstall Dropbox on my new Mac

2. Install Dropbox on new Mac

3. And will the files get restored to new Mac automatically or do I need to do something special in Dropbox->Preferences?

Hi BG Mahesh, if you want to reactivate the backup feature on the old machine, you can do so in the Preferences. Installing the app on the new Mac will sync any files from this page onto the new Mac. Bear in mind that the computer backup files from the old machine won't appear on the new machine.

fssbob, we do recommend not migrating the Dropbox folder to the new computer, if it's possible to exclude it during the process, to prevent any permissions issues. 

Jay It's not possible to exclude the Dropbox folder from the Apple migration process. Prior to the CloudStorage change this wasn't a problem--Dropbox would just reindex the folder on the new Mac.

Given that it's not possible to exclude the folder from the Apple migration process, what is your guidance?

(And are you certain there will be a permissions issue, given that it's an Apple process that presumably knows about duplicating permissions properly?)

If you can't use the standard Apple process because of Dropbox, this is potentially a HUGE issue for Mac owners.

Thanks.

I figured this a bit late, I may sound dumb, so be it - backup and sync are different

All I care about is syncing files.

- On my new Mac, I uninstalled Dropbox

- Installed dropbox, logged in

- All files got downloaded to my new Mac

- The only thing I don't like is that the Dropbox location is hardcoded now to /users/myname/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox - and I cannot find this Dropbox folder easily in Mac Finder, it seems to be hidden. The only way I can reach this folder is by searching for a folder inside Dropbox. 

BG Mahesh There are a number of ways to get to it more easily. One is to click on the Dropbox icon in your menu bar, and then click on the folder icon in the dropdown that appears. You can also enable "Cloud Storage" in Finder Settings / Sidebar.

fssbob, as you can't exclude folders during the migration, the safest option to prevent permission and syncing issues would be, on the old machine, to disable any computer backup, sign out of the Dropbox desktop application, delete the Dropbox folder, and then progress with migration to the new machine.

When you then sign in on the new device, the files would resync from the Dropbox site.

Jay, Thanks--that's good advice for now. But can I ask you to escalate this issue to Dropbox Development to see if they can make things easier for Mac users with large Dropbox folders. It would be great if Dropbox could adjust its setup process to once again support the way it used to work: If there's already a Dropbox folder there, the setup process checks with the user, and then syncs that folder to the user's Dropbox account.