Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨💻? Find out how to check here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
I need to re-link to an existing Dropbox folder when reinstalling the desktop app.
I have been using Dropbox for years but on several occasions I've had to reinstall and then fight with dropbox to use the folder that is already there instead of insisting on re-downloading terabytes...
Well this is interesting. I moved to a new house and changed internet providers. When I set up my computer again Dropbox started indexing the folder on G drive immediately. No more error messages. I wonder if my other internet provider was restricting some types of traffic? Anyway, it's all working now. Thanks for your help.
Hi. Actually if you read through that thread the issue wasn't solved. Like me, he had already had to go through the pain of re-downloading everything. Dropbox created a new folder on C drive. Now I have to figure out how to move it to my G drive, where all the files are already downloaded.
Rich
Super User II
Super User IIActually if you read through that thread the issue wasn't solved.
His issue wasn't solved because he had already gone through the process on reinstalling Dropbox and downloading everything again. However, Dropbox already has a solution for this in place. You just need to select the Advanced Options during the install and you can select the location for your Dropbox folder. If you choose a location where there's already a folder, Dropbox will use it and will only download the files that need to be downloaded (anything changed since last sync, etc.). It will, however, have to reindex all of your files which will take some time.
Now I have to figure out how to move it to my G drive, where all the files are already downloaded.
You don't. If you've already installed Dropbox and it's using the default location, you don't want to move it to the existing folder on your G drive. Your best option will be to reinstall using the advanced options, and selecting the location of your existing Dropbox folder.
Just remember, when specifying an existing Dropbox folder, you want to select the folder ABOVE Dropbox as the location. For instance, if your Dropbox is in G:\Dropbox, make sure you select the root of G: for the location. If you select G:\Dropbox, you'll end up creating a new Dropbox folder inside your existing Dropbox folder and all of your files will start to download into the new folder, doubling your usage. It's asking where you want your Dropbox folder; not the full path to the current folder.
