My C drive is very full, but my D drive is very empty, so I'm trying to move the Dropbox folder to D drive where there is ample room. I'm following the instructions given (go to sync, scroll to move, select the new location) but I repeatedly get the error message that "the folder cannot be moved. Close open files and try again or try a new location." I have already closed all open files, I have paused syncing. There is ample room on the new drive. I have tried a different location to my preferred one. Nothing works, the error message just repeats. There are shared folders within the main Dropbox folder--would they be causing the issue, if another user had them open? I am running Windows 10 and have a Dropbox Plus account. Any suggestions? Thank you.

Thanks for posting this on our Community, sloejelly! Can you clarify the current syncing status of your Dropbox app, after resuming the app’s syncing? Did you also close all files/folders on your computer and restart your device? As for the shared folders that you mention, I believe this would only be an issue if the files within them were open on your own computer. However, can you clarify what type of files are saved in these folders? Finally, I’d like a screenshot of the error you see exactly, in case it still persists after closing everything and restarting your computer, and of the format of the drive you're trying to move the Dropbox folder to.Keep me in the loop for more updates.

Hi Nancy, thank you for your reply.The syncing status of my Dropbox app is currently paused, but when I resumed the syncing it synced right up immediately. I then paused it again to try your suggestion.I hadn't restarted my laptop, so I did that, (with sync paused) and it made no difference. It still wouldn't move and gave the same error (screenshot attached).The file types in the shared folders are a mix of PDF, DOC, DOCX, JPG, HTML, WPT (which is a waypoint file from a mapping app) and saved emails. There are also some subfolders containing more of the same filetypes.I'm not entirely sure what you mean by the format of the drive I'm trying to move the dropbox folder to, but the file system is NTFS. Is that what you want to know?Thanks so much.

Perfect! Thanks for the additional info. Can you please resume the app’s syncing again? To move the Dropbox folder, it’s best for the app to be up to date and actively connected to our servers. Other than that, I’d like to know how much hard drive space you have left on your C: drive at the moment, as some disk space may be necessary for the Dropbox app to move the folder over to a different location.

I already resumed the syncing status and everything was up to date. But the instructions said to try to move the folder with the syncing paused.I have 14.4gb free on my C drive

Hi sloejelly, let me also jump in here! Could you please let me know if you've restarted your computer since you first noticed this? If you did and this persists, could you access your task manager and see if there are any processes that could be accessing your Dropbox files and close them from there? If I were you, I'd also make sure that there are no third-party apps that could be accessing your Dropbox files, and causing this.

I can't move the Dropbox folder to my D drive; I'm asked to close all files/try a new location.

13 Replies

Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
13 days ago
Thanks for the cooperation sloejelly - I've just sent you an email, so please have a look at your inbox and we'll take it from there.
sloejelly
Explorer | Level 4
13 days ago
That's fine.
Nancy
Dropbox Community Moderator
13 days ago
sloejelly, can we log a ticket for you next? That way, we can have visibility over your Dropbox account and check what route may be best to follow.
sloejelly
Explorer | Level 4
14 days ago
I have the new experience. Does this mean I can't move my dropbox to internal drive D? If so, how do I get the legacy version back?
Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
15 days ago
Hi sloejelly, you can see which version you're on by checking the sync icons in the Dropbox folder from here.

You can see if you have the new experience, or the legacy version with the older icons. The online-only icon, wit the blue cloud, or grey cloud for the old version, is the easiest way to tell what version you're on.
sloejelly
Explorer | Level 4
16 days ago
How can I tell if I have the Dropbox for Windows update? The link doesn't say and I've tried googling to find out how to tell, but not getting answers. I've had dropbox for years. It runs itself. I doubt I've gone to the MS store to download in the last year, but I'm not sure how to check. Thanks
Nancy
Dropbox Community Moderator
19 days ago
Hi again, sloejelly! Out of curiosity, have you had the Dropbox for Windows update on your Dropbox app?
And if yes, did you download it directly via the Microsoft Store? I’m asking because, in that case, the Dropbox folder can only be stored in your computer’s default drive, meaning the C drive (as mentioned here).
sloejelly
Explorer | Level 4
19 days ago
Hi Megan, Yes, I've restarted my laptop twice since I first noticed this, and it persists.
Task Manager doesn't show anything that would be accessing Dropbox files. Everytime I've tried this, I've closed absolutely everything running and tried, and it gives the same error.
Thanks for your help.
Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
19 days ago
Hi sloejelly, let me also jump in here!

Could you please let me know if you've restarted your computer since you first noticed this?

If you did and this persists, could you access your task manager and see if there are any processes that could be accessing your Dropbox files and close them from there?

If I were you, I'd also make sure that there are no third-party apps that could be accessing your Dropbox files, and causing this.
sloejelly
Explorer | Level 4
20 days ago

I already resumed the syncing status and everything was up to date. But the instructions said to try to move the folder with the syncing paused.
I have 14.4gb free on my C drive