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Unable to move the Dropbox folder as 'some files can't be moved'
Trying to move from C drive to D drive - I am OUT of space. But keep getting error message. "SOme files can't be moved. Please select a new location or close some open files and try again..
I've found a solution that, while somewhat complicated, will allow you to move the Dropbox folder location on Windows 10 if you get the error "Some files cannot be moved" WITHOUT re-downloading your files. This requires admin level privileges.
First, open Windows Task Manager - you can do this by right clicking on the taskbar.
Now open the Dropbox Preferences and select the Account tab. The move location button probably won't work if you're reading this guide, but you might as well try it again at this point.
Switch to Task Manager and position the window so you can see both it and Dropbox Preferences at the same time. In Task Manager, select "explorer.exe", right click it, and select 'End Task'. At this point any file explorer windows will disappear along with the taskbar. You'll get them back later. Next select the Services tab and navigate to WMPNetworkSvc. This can be done quickly by clicking the 'Name' column to sort alphabetically, selecting any service in the list, typing 'w', and scrolling down until you see it. Right click on it, and select 'Stop'.
Now switch to Dropbox Preferences and try moving your location again. This should succeed. If so, in Task Manager, select WMPNetworkSvc, right click, and select 'Start'. Then press File -> Run New Task. Type 'explorer.exe' and hit enter. This should restart your taskbar.
If your problem is solved, you're done with this guide. Otherwise I have some troubleshooting tips.
[Troubleshooting] Download Process Explorer (http://filehippo.com/download_process_explorer/) and open it as an administrator. Press CTRL-F and search for "Dropbox". Many processes should show up. Each of these could potentially be the process that is keeping your folder locked. Start by stopping/ending explorer.exe and WMPNetworkSvc and try moving the folder in the Dropbox Preferences window again. Don't kill any Dropbox.exe processes. If you find a process that is keeping Dropbox locked and is marked hidden, you can kill it using the command prompt. Take note of the process ID (PID). Open a command prompt window as an administrator, and type "Taskkill /PID [your process id] /F". After killing each subsequent process, retry moving your Dropbox folder. After a successful move, reboot your machine.
Answering Mark P - I have tested out the following instructions on a Windows 10 computer and on a Windows 7 computer, but I don’t have a Windows 8 or 8.1 machine so I’m not sure of the precise steps for those two operating systems. I expect, though, that the instructions here will give Windows 8/8.1 users sufficient guidance so that they can work out what to do on their computers, too.
- Whichever version of Windows you are using, first close the Dropbox application as follows:
- Make sure that you have a shortcut on the Desktop or in the Start menu
- Right-click on the Dropbox icon in the System Tray.
- In the menu that pops up, click the Settings (gear wheel) icon.
- Choose Pause Syncing
- Repeat steps 1.2 and 1.3, and choose Exit Dropbox
- Then, if you are using Windows 10:
- Open a File Explorer window.
- Choose View at the top of the Explorer window, then tick the checkbox so that Hidden Items will be displayed.
- Or, if you are using Windows 7:
- Open a Windows Explorer window.
- In the menu bar, choose Organize, then Folder and Search options.
- Select the View tab that you can now see, and check the radio button so that Hidden Items will be displayed.
- The remaining steps are the same in all versions of Windows:
- The address bar at the top of the Explorer window will contain the address of the folder that Explorer is currently displaying. Delete that address, and in its place type %appdata%
- Press Enter. The address will change to a path that ends in AppData > Roaming
- The main part of the Explorer window now shows all the folders within the AppData\Roaming folder. If you see a folder named Dropbox, delete it.
- It’s unlikely, but if a message pops up that says you can’t delete the folder because of open files, you will need to try deleting the files one at a time, until you find the problem file/s. Note down the file name/s, and come back to a forum like this one for more suggestions.
- Up on the address bar, click on the word AppData. The contents of the Explorer window will change so that you can see the names of three folders: Local, LocalLow, and Roaming.
- Open the Local folder and delete the DropBox folder.
- Close the Explorer window.
Now, use the Dropbox shortcut (see step 1.1) to restart Dropbox. Those folders you deleted from AppData have deleted the previous account and client settings, so the Dropbox configuration wizard will start up as though Dropbox has never been previously installed. You will be able to specify the new location for the Dropbox folder and will not meet the “open files” problem. However, you will burn up some data allowance while your Dropbox files download from the server to the new location - you can't just copy them across on you local machine.
