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Forum Discussion
Solved
Duplicate Dropbox folders after re-installing the Dropbox desktop app on Windows 11
Application Affected
Dropbox synch location
Device
Dell laptops and Pixel phone
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Windows 11, Chrome and DuckDuckGo
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
New install on 2025/10/15
Question or Issue
At the conclusion of https://help.dropbox.com/installs/advanced-reinstall is a feedback popup. I selected the checkbox to say it didn't do the job for me. (I can't see it now to quote it.) In the "Tell us why" popup I wrote the following (slightly edited in that dialog box to fit the char limit):
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This procedure was suggested to get out of the "There's already a folder" loop. The procedure refers to Advanced Settings which the install script in fact does not offer, it goes right to the 'Sync all/Choose which' dialog. The "There's already a folder" error still pops up when I follow the prompt to open the app. I created C:\Users\<username>2 folder and specified that pathname. The error says cannot create dropbox folder there; it appears to be in OneDrive. I specified C:\ and it is now synchronizing there.
I will now have two Dropbox folders, C:\Users\<username>\Dropbox and C:\Dropbox. There are no instructions here how to resolve this duplication.
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I would like to have the default location synchronized, and the C:\Dropbox content placed in the default C:\Users\<username>\Dropbox location. Where are instructions to accomplish this reliably?
The problem arose when logging in to an existing Dropbox account initiated a new installation process even though the app was already installed. Why it got into this state is unclear. A normal occurrence would be if the computer had been re-imaged or reset.
To reinstall Dropbox without re-downloading everything:
- Uninstall the app.
- Rename your existing Dropbox folder to something like Dropboxx or Dropbox_OLD.
- Install Dropbox.
- Select "Advanced settings" at the bottom of the dialog box when it says "We're Happy you're back", "Setup is finished", "Open Dropbox".
- Use the to point it to the parent of your old folder, e.g. C:\Users\<yourusername>.
- After the new Dropbox folder is created and syncing has started, stop the app. Select your avatar image in the upper right corner, then select Quit.
- Delete the contents within the new Dropbox folder.
- Move the contents of your old Dropbox folder (Dropboxx, Dropbox_OLD, whatever you named it) into the new folder. (This could be an opportunity to get rid of unwanted files and folders.)
- Launch Dropbox again to start the file comparison and indexing process.
21 Replies
- Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey bnevin - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
As a first step you'd need to confirm which Dropbox folder is the one that's currently syncing per the sync tab in the app's preferences and delete the other one.
You should be able to tell by their icons normally if you're done with reinstalling and the app's fully synced.
If you need to move your Dropbox folder at some point, you can use these steps.
I hope this helps a tad and please keep me posted with your progress.
As stated, I know which folder is currently being synchronized to the server. It's the new one that I created as C:\Dropbox.
I can routinely relocate files and Dropbox keeps the pointers straight, but that's all within the Dropbox folder that's set up for sync. I don't think I can delete the contents of C:\Users\<username>\Dropbox and copy into that folder all of the now synchronized contents of C:\Dropbox. That's moving content out of the folder that's currently set up for sync.
Looking at the referenced "How to move your Dropbox folder" page, there are several procedures, the first unlabeled, the second and third labeled for manual moves on Windos and iOS, respectively.
Looking at the first (unlabeled) procedure.:
Step 3 Click your avatar (profile picture or initials) in the bottom-left corner. It's in the upper right corner.
Step 6 Click Move… (Windows and Linux), or Dropbox location (Mac). Windows is now more consistent with Mac. It says "Dropbox folder location" with a "Change location" button. This inconsistency is fixed in the manual Windows procedure.
I'm assuming that I should delete the contents of C:\Users\<username>\Dropbox before I specify that as the new location.
Looking at the manual procedure for Windows:
It does not require me to disable backups. (I don't have any other backup process, at least not on purpose. I avoid OneDrive, though Windows and some vendors insist on putting some stuff there. As a rabbit's foot I exited two Google Drive spreadsheets that I maintain.
I selected Available offline. I am not aware of any filenames including characters like :"|.?* but I have left the default "on" switch for flexible file names.
Step 6 Click the dropdown beside Dropbox location. Another nit: The UI says "Dropbox folder location". It displays the current location C:\Dropbox in gray.
Step 7 Select Other.
Nope. It opens a File Explorer window on C:\ with the Dropbox folder visible but of course not selected. I have to navigate to C:\Users\<username>\Dropbox
This appears to replace steps 7-12.Waiting for confirmation before I proceed. Thanks for your help!
To put a finer point on it: having navigated to the $HOME folder
C:\Users\<username>\Dropbox
do I have to delete the contents in that folder before pressing [Select] and proceeding?- Walter
Before deleting anything, can you send me a screenshot of the app's status as shown in your taskbar at the moment bnevin? Is it 'up to date' or still syncing?
If the content of the folder you sent in your screenshot is duplicated, you should be fine to delete it, but I just want to make sure we're not missing anything.
Oh, it's been up to date for some time now.
I've deleted everything but this one folder. I've emptied it of all content, including a grayed-out TEMP folder. All applications visible on the Taskbar are closed (and I did this with the present browser closed too) except for the parent of that one folder, open in Windows Explorer, and the Dropbox Preferences window and its Select Folder window.
Nothing obvious turns up in Task Manager; here's the app list and the first few background processes. (WordGenius is a dictionary app with no interest in content on my SSD.)
Tried it anyway, but that folder blocks the way.
It turns out that Proton Drive was maintaining a link to that subfolder. I killed the Proton Drive process in Task Manager, and then I was able to remove the last stack of subfolders from $HOME.
I tried to get a screenshot of the "Success!" message, but it somehow went away during the grab.
The "success" did not create a Dropbox folder in C:\users\<username>\ so I rebooted to see if that made any difference. No.
I assume the manual move process is to drag the entire C:\Dropbox\ folder to the default location.
Is this correct?
Aha! Patience (without advice to be patient): it takes time. Before I wrote that update, there was no Dropbox folder. While I was typing it, the C:\users\<username>\Dropbox\ folder was being created. When I took the screenshot I didn't notice the change.
