Forum Discussion

butterbisc's avatar
butterbisc
Explorer | Level 3
5 years ago
Solved

Unable to transfer files

I've been having difficulty with transferring files from my old laptop to the current one I have now.

Whenever I try to transfer my files, a pop-up shows up on the bottom of my screen; saying that

it was "Unable to create transfer". I have transferred folders with Dropbox before, so I'm unsure why

this is happening now.

  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    5 years ago
    For your account's current plan, is it possible that the folder is too large to create a transfer for, butterbisc?

    If it's a large amount of data within the folder, it could be that the download is failing due to the website timing out, or the folder being to large.

    Since you have all your files in your account online though, have you considered installing the desktop app on the new computer?

    This will allow the app to sync all the files down from the website initially, so the "My Dropbox Move" folder will be available locally on that computer.

    Once it's downloaded, you can then even uninstall the app so that you can do whatever you'd like with the files locally, without the changes syncing to your account online.

9 Replies

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  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    5 years ago
    Hi butterbisc, thanks for taking the time to message us!

    In general, you don't need to create a file transfer in order to move files from one device to another. 

    Have you signed into the Dropbox desktop application on both computers? If so, then the Dropbox folder would be the best way to move files across, by having them sync from the old laptop to the new one.

    If you need any more details, feel free to message back!
  • butterbisc's avatar
    butterbisc
    Explorer | Level 3
    5 years ago

    Ah, I am unable to open the desktop application on both computers. The computer that had my files from

    before ended up being returned because there was an issue with it, so I no longer have it in my possession.

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    5 years ago
    Were any of those files backed up to Dropbox before you returned the computer?

    Are they visible on the site, so you can download them to your new computer?
  • butterbisc's avatar
    butterbisc
    Explorer | Level 3
    5 years ago

    Yes, I was able to back up my files on Dropbox before I returned the computer.

    They are visible on the site, but despite this, I am unable to download them.

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    5 years ago
    If you're still having issues with this, could you send us a screenshot of any errors you may be getting butterbisc
  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    5 years ago
    For your account's current plan, is it possible that the folder is too large to create a transfer for, butterbisc?

    If it's a large amount of data within the folder, it could be that the download is failing due to the website timing out, or the folder being to large.

    Since you have all your files in your account online though, have you considered installing the desktop app on the new computer?

    This will allow the app to sync all the files down from the website initially, so the "My Dropbox Move" folder will be available locally on that computer.

    Once it's downloaded, you can then even uninstall the app so that you can do whatever you'd like with the files locally, without the changes syncing to your account online.
  • butterbisc's avatar
    butterbisc
    Explorer | Level 3
    5 years ago

    Thank you for reminding me that there was a Dropbox app I could download onto my laptop!  Downloading it made it able for me to transfer my files and now I finally have them on my laptop. Thank you so much!

  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    5 years ago
    I'm glad to hear that helped butterbisc!

    If you need anything else, don't hesitate to give me a shout here. 😀

    Wishing you a great weekend ahead!

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