Forum Discussion

Hannah's avatar
Hannah
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
3 years ago

Hey Cinosa, thanks for joining us on the Dropbox Community.

 

Indeed, moving the Dropbox folder to an external drive is not recommended.

 

When it comes to Mac computers specifically, it might not even be possible.

 

Have you updated your Dropbox app to the new Dropbox for macOS version that moves the Dropbox folder to ~/Library/CloudStorage?

Cinosa's avatar
Cinosa
Explorer | Level 3
3 years ago

Thanks Hannah,

We haven't set up a Mac to do this yet, but it would be the most recent update of Dropbox that we would be using. There's no reason this would have to be from a Mac though – if we were to set up a PC instead would this allow us to have a Dropbox folder on an external drive?

 

Thanks for your help.

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Happy to help, Cinosa!

     

    If you were to do this from a Windows computer, it would be easier, as it is an option.

     

    However, it's still not recommended as it can lead to file loss.

     

    You can read more about the process here.

    • Cinosa's avatar
      Cinosa
      Explorer | Level 3
      3 years ago

      Hi Hannah,

      Thanks again for your help – that's great. I'll look into this further, but that may be an option.

       

      When you say it may lead to file loss, do you mean on the local drive or on the Dropbox, or both?

       

      Thanks,

      Cinosa

      • Megan's avatar
        Megan
        Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
        3 years ago

        Hi Cinosa, sorry to jump in here!

         

        Both actually.

         

        Should the drive fail to connect before Dropbox loads, or become disconnected while Dropbox is running, Dropbox could see that as a mass deletion and start to delete your files from the device, and these changes would then sync to your account online.

         

        If you need anything else, let us know!

About Apps and Installations

Have a question about a Dropbox app or installation? Reach out to the Dropbox Community and get solutions, help, and advice from members.

The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X, Facebook or Instagram.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!