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Reinstalling Dropbox App and retaining D drive location for Dropbox folder

I recently had to reinstall Windows 10 on a desktop. I had the Dropbox folder installed on my D drive, which is a separate physical drive (not a partition) from my C drive. The Dropbox app was installed on C, which was reformatted as part of the reinstallation, so I lost the Dropbox app. Since the W10 reinstallation did not affect my D drive (which contains only data files), the Dropbox folder is still there and is intact. When I reinstalled the Dropbox app, it created a new Dropbox folder on C and synced my files to it. I went to sync preferences and tried to move my Dropbox folder to D, but it (correctly) tells me I already have a Dropbox folder there. I thought maybe something as simple as renaming the Dropbox folder on D and then using sync preferences to move the Dropbox folder from C to D would work, but it didn't. I would appreciate any help in reestablishing my Dropbox folder back to D. (FWIW, the "new" Dropbox folder on C has the Dropbox icon with a checkmark at lower left, and the "old" Dropbox folder on D has a plain Dropbox icon).

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Rich

@MWilcox wrote:
The wording is "In which folder do you want the Dropbox folder?" I selected \user\me\Dropbox, and now I have a "new" Dropbox folder within my old Dropbox folder, both on D.

The question was asking what folder do you want your Dropbox folder to be located in; not what folder do you want your files in. Basically, you told it to create a new Dropbox folder inside your existing one. What you wanted to select was \user\me, and then Dropbox would have detected the existing folder and asked if you wanted to use it.

You likely have two options.

Exit the Dropbox application then uninstall it. Delete the newly created \user\me\Dropbox\Dropbox folder, being sure not to delete your original folder. Reinstall Dropbox again and when selecting a location for the Dropbox folder, be sure to select the folder ABOVE your existing Dropbox folder, so \user\me. Dropbox should ask if you want to use the existing folder.

The other option is how I move my Dropbox folder to a new computer, rather than re-downloading everything.

Uninstall Dropbox. Rename your existing Dropbox folder to Dropbox_OLD or similar. Reinstall Dropbox and select the location that you want for the Dropbox folder (D:\user\me). When the installation is finished, Dropbox will immediately start to sync. Exit the Dropbox application so syncing stops. Move the content of Dropbox_OLD into the newly created Dropbox folder. When the move is complete, and not before, launch Dropbox again.

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.

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Hannah

Hey @MWilcox, thanks for coming to our Community with this.

Can you let me know what happened, when you renamed the old Dropbox folder on your D drive and tried to move the new one through the preferences?

Did you get the same error message, that a Dropbox folder already exists, or was it something else?

Also, at the moment, has the Dropbox app finished syncing your files to the C drive?

Meaning, do you have two identical Dropbox folders on your computer?

Let me know and we'll go from there.

MWilcox

Hello and thanks for responding.

My first approach was to rename the existing Dropbox folder on D and then use sync preferences to move the "new" Dropbox folder from C to D. I tried this several times and both times it stopped working in the middle of transferring the files (not sure why). The folder has about 61,000 files.

It appears that the new Dropbox folder on C has finished syncing. Fortunately, I hadn't added any files to my D Dropbox folder, so I now have three locations with the same files-- Dropbox cloud, and C and D Dropbox folders on my desktop.

If I uninstall/reinstall Dropbox app, is there some way to avoid creating a new Dropbox folder on C and have install app understand there is already a Dropbox folder on D?

Megan

Hi @MWilcox, according to the Dropbox desktop application preferences, where is the current location of the Dropbox folder? I am assuming the C drive, right?

Do the sync icons appear in the old or new location?

Also, you mentioned that the process stopped while transferring files. It might sound trivial, but was the device and app open and running at all times during this?

MWilcox

Hello: I currently have two Dropbox folders-- the folder I have had for a while on D drive (a separate physical drive-- not a partition) ; and the new Dropbox folder on C drive, which was created when I reinstalled the Dropbox app, which was necessitated by having to reformat C drive and reinstall Windows 10. The Dropbox folder on C has the Dropbox icon with a check mark at lower left; and the Dropbox folder on D has the plain Dropbox icon with no other symbols. To my knowledge, there were no disruptions on my system while the file transfer was ongoing.

At this stage, I suspect I would be better off uninstalling the Dropbox app, deleting the Dropbox folder on C, and then reinstalling the Dropbox app assuming I can direct the installation to use the existing Dropbox folder on D. Is there a way to do this?

MWilcox

Sorry, I didn't fully answer your question. Yes, the sync preference currently points to a folder on C drive.

Nancy

Hi from me as well, @MWilcox.

If you reinstall the Dropbox app on your computer and get prompted to set it up again, you should be able to select your already established folder before completing the sign-in steps.

More specifically, after signing in and before you click on "Open my Dropbox folder", you should see an "Advanced Settings" link. Please click there and try to choose the old syncing location of Dropbox on your D drive.

For example, if you have your Dropbox folder in the path "D:\OtherDrive\Folder\Dropbox" you'll want to select the folder "D:\OtherDrive\Folder", this time.

Let me know if that works!

