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Dropbox Migration to a New Mac With the New Cloud Storage Setup
On my primary computer, I keep all Dropbox files in offline mode.
I've updated to the new Dropbox setup that places the Dropbox folder in ~/Library/CloudStorage.
I'm wondering what will happen when I move to a new Mac in the future. In the past, the macOS transfer program would transfer all my files to the new computer's drive, and then Dropbox would reindex them (rather than having to redownload all the files from Dropbox). What will happen now with the new Dropbox setup?
Thanks.
Got it! Thanks--that makes sense.
Can I suggest that your development people review this and see if it's possible to update the Dropbox application at some point in the future so these steps are no longer necessary. The way things worked BEFORE the current change was simpler and less time-and-bandwidth consuming: You just had to run the standard Apple migration, and and then connect the new computer to your Dropbox account (no reinstallation necessary). At that point Dropbox would update its indexing without requiring re-download of the Dropbox contents.
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- Yes thanks
Hi! I recently bought a new mac and migrated everything from my old mac.
Dropbox was not uninstalled on my old mac before the transfer. Did not think of that as an option, and maybe would not have deared to... ?
Soβ¦ now there is Dropbox on both, same login and I can see the files in the Dropbox-folders on the new Mac, but β I can't access them...? When I "right-click" a file, there is no Dropbox-menu choices. And I can't open any of the files. I get a notice that says something like: "β¦ file is an online only file. Open it by first moving it to your Dropbox folder." Which does not make any sense, as the file IS already in the Dropbox folder.
So what to do now to make it work? Tomorrow I will have an intern that would need to access the files.
Will it help to log out from my old mac, to avoid conflicts? Or do i really HAVE TO delete the whole Dropbox on my old mac?
Orβ¦ delete the whole Dropbox on the new one and install and update that one from scratch β which might take a long time... ?
I would prefer to have both machines up and running, mirrored, so that both are fully functional. Feels safer.
Is that possible, without having two accounts?
- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey MortenRavnbo, sorry to hear about this.
Did you install the Dropbox application on the new computer as well?
If you did, and you click on your Dropbox icon and then on the folder icon next to your initials, are you taken to a folder where you can actually access your files?
Hi! As mentioned I just migrated everything from my old computer, so Dropbox was already there, and I just logged in.
So yes, the icon for my account is there and all the files and folders that was there when I migrated. But they where not available / possible to open and did not sync with my old mac.But today: Everything seems to work?? It syncs with my old computer. And I can open all files from Dropbox and the rightclick menuoptions shows up...?
What happened? It has been without sync for two weeks and now suddenly works, without me doing anything??
A little mystery, but great news! :-Oups! I was a little too quick and joyful there. I now see that only 1/4 of my files is in the Dropboxfolder on the new mac...? I can access everything via the browser, but the local folder lacks a lot of stuff... Very strange. Maybe it is some kind of syncing that's going on? (And that only syncs when the mac is being used?)
But if I click in on the little Dropboxicon in the top of my screen, it says "everything is synced". Which is obviously not the case... No work going on...
Maybe this is something different? "Indexing" maybe? Super strange.
- Hannah
Hey MortenRavnbo, thanks for keeping us updated on this!
Is this what you see in the folder I asked you to check?
The one you're redirected to when you click on the Dropbox icon and then on the folder icon?
Hi, is this still the way to move to a new mac? I will get a new one tomorrow and want to do the migration. It is kind of frustrating to find this very important information in an old thread β after 30 minutes of searching for it. There should be a step by step instruction on the dropbox homepage... (if there is, I would appreciate the link β tank you)
- Megan
Hey there, TilmanM, wishing you a happy Monday!
Just to make sure we're on the same page here: do you wish to move your new Mac to the File Provider update, or do you simply wish to know how to set-up a new device with the Dropbox app?
Provided you're talking about the File Provider update, feel free to take a look at this Help Center article.
If you have any questions, I'm always at your service!
I don't think TilmanM is talking about either of those options. They're not asking about switching an existing Dropbox install to use the File Provider update, and they're not asking about setting up a new device with the Dropbox app.
Whey I believe they ARE asking about is migrating from an old Mac with the File Provider update already active to a new Mac they've purchased. The standard way of doing this is Apple's migration app. Based on past guidance you've provided, they will now need to jump through some hoops to uninstall Dropbox from the old Mac before running Apple's migration app, and then reinstalling Dropbox and redownloading everything they want available offline. That's the situation an increasing number of Mac owners who are already using the File Provider update are facing, and in my opinion Dropbox has dropped the ball on handling it adequately (or even providing guidance how to do it given the existing requirements).
Thanks.
Yes, thank you. This is what I am asking about, but I guess I'll be jumping through the hoops π
