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Forum Discussion
Moving or Copying Dropbox To Another Computer
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 compu...
Hey jrlbell, there are some steps you can follow, so that the application doesn't sync your Dropbox files, but only indexes them.
This however would require to have your Dropbox files already on your new computer and not on an external drive.
These steps are:
1. Rename your existing Dropbox folder to "Dropbox (old)" or similar.
2. Install Dropbox and select the location that you want for the Dropbox folder.
3. When the installation is finished, Dropbox will immediately start to sync.
4. Pause syncing or exit Dropbox.
5. Move only 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.This should cause the app to index the files, instead of redownload them.
I hope this helps.
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
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.
- 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
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.
- 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!