MWilcox

OK, I have uninstalled/reinstalled Dropbox. I selected Advance Settings during the installation setup and it did ask where I wanted to place the Dropbox folder. The wording is "In which folder do you want the Dropbox folder?" I selected \user\me\Dropbox, and now I have a "new" Dropbox folder within my old Dropbox folder, both on D. The old Dropbox folder has the plain Dropbox icon (five blue diamonds in v-shape) next to it. The "new" Dropbox folder has the generic windows yellow folder icon next to it, but also a blue circle with what looks like a white square next to it. It is now syncing my files into this "new" Dropbox folder. I did not see any place where the Dropbox installation setup can be directed to recognize an existing Dropbox folder. I assume I can merge these two Dropbox folders, but I would think the surviving folder needs to be the new one, correct?

Megan

Hi @MWilcox, before I answer your question, could you send me a few screenshots of what you described, in order for me to have a visual too?

Although, I do think you're correct.

MWilcox

Megan, here is my D Drive showing the two Dropbox folders and their symbols. The "new" Dropbox folder is still syncing.

Image deleted

Rich

@MWilcox wrote:
The wording is "In which folder do you want the Dropbox folder?" I selected \user\me\Dropbox, and now I have a "new" Dropbox folder within my old Dropbox folder, both on D.

You likely have two options.

The other option is how I move my Dropbox folder to a new computer, rather than re-downloading everything.

MWilcox

Thanks Rich, Megan, Hannah, Nancy. Having the installation place the Dropbox folder in the folder above the existing folder was the answer. Seems obvious in hindsight, but the installation does not tell you this. But it did work.

Nancy

I’m glad to hear that worked, @MWilcox!

If you need something else, you can always give us a nudge.

jherber

i have the same problem as Mitch. I think I understand the idea of pointing the Dropbox to D;\user\me, however, in the drop down menu that appears when I try to change the location it keeps the DROPBOX folder at the end of the line. How do I edit that to only use \user\me ?

Thanks for your help, jherber

jherber

My message shows a SOLVED icon. I have received any suggestions or solutions. Thank again, jherber

jherber

My message shows a SOLVED icon. I have NOT received any suggestions or solutions. Thank again, jherber

Jay

Hi @jherber, the Dropbox app needs to store all the syncing files in a folder with the name of Dropbox, so it's not possible to remove the Dropbox name.

If you have any further queries, feel free to message back.

jherber

Howdy Jay. Thanks for the replay. I sent you an email replay because I could not get the link you sent to work. I finally figured out I was using an old browser, IE, and have no idea how I was doing that. I am using Chrome.

Your answer confuses me because I was following an earlier answer on this topic. I will include it below. It seems to conrtradict your advice.

The wording is "In which folder do you want the Dropbox folder?" I selected \user\me\Dropbox, and now I have a "new" Dropbox folder within my old Dropbox folder, both on D.

You likely have two options.

When I tried to follow this advice, I ended up with a Dropbox folder on 😧 and inside that folder were these 'extra' files

a. dropbox.cache

b. .dropbox

Can you get me straightened out? I am fighting an issue where my C: drive is full and I am trying to move Dropbox program and data to .

I think I now have data and programs on both C: and , but the Dropbox program on 😧 does NOT find the data.

Thanks, jherber

Jay

Essentially, the Dropbox folder is always created as a new folder. You can try moving the Dropbox folder to a different location entirely, and then just move it back to the location you mentioned earlier, which was D :\user\me.

dearnold

I have a similar issue to the OP in that I had to reset my Windows 11 Pro installation on Drive C. All of the data on my separate D drive was retained. My Dropbox folder has been on my D drive for years because I don't like keeping data on my C drive and because my Dropbox is now too large for the C drive.

I have uninstalled Dropbox and re-installed it several times to attempt to get it to recognize my Dropbox folder on the D drive. It always defaults to the C:\Users\my_user\Dropbox folder. I sign in, get the 6-digit code, and then click on Advanced Settings. The screen simply will not allow me to select a different location for my Dropbox folder. It shows c:\Users\my_user\Dropbox in the input field. When I click the drop-down arrow, I see a checkmark by C:\Users\my_user\Dropbox and "Other location". If I click on Other Location, the set up simply ignores me and starts to do a Selective Sync. After some time, all of my Dropbox folders/files have been populated in C:\Users\my_user\Dropbox.

In other words, Advanced Settings does not seem to work at all on my computer running Windows 11 Pro.

If I go into the Dropbox app, select preferences > sync and try to move my Dropbox folder location to \, the error message is that there is already a Dropbox folder at that location. If I try to move the Dropbox folder to \Dropbox, I get a whole download of the Dropbox folder embedded in the directory structure, so my new location for a synced folder becomes \Dropbox\Dropbox - a file organization nightmare!

What am I doing wrong? Reinstalling the Dropbox desktop app and pointing it to an already existing Dropbox folder location shouldn't so hard.

#Desktop App #Dropbox folder

Jay

Hi @dearnold, If you're not on a Dropbox Basic plan with more than 3 devices connected, could you try an advanced reinstall of the app using the steps in this link?

During the installation process is when you get to see the Advanced Settings, before the default Dropbox folder is created. From there, you can choose the 'parent' folder to store the Dropbox folder, so if it's \Dropbox, you need to pick \.