New PC - same D drive - Dropbox can't be moved!

[scooter-ali]

I've got a new desktop PC and have moved the D drive from the my old machine into this new one.  This drive has my Dropbox folder in it, and I tried to 'Move' Dropbox to point at it (in preferences) but it wouldn't.   Instead, it's just spent 24 hours syncing 0.5tb of data onto my C drive and filled it up!

So now I have a C:\Users\PC\Dropbox folder full of files, and I have the D:\Dropbox folder too 😞

When I try and 'Move' Dropbox to point at the D drive it says it can't because Dropbox is already there (which it is, but it's not the Dropbox that my Dropbox app is using, because it's syncing to the C: drive one).

How can I tell the Dropbox desktop app to look at the D drive?  And is it safe to delete C:\Users\PC\Dropbox?

Thanks in advance...

[Rich]

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@scooter-ali wrote:

How can I tell the Dropbox desktop app to look at the D drive?  And is it safe to delete C:\Users\PC\Dropbox?

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Save yourself some time and frustration trying to move things around after it's installed like this.

Instead, uninstall Dropbox if it's installed. Rename your existing Dropbox folder on your D drive to Dropbox_OLD or similar. I would rename the one on C drive as well, just to be safe. Reinstall Dropbox and select the location that you want for the Dropbox folder. There's usually an advanced options section after you sign in that allows you to do this. If you want it to be D:\Dropbox, then just select the D:\ drive so a new Dropbox folder is created. 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, resume syncing or 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.

[scooter-ali]

Thank you!

My only concern is how you tell it to look at the 😧 drive to start with.  It seems to have its default location on C: when you first install the Dropbox app and you can only Move to anywhere else.

I'll take a look though and see if I can work it out.   Am I safe to delete the Dropbox folder on my C: drive as it's filled up my storage!  The reason I use D for my Dropbox files is that I have so many, and I like having them accessible on there...

[Jay]

Hi @scooter-ali, during the installation, there should an option for 'Advanced settings'. From there you can choose the location for the Dropbox folder, So, if you want it locate the D:\Jay|Dropbox folder, then you need to select D:\Jay, and it'll attempt to create the Dropbox folder.

If it is the same account, then it'll detect that folder and begin re-indexing the files to check if there were any changes.

To delete the folder on the C:\, you'll need to sign out of the desktop app first, and then you can safely delete the folder.

[scooter-ali]

That's so helpful, thanks!

[Jay]

No worries, glad to have helped out!