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Move Dropbox folder to removable drive?

Move Dropbox folder to removable drive?

David S.266
New member | Level 1
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I have an Intel Compute Stick with very little storage on the device itself. I tried to move my Dropbox folder to a microSD card installed in my Intel Compute Stick but I got an error message from Dropbox because the microSD card is removable. Is there any way of overriding this, so that I can put my Dropbox folder on my microSD card?

75 Replies 75

Felipe L.4
New member | Level 1
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Does anybody know a way to make sure the external drive is mounted *before* Dropbox starts in windows? This probably will make it more secure. Can I somehow stop dropbox from starting until it is sure the drive is mounted? I think this should be possible...

Beltway B.
New member | Level 2
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This method works great !

 

If you are dealing with life critical data, you should NEVER depend on any single source including your own hard drive. Any source can fail or corrupt data. ALWAYS back critical data to another source ALWAYS. 

Alexis G.1
Super User
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@Beltway:

You are 100% right. All critical, sensitive and important data must be backed up at least twice. A good rule to follow is the backup 3,2,1 rule:

3 copies

2 mediums

1 offsite

Dropbox is not a backup solution. I backup my Dropbox content in 2-3 Bluray disks, HDD and NAS drive. 

If I delete a file by error, I can recover very easy from www.Dropbox.com, but if I notice the file lost, file change or damage after some time and Dropbox cannot recover my files, I can recover from my HDD backup.

With today viruses, it's better to play safe.

Paulo R.3
New member | Level 2
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Thank you Adam for sharing the information with us.

Thank you all other folks for the alerts. I imagine all data lost problems can occur only if we remove the SSD from the computer.

I have a Surface Pro 4 with a small HD and bought a 200 GB Micro SSD Card just for Dropbox.

I will backup everything in Dropbox to an external drive, will purchase Dropbox Extended Version History (1 year recovery) and then move Dropbox to SSD and not move the SSD from the computer.

 

Alexis G.1
Super User
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@Paulo.

You can backup your Surface Pro using Veeam Endpoint Backup free in order to protect your data and Dropbox docs from Malware Ransomware

Trever M.
New member | Level 1
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Frankly, this should be a no-brainer feature.  If I choose to use "external media" for drop-box it's incumbent on ***ME*** the user.  

In my case, I use a Microsoft Surface Pro.  The drive in it is only 256GB.  I have a 200GB SDCard, which never leaves the computer.  

 

I have tried to use the create a folder, and mount into the folder as a way to bypass this, but I also use this drive to redirect downloads, documents, desktop, etc. and it hasn't been stable for this, so instead I use D:\ for those, and would like to do the same for a folder called D:\username\Dropbox just like I have for D:\username\Desktop or D:\username\Videos.

It should be a simple checkbox, where I deliberately select to use an external drive and accept the risks associated, rather than being forced into using my C: drive.

It's not uncommon nowadays to have users with computers that have a limited SSD drive for their boot, programs, etc. and a D:\ that is a microSD card for their file share data, of which DropBox would be included.  

If I can't get DropBox to work for me in this very basic way, I will find an alternative that works for me.  Not that DB is going to miss my 99$ a year, but I am sure that users like me make up 1 - 2 % of potential users, which is an income stream they are missing out on.

 

 

Varad P.
New member | Level 1
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Unfortunately I get a message that "This folder is on a device that does not have enough free space"...

Any workaround?

Alejandro M.
Helpful | Level 6
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"This folder is on a device that does not have enough free space"...
Having this exact issue too when using the 'mount' trick.

Paulo R.3
New member | Level 2
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@Adam I
Again, thank you very much. I am still using and working the great solution you proposed. I never plugged out the SD card. I know that if I do it, Dropbox will present several problems I had in the past.

@Alexis G
I will try Veeam backup. Thanks for the tip.

Dave W.10
New member | Level 2
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Adam I.,

I am a little late to the discussion, but your finding was spot on for an new X1Yoga I am using.  256GB M2 and 256GB SDXC and the mount folder is working perfectly.  Thank you again for sharing that.

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