Forum Discussion

fred k.1's avatar
fred k.1
Explorer | Level 3
3 years ago

moving dropbox files to new hard drive

A new solid state hardrive "drive C" with the Windows 11 OS was installed on my Windows 10 PC.  The old disk and dropbox files are still on the old computer as drive "D"....and dropbox cant see them (different path)  How do I get dropbox to switch to my new drive and location and start syncing with that???

7 Replies

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hi fred k.1, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

     

    If you know the full location of the Dropbox folder on the D:, then you can try an advanced reinstall of the app using the steps in this link.

     

    However, in the installation, there's an option for Advanced Settings. Make sure to choose that and select the parent folder of the Dropbox folder. So, if it's on D:\Files\Dropbox, choose D:\Files.

     

    This should make the app detect the Dropbox folder to begin indexing it and syncing any changes.

     

    Keep me updated with any progress!

  • fred k.1's avatar
    fred k.1
    Explorer | Level 3
    3 years ago

    thanks for the explaination...have been on the road for 3 weeks and am anxious to get it up and running again..l will let you know how it goes...

  • fred k.1's avatar
    fred k.1
    Explorer | Level 3
    3 years ago

    Sorry for the confusion but:

    I copied the old Dropbox Files to my new C: drive because the old drive is "OLD" and I worry about its viablilty

    Can I use the proceedure listed and designate my files on the C drive in the new User file as the parent...

    i.e. designate C:\Users\[removed]\Dropbox

     

    Thanks for your patience....

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hey fred k.1, sorry to jump in here!

     

    Indeed, you can use the "advanced settings" option in this case as well.

     

    If it doesn't help, you can try the following steps:


    1. Rename your existing Dropbox folder to "Dropbox (old)" or similar. 
    2. Select the location that you want for the Dropbox folder during the installation of the app. 
    3. When the installation is finished, Dropbox will immediately start to sync, so pause syncing or exit Dropbox. 
    4. Move only the content of "Dropbox (old)" into the newly created Dropbox folder. 

    5. When the move is complete, and not before, resume syncing or re-launch Dropbox.

  • fred k.1's avatar
    fred k.1
    Explorer | Level 3
    3 years ago

    Thanks for the help...Still looking into it since screwing up would be a big deal for me...I need to backup to a CD or something first...I'm more  hobbiest than programmer....

  • fred k.1's avatar
    fred k.1
    Explorer | Level 3
    3 years ago

    The fellow who installed Win11 on my PC copied my old files on to the new drive but under a new user name so I have two dropbox files (old on D:, new on C:)   Basically I want to sync the online version with my C version   I will rename the old one and try your plan, as soon as I play around and get some confidence...🙄

  • Megan's avatar
    Megan
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Take your time, and if you need anything just give us a shout fred k.1

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