Reinstalling Dropbox App and Retaining D drive location for Dropbox folder

[Rich · Accepted solution]

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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.

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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]

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]

I’m glad to hear that worked, @MWilcox! 

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

[jherber]

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]

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

[jherber]

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

[Jay]

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.

[jherber]

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]

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.