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Problem moving Dropbox folder to another internal or external drive on my computer

Greetings, I do not see this specific issue addressed in other posts. I am trying to move my Dropbox from my extremely full C drive to another internal drive with plenty of room. When I follow the steps, a box pops up and says "Backup not supported on different drive. Disable PC backups before moving folder." Then, when I try to do that, I get another box that pops up giving me a choice to either "Keep contents in folders on PC" or to "Leave Contents in Dropbox." I don't know which to click and I am paranoid I will erase files or something. Again, my goal is to move my folder from my C drive to an internal drive called F with tons of space and STILL have it backup files. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I am using Windows 10. THANKS! - Steve

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Jackson

Hi @Steve52, jumping in real quick.

When you remove folders from the Dropbox folder via selective sync, the files are safe on the Dropbox cloud.

They are only removed from your Dropbox folder.

Please make sure to give your app enough time to finish syncing, after updating the Selective Sync settings.

Cheers!

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Rich

@Steve52 wrote:
When I follow the steps, a box pops up and says "Backup not supported on different drive. Disable PC backups before moving folder." Then, when I try to do that, I get another box that pops up giving me a choice to either "Keep contents in folders on PC" or to "Leave Contents in Dropbox."

Disable the backup feature, choose the option to keep the content on your PC, move the Dropbox folder to the new drive using the option in Preferences, then re-enable the backup feature again.

Steve52

Thanks! I successfully moved my Dropbox to my F drive. However, when I try to re-install the backups, it will not let me do that. It seems to be because I still have a folder labeled "Dropbox" under my program files in the C drive. Should I erase that folder. Again, I am just paranoid that I will lose my photos so I am trying to do each step carefully. I am hoping you can offer more guidance. THANKS! - Steve

Megan

Hi @Steve52, welcome to our Community!

How do you try to enable Backup? Is it through these steps?

Can you also let me know more, in regards to the precise error you get on your end?

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!

Steve52

Thanks, when I try to enable backup it says 2/2 folders have issues (referring to my Desktop and my Documents folders):
"Dropbox and folder are on different drives" is in red. Below that, it says "Make sure Dropbox and your Desktop folder are in their default locations, then try again."

Again, it appears that I have successfully moved Dropbox to my internal F drive. I can also see that space was freed up in my C drive from this move. However, there is still a Dropbox folder under "programs" in that C drive. Do I need to cut and paste that to the F drive?
Any help is greatly appreciated. - Steve

Megan

Hi @Steve52, when you open your app's preferences, and check under your Sync tab, do you see your folder's location moved to the F: drive?

If so, then you're free to rename, or even delete your old Dropbox folder.

Also, in regards to your Backup: usually you need to have your Dropbox folder (and the rest of the paths of Documents, Desktop, Downloads) on the drive where your operating system is installed. Otherwise, you won't be able to enable this feature.

Steve52

Yes, in light gray it says F: drive in the window indicating location when I check under the Sync tab. The entire reason I moved my Dropbox to this location was that it was taking up a HUGE amount of space on my C drive. I'm clearly not particularly computer savvy, but I am near certain my operating system is on the C drive. I'm grateful for your help, but (as a customer) I am frustrated that this is so difficult. I am looking for a solution where I have a Dropbox that is backing up (preferably in my 4tb F: drive) and not filling my C drive to the point that it can't even update to Windows 11. I am hoping you can continue to assist me with this. THANKS - Steve

Megan

Hey @Steve52, even though I'd be more than happy to continue to assist, it's important to note that you can't have your Dropbox folder under your F: drive, and enable the Backup feature.

However, the only alternative I could think of and give you, would be to move your Dropbox folder back to your C: drive, and use selective sync, to free up space from your hard drive.

I hope this clarifies.

Steve52

It does clarify things, and I appreciate all your help. However, as a customer, I am frustrated by my inability to have my Dropbox folder backing up in my F: drive.

Steve52

Final question: Do I need to do the selective sync before I begin the process of moving my Dropbox back to the C drive? Thanks!

Jay

Hi @Steve52, it shouldn't make a difference if you do it before or after you move the folder back.

However, since you mentioned you're having space issues on your C drive, perhaps enabling selective sync first would be helpful, since it would physically delete those folders from the Dropbox folder. After that, moving the entire Dropbox folder would be faster since there's less data to copy over.

Steve52

Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it. Again, the files would remain in the cloud and simply not be on my C drive, correct? I am always paranoid about deleting something for good.

Jackson

Hi @Steve52, jumping in real quick.

When you remove folders from the Dropbox folder via selective sync, the files are safe on the Dropbox cloud.

They are only removed from your Dropbox folder.

Please make sure to give your app enough time to finish syncing, after updating the Selective Sync settings.

Cheers!