Dropbox on 2nd ssd drive from old computer

[Magic1]

I can't find information on this particular issue. I got a new computer with a small M.2 ssd drive that is the boot drive and a 1 TB HDD drive for storage and programs. I had a 1 TB ssd drive with everything on it, including my Dropbox folder, in my old computer. I replaced the HDD on the new computer with the 1 TB ssd from my old computer. I didn't delete or change anything, including Win 10 though I will use the M.2 to boot. It shows up as the 😧 drive and I found my Dropbox folder with everything in it my User "XXX" folder. How do I set Dropbox up to work correctly? I want to keep my files on my ssd drive as well as in the Dropbox cloud, btw. I don't want to go online only.  Also, can anyone recommend a source for information on setting up an old drive as a 2nd drive, retaining the data on it? I can only find info on setting up an empty 2nd drive.

[Megan]

Hi @Magic1, welcome to our Community and thanks for using Dropbox!

As a first step, let me ask if you've already installed the Dropbox desktop application on the device or not. 

Also, was the old SSD drive a boot drive, or just a data drive? 

Keep in mind that you can link an existing Dropbox folder instead of re-syncing everything anew through the Advanced Settings on the setup window. 

Let me know how it goes.

[Magic1]

Hey Lori -

Thank you so much for responding. 

The ssd drive I took from my old computer was the only drive in the computer so, yes, it was the boot drive as well as the data drive. I just took it out of the computer and installed it in the new one because I didn't want to get into how to transfer the Win 10 that came with the new computer. I was aware that I couldn't just put the old drive in and boot off it in a new computer, so I thought I would just have a C: and 😧 drive.

Yes, Dropbox is on the M.2 (C:) drive with all my folders and files and on the 😧 drive with all my files and folders, though I don't think the program is active on D:. In other words, the Dropbox folder is on both drives but the program seems to only be active on the C:. Dropbox was having a special offer with this Dell, so it might have been on the C: drive before and just linked up with my account in the cloud when I thought I was downloading it to D:. So things are a little complicated but I certainly have my data saved to many places now lol. 

The entire file structure remains on the drive from the old computer, now the 😧 drive in the new. Since the desktop and Start menus are from the C:, I don't know how to easily access anything on D:. 

I did reset my storage choices in computer Settings in System/Storage to all new apps, files, etc. show go on the 😧 drive. I know I am missing some simple concept or something. Also, I don't know where the setup up window is for Dropbox.

I hope this is clear. It's become a bit of a "who's on first" conversation unfortunately and I'm feeling a little "duh".

[Megan]

Hey @Magic1, Thank you for the additional info, and apologies for the late reply!

I would suggest you allow the Dropbox desktop application to sync all the content until it's up to date. 

Once that is done, and provided you have multiple local copies of your files on your device, you would need to manually delete them using your OS.

Can you hover your mouse over your little Dropbox icon (next to your WiFi) and let me know what the status of the application is? 

[Magic1]

Hello Lori -

Thank you for the reply and I should have let you know I did more research and figured it out. 

For those as confused as I was switching your main hard drive, whether ssd or regular HDD, to be a secondary drive (like D:) here is what I found. 

First, you cannot put the Dropbox app/program on anything but the C: drive. It will not ask you where to put the program and will not install on any other drive. However, you can put the Dropbox folder with your folders and files on any drive you wish and it will sync if done correctly. As Lori said above, you click the Dropbox icon in the system tray. I did not have the gear icon she mentioned, but clicked on the icon that represented my account. In the dropdown, choose Preferences and in Preferences, choose Sync. The last choice on the Sync page is Dropbox location. Browse to find the location you want to your Dropbox folder installed. 

Now, because my 😧 drive, where I want my Dropbox folder, used to be my only drive in my old computer, it already had a Dropbox folder on it with all my files in it. It just wasn't syncing and there was no way to get it sync. It also prevented Dropbox from putting a new Dropbox folder ("There is already a Dropbox folder..." warning.) Being paranoid and a suspenders and belt kind of gal, I didn't want it overwriting that old folder as yet, so I renamed it FirstDropbox. That allowed Dropbox to put a new Dropbox folder (actually, it moved the one on my C:) with all my work in it and it syncs just fine. So far. The Dropbox program stayed on the C: drive. (I haven't deleted the old folder, FirstDropbox, which had stopped syncing the moment I removed the drive from the old computer. I will delete it when I feel comfortable everything is good, but I have a lot of room on that 😧 drive so I can indulge myself.) I no longer have a Dropbox folder on my C: drive after it moved it all to D:.

The Dropbox icon in the system tray says "Up to Date."

Again, thank you Lori for responding. I should have done a bit more homework before posting, but I thought I had done enough. My search skills were failing me.