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S2B's avatar
S2B
Helpful | Level 6
2 years ago

Trouble with storing my macOS Dropbox app on an external drive

Perhaps someone can walk me through how to take care of these questions:   1. I liked having Dropbox mirror on my desktop, but that became untenable when Dropbox would no longer le...
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Nancy's avatar
Nancy
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
2 years ago

Welcome back to the forum, @S2B! Let’s look into this. 

 

Regarding moving the Dropbox folder to your external hard drive; can you clarify what’s its current location on your local hard drive? Is it under ~/Library/CloudStorage perhaps?

 

I’m asking because, if the Dropbox for macOS on File Provider update has already been installed, it’s no longer possible to move it to an external drive instead.

 

So, in this case, you could use selective sync to remove any large folders you don’t need to sync locally, so that they don’t take up hard drive space on your computer.

 

As per backing up an external drive instead, this shouldn’t be an issue, as a copy of your external drive files will only be accessible via the Dropbox website, and it won’t take up space from your local hard drive. Once you plug the external drive to your computer, do you receive a prompt by Dropbox to back it up?

 

Finally, I’ve forwarded the feedback you shared with the appropriate team, so that they can also review it. 

 

Let me know, if you’d like me to clarify something else.

  • S2B's avatar
    S2B
    Helpful | Level 6
    2 years ago

    Thank you, Nancy, for your reply.

    Can you clarify what’s its current location on your local hard drive?
    I have a number of external drives. The one I would like to store my Dropbox content on is a Thunderbold Sandisk 6TB. Unfortunately, the smaller internal drive on my Mac Studio is nearly full.

    I don't know how to start with the Dropbox desktop app. Last time I used it, it immediately started copying files to my internal drive, overloading it. It also would do that when Dropbox unlinked with my external drive. I don't have enough time in my life to undo the damage that causes.

    Once you plug the external drive to your computer, do you receive a prompt by Dropbox to back it up?
    I am afraid (based on past experience) of setting up the desktop app. The main folder I would like to backup is my 1.4 TB photo library. Could you tell me how to set this up so Dropbox won't start duplicating this huge file to my little internal drive? Including the few times I start the system and perhaps the Sandisk is off-line. This happens on occasion when the external drive doesn't boot in time. Back when I used the Dropbox app this anomaly caused chaos.




    • Nancy's avatar
      Nancy
      Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
      2 years ago

      If your Dropbox folder is now located under ~/Library/CloudStorage, then the only way would be to use selective sync, as mentioned above, so that you have enough space to sync some of your folders locally, and keep everything else in the Dropbox cloud (online). 

       

      If you wish, please check these steps, and let me know if you have any questions.

       

      As per your second question; if you enable external drive backup, then your files will only show on the Dropbox website (via dropbox.com/backup/all), and not locally (so, they won’t take up hard drive space from your internal drive). All you need to do is to connect the drive, and then Dropbox will show you more prompts on how to complete the process. Here's a Help Center article as well, with all you need to know about this.

       

      Now, if you’re concerned about your external drive not connecting in time, when you launch your device, you can manually start the Dropbox app each time, instead of having it set to start automatically, after you’ve made sure the system has recognized your external drive. This is the option you’ll need to uncheck in this case. 

       

      Hope this helps a bit more.

      • S2B's avatar
        S2B
        Helpful | Level 6
        2 years ago

        I can't use iCloud storage for Dropbox. My iCloud account does not have nearly enough space. It is the reason I use Dropbox. I have 3TB in Dropbox.

        I would prefer my Desktop App Dropbox files reside on a physical local drive.

        So before I get to your second step in the process I need to know how I set up the the app to reside on an external drive. And be assured this will not default back to overloading my sad small internal drive.

        s.

         

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