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Forum Discussion
Migrating Dropbox Accounts to New Computer
Hi. I have 2 large Dropbox Accounts, Personal and Professional Team, where I am Administrator on Macbook Air 500GB. I installed the new OS 12.1 Monterey and had my Laptop with Dropbox's backed up (...
I will be moving Dropbox folders and files to a new computer. Rather than having them sync, can I just transfer them via cable? I am asking because I assume it would be faster.
Thanks!
Hannah
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey joe-w-1954, thanks for reaching out to the Dropbox Community!
The suggested practice when it comes to new computers, would be to simply install the Dropbox application, sign in and let the app sync your files.
This is to avoid any linking issues or double Dropbox folder issues.
And if you'd like syncing to finish as fast as possible, you can choose to sync your files as online-only during the initial installation and then download the files you need as you go.
I hope this helps!
Thanks, Hannah. So you're saying it's possible that Dropbox would then sync the files anyway after I transferred them directly?
- Rich
Super User II
joe-w-1954 wrote:
So you're saying it's possible that Dropbox would then sync the files anyway after I transferred them directly?
In theory, yes. At a minimum it WILL index all of your files.
My local Dropbox folder is marked entirely as Available Offline. I don't use Selective Sync on my main computer and ALL content stored in my Dropbox is on my local drive. The way I transfer to a new main computer is to first copy my entire Dropbox to the new computer and rename it to Dropbox_OLD.
On the new computer install Dropbox. When the installation is finished, Dropbox will immediately start to sync. Pause syncing or exit Dropbox. Move 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.
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.
Thanks Rich! Hopefully I will not find a way to screw this up.
