How can I prevent the Dropbox app from re-syncing everything to my formatted device?

[Lageole]

Hello,

I'm writing you because I will have to format my computer - due to corrupted system problems - and so the question of my dropbox is raising.

I have a video studio with collaborators and we have 45 terabytes of data online. I would like to know the best way to handle this, without loosing anyfile and without experiencing a infinite indexing ?

Maybe there is a way to copy only the directories ? Because I cannot copy 45 TB of data in harddrives to re-copy them again.

Thank you !

[Nancy]

If you copy everything to an external drive as it is now, you’ll be basically copying fully downloaded files along with placeholders (this is what the online-only files are basically). 

So, if you copy them back inside your Dropbox folder later on, without having downloaded them first locally, then you risk syncing empty files back to your Dropbox account. This is why we don't suggest doing this.

[Lageole]

Ah ok so Dropbox desktop understand online placeholder like empty entities if they are copy as it is? Good to know !

Ok so no way to copy the architecture.

Is that possible to install dropbox on the freshly format machine and say to dropbox desktop to only synch selected folders (and so be able to manually sync things gradually) ?

[Rich]

---

@Lageole wrote:

Is that possible to install dropbox on the freshly format machine and say to dropbox desktop to only synch selected folders (and so be able to manually sync things gradually) ?

---

Yes. During the installation you have the option of selecting which folders will sync. I don't remember if it prompts you directly, or if you have to select Advanced Options after you sign in.

[Lageole]

Ok, so maybe the best solution for me is too manually and gradually sync by myself like 1TB every night haha

[Lageole]

As I don't need all this data to work, I can sync first essentials things and then continue over the month