Backup from Dropbox to External HD

[rymanbugs]

I’d like to backup the entire contents of my large Dropbox account to an external hard drive. What is the best way to do this?

Considerations:

1. I have a complex web of folders and files, some of which are online-only and not. I’d like to keep the current setting of which are online-only and which are not. Syncing down in batches and copy-pasting onto the external is therefore not ideal.
2. Backup methods like Time Machine don’t do much good with stub files like Dropbox’s online-only files.
3. The size of my Dropbox contents exceeds the capacity of my local hard drive, so I can’t use it as a “middle-man”.
4. There are apparently download limits on Dropbox web, so I don’t think I can just download it all directly to an external hard drive.
5. One idea would be to make a new user on my Mac, sign into Dropbox, set the folder to the external HD, and sync everything down, but this seems risky and janky…

Any ideas appreciated!

[michelle32]

Any luck yet? I am also wanting to back up all my files directly onto an external hard drive. My computer doesn't have space to download everything to copy and paste over

[Mark]

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@michelle32 wrote:

Any luck yet? I am also wanting to back up all my files directly onto an external hard drive. My computer doesn't have space to download everything to copy and paste over

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Dropbox does not have this functionality. Sorry.

[julianskipworth]

I know this topic has been partially covered before but it still astounds me that with a Dropbox Business account there is no way of exporting and backing up all of our data directly to an external SSD? Syncing locally first is not an option due to the amount of data, and downloading direct to the drive is also not possible due to the 250 GB limit on downloads. Seems crazy! Has anyone found a workaround? For a "business" product it's just not good enough...

I was using CloudAlly for a bit as our main form of backup but they've jacked up their prices not for Dropbox.

Thanks,
J

[Hannah]

Hey @julianskipworth, thanks for reaching out to our Community.

Do you have a Windows or a Mac computer? If it's a Mac, are you using File Provider?

I've also moved your post to a thread with info relevant to your query, so you can take a look as well.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[julianskipworth]

Hi Hannah - Windows please

[Megan]

Hey @julianskipworth, since we don't currently have this exact feature you're asking for, I'd suggest Dropbox Backup.

It's work taking a closer look into this, and seeing if it'd suit your needs. Otherwise the alternative would be to indeed sync your content locally, and then move them to your SSD.

In any case, I'll forward your feedback to the appropriate areas so we can continue to improve.

Thank you!

[IT Operations 202]

I have been a business Dropbox user for 6+ years.  I find it absolutely absurd that DropBox cannot support a simple task such as being able to easily copy (we are talking about cutting and pasting!) MY Dropbox files from MY Dropbox online account or from my computer.  That ludicrous to ask a user to copy their files in batches just to accomplish a simple task like this.  I feel like DropBox is holding MY FILES hostage.  

[sl14]

I am trying to do this exact thing, and your suggestions are excellent. Did you ever find a good method of backing up dropbox onto an external drive?

Thank you

[rymanbugs]

No there doesn’t seem to have been any satisfactory feature implemented to support this yet :(((

[ssalenger]

I am also looking for a solution to physically back up my entire Dropbox without being able to use my Mac as a middle-man. I guess I will try to do batches but an automated option seems like functionality that should exist for paying users.