You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.
Forum Discussion
jayne
8 years agoNew member | Level 2
move contents of dropbox to external hard drive
how do I move contents of dropbox
i.e my files and photos to an external hard drive
thanks folks
- 8 years agoDo you have the Dropbox client installed on your computer? If so, then your files will be syncing to your computer. They'll be in the Dropbox folder. Just copy them to your external drive like you would any other file.
If you're not already syncing your files and you just use the Dropbox website, then you'll need to download your files and save them to your external drive. The easier method would be to install the Dropbox client, let it sync all of your files to your computer, uninstall the client, and then move the Dropbox folder to your external drive. - 8 years agoWelcome to the Dropbox Community, let's look into that together!Please keep in mind that as a rule of thumb we recommend choosing a location for the Dropbox folder on the same hard drive as your operating system, since Dropbox won't work correctly if the Dropbox folder becomes inaccessible, which can happen if it's located on an external drive that gets disconnected.Of course, we’re always here if you need further assistance!Warm regards,JaneA[mod edit 2023, updated Help Center link]
jayne
New member | Level 2
not synchronised as such , copied I meant - to another storage facility such as a external hard? I'm a newbie so not very techie
thanks
thanks
Rich
8 years agoSuper User II
Do you have the Dropbox client installed on your computer? If so, then your files will be syncing to your computer. They'll be in the Dropbox folder. Just copy them to your external drive like you would any other file.
If you're not already syncing your files and you just use the Dropbox website, then you'll need to download your files and save them to your external drive. The easier method would be to install the Dropbox client, let it sync all of your files to your computer, uninstall the client, and then move the Dropbox folder to your external drive.
If you're not already syncing your files and you just use the Dropbox website, then you'll need to download your files and save them to your external drive. The easier method would be to install the Dropbox client, let it sync all of your files to your computer, uninstall the client, and then move the Dropbox folder to your external drive.
- anarvaja6 years agoNew member | Level 2
This is fine. But it does not solve the problem. There should be a way to copy files directly from Dropbox to an external storage device (USB HDD for example) without the need to sync them to the local computer's HDD.
Moreover, Dropbox should give users the possibility to sync their Dropbox files to an external drive directly, without intermediate steps.
Thanks.
- Walter6 years agoDropbox Staff
In this case, you could use the website (at https://www.dropbox.com) and change your browser's settings to point to your external hard drive anarvaja!
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