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Re: Moving or Copying Dropbox To Another Computer

Moving or Copying Dropbox To Another Computer

jrlbell
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

I just moved 80 Gbytes of Dropbox folders and files (not that much really) to my new computer. First I copied them to an external hard drive. Then I installed the Dropbox application on the new computer. Then I copied all of the files from the external hard drive to the Dropbox folder on my new computer. Six days later (yes, I have a slow but steady DSL Internet service), it's still uploading every one of those files. These files were already in the cloud and still on my old computer.

 

All I can ask is, "WHY!?" These files had already been uploaded and indexed on my old computer and existed in the cloud. Why would my new computer have to re-upload them and not just re-index them? It makes me think that it would be quicker just to download the files from the cloud (download speed on most Internet services being quicker than upload speed). But this also seems unnecessary since I can copy those same files much faster using an external hard drive or even my LAN for that matter.

 

This has happened to me before. It seemed ridiculous then and it still does.  It makes me want to discard cloud storage altogether and stick with redundant computers for backup and external hard drives for access on other devices.

 

So, anyway, can someone tell me how to avoid having to upload all the files all over again when moving or copying files from one computer to another? 

15 Replies 15

jrlbell
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

Hi Hannah,

 

Please note that my Dropbox on my new computer was not downloading files, it was uploading files.

 

What you outline is essentially what I did. I copied the files from my old computer to my new computer to a folder named, oh I don't remember, but let's say DB (it wasn't named Dropbox). I don't think it matters how they got there. They are obviously going to get there somehow, so in my case, I used an external hard drive to transfer the files. I had installed Dropbox previous to this transfer, so I paused Dropbox synchronization. I then copied the files from the DB folder on my new computer to the Dropbox folder on my new computer and resumed synchronization. Dropbox proceeded to upload every file. Not only that, but on my old computer, the files were downloading, even though they already existed, probably because my old computer thought the new computer was uploading new files and folders.

 

I don't know what to say except that Dropbox seems flawed in this respect.

 

So, I think you could just lock this thread here, because the files are all in sync now.

 

I'm still using Dropbox for "essential" files, but I've returned to keeping the majority of my files in non-Dropbox folders and backing up my data to an external hard drive. I'll probably keep paying for the 2Tb yearly subscription because that's the only way I can have Dropbox on more than, I think, three devices.

 

JB

ajhuff
Helpful | Level 6

Hello,

I have searched but I can't find an answer that matches up with my issue. I had Dropbox on my old computer, multiple partitions and folder structures.

I have physically moved all of my files from the old computer to my new computer because it's faster than downloading. New computer has a single drive and single partition and different folders. How do I install Dropbox on the new computer? There doesn't seem to be a way to match up old folders with new folders. Do I need to delete my account and start afresh?

 

Thanks,

 

-AJ

Rich
Super User II

@ajhuff wrote:

I had Dropbox on my old computer, multiple partitions and folder structures.


What does this mean? Dropbox only has a single folder that it will sync. It can't sync files and folders from multiple drives/partitions. How, exactly, was your Dropbox set up?

 


How do I install Dropbox on the new computer? There doesn't seem to be a way to match up old folders with new folders.

In most cases it's possible to move your Dropbox folder to a new computer so it won't have to download everything again, though it WILL have to re-index everything. If you're going to do this, I would suggest that you have all files synced to the original computer first (i.e. not using Selective Sync and all files marked as Available Offline).

 

First, copy your existing Dropbox folder to the new computer and rename it to Dropbox_OLD or similar. Install Dropbox and select the location that you want for the Dropbox folder. When the installation is finished, Dropbox will immediately start to sync. Exit the Dropbox application. Move the content of Dropbox_OLD into the newly created Dropbox folder. When the move is complete, and not before, re-launch Dropbox.

 

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.

 

This is the process I follow for each new computer and it's worked well each time. I just did it again over the holiday, no issues.

ajhuff
Helpful | Level 6
I understand that there is only one Dropbox folder. But now everything is on my new computer. Some of the old folders still exist many have now moved to accommodate other folders from other partitions on the old computer. Point is none of the folder structure on the new computer matches the old, so it doesn't match what Dropbox has in the cloud.

In essence I want to start over.

-AJ

Rich
Super User II

@ajhuff wrote:
In essence I want to start over.

You have two choices then.

 

Install Dropbox on the new computer and let it download everything that's stored in your account. This will match how your Dropbox looked on the old computer. Once done, reorganize the files to match whatever structure you need and those changes will sync back to Dropbox.

 

or

 

Delete everything you have in your Dropbox account online, install Dropbox on the new computer and then move the folder structure you have on the new computer into the Dropbox folder and allow it to sync.

ajhuff
Helpful | Level 6
OK thanks.
I'm not happy with how I set things up before so I think option 2 might be the better choice. But I'll explore the first option as well. Thanks!
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