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Forum Discussion
Choosing where Dropbox folder should be.
Until 2 weeks ago, I was running Windows 10 and I had placed my Dropbox folder on an external hard drive. I've switched to using Ubuntu and I want to resume using Dropbox. I'm going to follow the ins...
Hi Doug K., thanks for posting on the Community!
The first issue you’ll experience is that the Dropbox desktop application on Linux can’t have a Dropbox folder on a drive formatted in NTFS, only Windows devices can have that option. You'll need to have the folder on a compatible file system for Linux.
Generally, we recommend against placing the Dropbox folder on an external drive as it can result in unexpected behavior when the drive is missing or disconnected, including performance issues, and even deleted files.
Hope this helps to clarify matters!
Jay
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHi Doug K., thanks for posting on the Community!
The first issue you’ll experience is that the Dropbox desktop application on Linux can’t have a Dropbox folder on a drive formatted in NTFS, only Windows devices can have that option. You'll need to have the folder on a compatible file system for Linux.
Generally, we recommend against placing the Dropbox folder on an external drive as it can result in unexpected behavior when the drive is missing or disconnected, including performance issues, and even deleted files.
Hope this helps to clarify matters!
Hi!
I have Dropbox installed on the C-drive, which is soon running out of space. I'm thinking of moving the folder to the D-drive.
Can I move the hole dropbox-folder to the D-drive and use Dropbox as normal (and excpect the program to syncronize in the D-drive)?
Or do I have to uninstall Dropbox, delete everything, install Dropbox on the D-drive and then syncronize the files?
Regardings,
E
Elias:
I've had my Dropbox folder on an external HDD for a few years without any problems. Just keep in mind that if your external disk is unplugged, you'll get complaints from the program, as expected. As far as actually moving the folder, there's an option in Preferences where you can choose its location, like the external disk in your case. It could take a very long time for all those files to transfer, so you'd better make absolutely sure that your computer won't go into sleep or hibernate mode.
-D
Hi!
Thanks for ypur answer! :)
Both of the drives are internal. Still, I hope that the Dropbox won't have any problems moving the folder. :)
Is it possible to move everything and use Dropbox as usual? And how do I make Dropbox to save everything in the D-drive (and not the C-drive)?
I know that it can take a while to transfer the files, and already changed the settings so the computer won't go into sleep or hibernate mode.
//E
Moving the Dropbox folder also tells the program to redirect all its work to that new location. If you're nervous about it and you have some extra space on D: drive which you can use temporarily, create a folder with a name like "DBoxDump", maybe followed by the date, and copy all the folders from your existing Dropbox folder into the new one. That will also take forever, obviously, but it will be a snapshot of how things were before you moved the real Dropbox folder. That was the insurance policy which made me feel comfortable when I moved the folder. When I saw that things were working smoothly, I bought a USB stick big enough to hold the "DBoxDump" folder and moved it there to have as an additional backup.
