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
Pale_Pilgrim
6 years agoNew member | Level 2
I got a message about renaming my Dropbox Folder upon re-installing. Any ideas?
I had to uninstall and reinstall dropbox on my work laptop due to some syncing issues. At the end of the reinstall process I got a message saying "There's already a folder named Dropbox(Company Name)...
- 6 years ago
Hey there Pale_Pilgrim - how are you today?
From what I understand you performed a re-install of our software on your computer and you're now trying to relink your account to the desktop app.
Kindly note that the Dropbox folder itself is still there even after uninstalling and since you're relinking the same account, the application detects that another Dropbox folder already exists on the computer, and gives you two options: 'Choose Another Location' in case you'd like to move your Dropbox Folder to another location or 'Rename' (since there's already a folder with the same name).
If you want your new Dropbox folder to be in a location different than your existing folder, click on 'Choose Another Location'.
If you wish to re-install the Dropbox software and you do not want to re-download all of your files from the server, you need to choose the "Advanced" setup option during the installation process and then choose the parent folder of the existing Dropbox folder as the location for this new install.
For example, if your old Dropbox folder was added to: C:\Desktop\Dropbox you would need to choose C:\Desktop and the client will try and create a new Dropbox folder. If you're connecting with the same Dropbox account as before, our desktop app should detect the existing folder and then prompt you to merge the Dropbox folder. Upon merging the desktop version of Dropbox will check the existing files and the server versions and update accordingly.
Please do note that any changes made to the files in the Dropbox folder or on the web interface while the folder was "offline" will generate conflicted copies.
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hey there Pale_Pilgrim - how are you today?
From what I understand you performed a re-install of our software on your computer and you're now trying to relink your account to the desktop app.
Kindly note that the Dropbox folder itself is still there even after uninstalling and since you're relinking the same account, the application detects that another Dropbox folder already exists on the computer, and gives you two options: 'Choose Another Location' in case you'd like to move your Dropbox Folder to another location or 'Rename' (since there's already a folder with the same name).
If you want your new Dropbox folder to be in a location different than your existing folder, click on 'Choose Another Location'.
If you wish to re-install the Dropbox software and you do not want to re-download all of your files from the server, you need to choose the "Advanced" setup option during the installation process and then choose the parent folder of the existing Dropbox folder as the location for this new install.
For example, if your old Dropbox folder was added to: C:\Desktop\Dropbox you would need to choose C:\Desktop and the client will try and create a new Dropbox folder. If you're connecting with the same Dropbox account as before, our desktop app should detect the existing folder and then prompt you to merge the Dropbox folder. Upon merging the desktop version of Dropbox will check the existing files and the server versions and update accordingly.
Please do note that any changes made to the files in the Dropbox folder or on the web interface while the folder was "offline" will generate conflicted copies.
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Pale_Pilgrim
6 years agoNew member | Level 2
Thank you Walter, this helps.
When I was doing the reinstall I didn't select the advanced option. Is it possible to go back and start again?
Will it work if i exit the install program at this point, go through the uninstall process again and then re-install using the advanced option?
- Walter6 years agoDropbox Staff
Yes, in this case I'd suggest that you did Pale_Pilgrim!
Keep me posted on your progress please.
- Pale_Pilgrim6 years agoNew member | Level 2
Thanks for your help Walter.
I opened advanced settings which is giving me the option to select the location for my Dropbox Folder. The current location is C:\Users\my name\Dropbox (company name), so if I understand correctly my new locationshould be C:\Users\my name
- Walter6 years agoDropbox Staff
Yes, that is correct if you'd like to link to the existing Dropbox Folder Pale_Pilgrim.
At that point, as you're connecting with the same Dropbox account as before, the desktop app will detect the existing folder and then prompt you to merge the Dropbox folder. As mentioned, upon merging our desktop app will check the existing files and the server versions and update them accordingly.
Let me know how it goes!
About Apps and Installations
Have a question about a Dropbox app or installation? Reach out to the Dropbox Community and get solutions, help, and advice from members.
Need more support
If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.
For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.
If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!