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Re: Reinstalling Dropbox App and Retaining D drive location for Dropbox folder

Reinstalling Dropbox App and Retaining D drive location for Dropbox folder

MWilcox
Explorer | Level 4
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I recently had to reinstall Windows 10 on a desktop. I had the Dropbox folder installed on my D drive, which is a separate physical drive (not a partition) from my C drive. The Dropbox app was installed on C, which was reformatted as part of the reinstallation, so I lost the Dropbox app. Since the W10 reinstallation did not affect my D drive (which contains only data files), the Dropbox folder is still there and is intact. When I reinstalled the Dropbox app, it created a new Dropbox folder on C and synced my files to it. I went to sync preferences and tried to move my Dropbox folder to D, but it (correctly) tells me I already have a Dropbox folder there. I thought maybe something as simple as renaming the Dropbox folder on D and then using sync preferences to move the Dropbox folder from C to D would work, but it didn't. I would appreciate any help in reestablishing my Dropbox folder back to D. (FWIW, the "new" Dropbox folder on C has the Dropbox icon with a checkmark at lower left, and the "old" Dropbox folder on D has a plain Dropbox icon).

20 Replies 20

Rich
Super User II
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@MWilcox wrote:

The wording is "In which folder do you want the Dropbox folder?" I selected D:\user\me\Dropbox, and now I have a "new" Dropbox folder within my old Dropbox folder, both on D.


The question was asking what folder do you want your Dropbox folder to be located in; not what folder do you want your files in. Basically, you told it to create a new Dropbox folder inside your existing one. What you wanted to select was D:\user\me, and then Dropbox would have detected the existing folder and asked if you wanted to use it.

 

You likely have two options.

 

Exit the Dropbox application then uninstall it. Delete the newly created D:\user\me\Dropbox\Dropbox folder, being sure not to delete your original folder. Reinstall Dropbox again and when selecting a location for the Dropbox folder, be sure to select the folder ABOVE your existing Dropbox folder, so D:\user\me. Dropbox should ask if you want to use the existing folder.

 

The other option is how I move my Dropbox folder to a new computer, rather than re-downloading everything.

 

Uninstall Dropbox. Rename your existing Dropbox folder to Dropbox_OLD or similar. Reinstall Dropbox and select the location that you want for the Dropbox folder (D:\user\me). When the installation is finished, Dropbox will immediately start to sync. Exit the Dropbox application so syncing stops. Move the content of Dropbox_OLD into the newly created Dropbox folder. When the move is complete, and not before, launch Dropbox again.

 

At this point Dropbox will begin indexing all of your files. This process will take a while, especially if you have a lot of data to go through. During this time it may say that files are uploading or downloading, but it's only transferring comparison data and any changes that it finds. Be patient and LET IT WORK.

MWilcox
Explorer | Level 4
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Thanks Rich, Megan, Hannah, Nancy. Having the installation place the Dropbox folder in the folder above the existing folder was the answer. Seems obvious in hindsight, but the installation does not tell you this.  But it did work. 

Nancy
Dropbox Staff
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I’m glad to hear that worked, @MWilcox

 

If you need something else, you can always give us a nudge.


Nancy
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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jherber
Explorer | Level 3
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i have the same problem as Mitch. I think I understand the idea of pointing the Dropbox  to  D;\user\me, however, in the drop down menu that appears when I try to change the location it keeps the DROPBOX folder at the end of the line. How do I edit that to only use   D:\user\me   ?

Thanks for your help,  jherber 

jherber
Explorer | Level 3
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My message shows a SOLVED icon. I have received any suggestions or solutions.  Thank again, jherber

jherber
Explorer | Level 3
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My message shows a SOLVED icon. I have  NOT received any suggestions or solutions.  Thank again, jherber

Jay
Dropbox Staff
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Hi @jherber, the Dropbox app needs to store all the syncing files in a folder with the name of Dropbox, so it's not possible to remove the Dropbox name.

 

If you have any further queries, feel free to message back.


Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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jherber
Explorer | Level 3
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Howdy Jay. Thanks for the replay. I sent you an email replay because I could not get the link you sent to work. I finally figured out I was using an old browser, IE, and have no idea how I was doing that. I am using Chrome.

 

Your answer confuses me because I was following an earlier answer on this topic. I will include it below. It seems to conrtradict your advice.

 

The wording is "In which folder do you want the Dropbox folder?" I selected D:\user\me\Dropbox, and now I have a "new" Dropbox folder within my old Dropbox folder, both on D.

The question was asking what folder do you want your Dropbox folder to be located in; not what folder do you want your files in. Basically, you told it to create a new Dropbox folder inside your existing one. What you wanted to select was D:\user\me, and then Dropbox would have detected the existing folder and asked if you wanted to use it.

 

You likely have two options.

 

Exit the Dropbox application then uninstall it. Delete the newly created D:\user\me\Dropbox\Dropbox folder, being sure not to delete your original folder. Reinstall Dropbox again and when selecting a location for the Dropbox folder, be sure to select the folder ABOVE your existing Dropbox folder, so D:\user\me. Dropbox should ask if you want to use the existing folder.

 

When I tried to follow this advice, I ended up with a Dropbox folder on 😧 and inside that folder were these 'extra' files 

a.      dropbox.cache

b.     .dropbox

 

Can you get me straightened out? I am fighting an issue where my C: drive is full and I am trying to move Dropbox program and data to D:.

I think I now have data and programs on both C: and D:, but the Dropbox program on 😧 does NOT find the data.

Thanks, jherber

Jay
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Essentially, the Dropbox folder is always created as a new folder. You can try moving the Dropbox folder to a different location entirely, and then just move it back to the location you mentioned earlier, which was D :\user\me. 


Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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dearnold
New member | Level 2

I have a similar issue to the OP in that I had to reset my Windows 11 Pro installation on Drive C. All of the data on my separate D drive was retained. My Dropbox folder has been on my D drive for years because I don't like keeping data on my C drive and because my Dropbox is now too large for the C drive.

 

I have uninstalled Dropbox and re-installed it several times to attempt to get it to recognize my Dropbox folder on the D drive. It always defaults to the C:\Users\my_user\Dropbox folder. I sign in, get the 6-digit code, and then click on Advanced Settings. The screen simply will not allow me to select a different location for my Dropbox folder. It shows c:\Users\my_user\Dropbox in the input field. When I click the drop-down arrow, I see a checkmark by  C:\Users\my_user\Dropbox and "Other location". If I click on Other Location, the set up simply ignores me and starts to do a Selective Sync. After some time, all of my Dropbox folders/files have been populated in C:\Users\my_user\Dropbox. 

In other words, Advanced Settings does not seem to work at all on my computer running Windows 11 Pro. 

 

If I go into the Dropbox app, select preferences > sync and try to move my Dropbox folder location to D:\, the error message is that there is already a Dropbox folder at that location. If I try to move the Dropbox folder to D:\Dropbox, I get a whole download of the Dropbox folder embedded in the directory structure, so my new location for a synced folder becomes D:\Dropbox\Dropbox - a file organization nightmare!

 

What am I doing wrong? Reinstalling the Dropbox desktop app and pointing it to an already existing Dropbox folder location shouldn't so hard.

 

#Desktop App  #Dropbox folder

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