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mbk34's avatar
mbk34
Explorer | Level 4
2 years ago

Relocating dropbox

Love dropbox but due to a mishap (on my part) I ended up with different drive letters assigned to my drives. It's all corrected now but unfortunately I had to relink dropbox in the middle of all this. It didn't ask if I had an existing drive and folder (E://dropbox) but immediately installed itself onto my C: drive.

 

Surely it should know where it was installed previously? I tried to find how to change the location but it wasn't immediately obvious - so now I have 2 dropbox folders on 2 different drives. Can I just switch back to the original location (E://dropbox)? Will it do it without changing those files that are already there and that haven't changed?

 

Also, is there any way of getting dropbox not to copy across certain file types? I'd like it to ignore log files etc.

 

Many thanks

Mike

  • Hi mbk34, during the installation process of the Dropbox desktop application, there should be an option for advanced settings, and this allows you to have the Dropbox folder in another location.

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

    mbk34 wrote:

    It didn't ask if I had an existing drive and folder (E://dropbox) but immediately installed itself onto my C: drive.


    That option is available during install, usually under Advance Options just after you sign in.

     


    Surely it should know where it was installed previously?

    How? You're reinstalling or relinking. That means your settings no longer exist so it won't know about your previous installation. The only thing it looks for is an existing Dropbox folder, and it can only look in the default location unless you tell it to use a different location during the install.

     


    Can I just switch back to the original location (E://dropbox)? Will it do it without changing those files that are already there and that haven't changed?

    Uninstall Dropbox. Reinstall and use the Advanced Options during the install to specify a different location for your Dropbox folder. Be sure to specify the folder ABOVE the existing Dropbox folder. If your old Dropbox is E:\Dropbox make sure you select E:\ for the new one. If you select E:\Dropbox you'll end up with E:\Dropbox\Dropbox.

     

    It should detect the exiting folder and ask if you want to use it. Once the install is done it will need to re-index all of your files. Be patient and LET IT WORK.

     


    Also, is there any way of getting dropbox not to copy across certain file types? I'd like it to ignore log files etc.
    • mbk34's avatar
      mbk34
      Explorer | Level 4

      Thanks for the info and a very prompt reply!

    • mbk34's avatar
      mbk34
      Explorer | Level 4

      Unfortunately that didn't work 😞

       

      It sounded fairly simple reading your solution but wasn't in practise. After uninstalling I went to the dropbox download page and it wanted to download something called capture. I assumed this was the new version of the app but instead it tried to connect to all my files which I didn't want. I uninstalled that. I finally found the correct app in a google search rather than via the dropbox home page (go figure). It installed itself, tried to get hold of my phone number and wanted to install itself on my phone. On the PC it immediately linked to the C: drive which I didn't want.

       

      I'll admit I've been really impressed with dropbox over the years and sang it's praises to anyone who'd listen but I'm not too impressed by the app's current behaviour. All I want to to is just have my dropbox folder in it's current location on E:

      • Jay's avatar
        Jay
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

        Hi mbk34, during the installation process of the Dropbox desktop application, there should be an option for advanced settings, and this allows you to have the Dropbox folder in another location.

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