Want to know more about Dash? Check out how Amy uses Dropbox and Dash to make her day easier here! 

Forum Discussion

dfwaggoner's avatar
dfwaggoner
New member | Level 2
3 years ago
Solved

Is it safe to move the Dropbox folder on a removable drive?

Is it possible, or more to the point, advisable, to change the dropbox folder to a folder on a removable USB hard drive? I have a laptop with a smallish hard drive and would like to put the dropbox folder on a larger removable USB hard drive. My main concern is that happens when the USB hard drive is no longer connected to the computer.

  • Hi dfwaggoner, I hope you're doing well!

     

    While you can store your Dropbox folder on an external drive, it's highly not recommended that you do so.

     

    Under the right conditions, data loss can occur. If the removable drive fails to connect before Dropbox loads, or becomes disconnected while Dropbox is running, Dropbox could see that as a mass deletion and start to delete your files from the cloud.

     

    I hope this clarifies!

2 Replies

Replies have been turned off for this discussion
  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hi dfwaggoner, I hope you're doing well!

     

    While you can store your Dropbox folder on an external drive, it's highly not recommended that you do so.

     

    Under the right conditions, data loss can occur. If the removable drive fails to connect before Dropbox loads, or becomes disconnected while Dropbox is running, Dropbox could see that as a mass deletion and start to delete your files from the cloud.

     

    I hope this clarifies!

  • dfwaggoner's avatar
    dfwaggoner
    New member | Level 2
    3 years ago

    Yea, I though it might be something like this. I will just have to be selective about what is on the laptop and have everything on the desktop.

    Thanks,

    Dan

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.

Need More Support

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 or Facebook.

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!